$9 million Mount Prospect Golf Course renovations ready for golfers

After being closed for more than a year for renovations, a massively redone Mount Prospect Golf Course will reopen on Saturday.

The $9 million project included a new irrigation system, redesigned greens, four new holes and a much larger driving range.

Throughout July, tours of the course along the cart paths were available for individuals and families.

"Everything was redone from the ground up, basically," said Brett Barcel, the Mount Prospect Park District's Director of Golf Operations. "I'm very happy with the golf course. Everyone who sees it is just amazed with how it looks. There's a real wow factor - they can't believe we were able to do this."

Barcel said the new course was worth the major investment and will benefit the community, since park district officials expect to save significantly on maintenance costs as well as generate increased revenue.

"Hopefully this holds us for another 35 or 40 years and puts us ahead of the curve," Barcel said. "We had to fix all the infrastructure. We began with an irrigation project, which we knew was going to be essential and is a big-ticket item at about $1.5 million."

Doing all of the renovations at once was an important cost-saving strategy rather than periodically doing small projects, he said.

"Once we decided we were opening the infrastructure up, the question was, 'What else should we do?' We weren't going to come back in five years and do the bunkers, then another five years and do the greens," Barcel said.

The park board approved the plans last May. The logistics and political maneuvering beforehand to define the project was time-consuming, Barcel said.

"It took about seven years of debating and planning, and 34 public meetings in the last two years to try to decide on the price and what features we needed to do," Barcel said. "What was done was probably the best way to spend the money - the most comprehensive project that we could, all at one time."

The doors to the restored course officially open at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, with a foursome fee of $500 (cart included) for a grand opening weekend celebration that includes a golf shirt and dinner. On Sunday, the $320 foursome fee (cart included) comes with a souvenir golf hat. Both events are shotgun starts.

The course opens to the public on Monday, with its 18-hole fees at $41 for weekdays and $51 for weekends and carts at $17 per golfer. Discount rates, along with nine-hole and twilight rates, also are available. Call (847) 632-9300 to schedule a tee time.