Oak Meadows improvements nearing the finish line

The new-look Oak Meadows Golf Preserve in Addison has been changed from the inside out.

Over the past 18 months, crews have restored the portion of Salt Creek that runs through the 288-acre property and consolidated two golf courses into a single 18-hole facility with greater flood resistance and more stormwater storage capacity.

Now that the last piles of dirt have been moved and the course features have been built, the roughly $16.8 million project has entered what officials are calling its "grow-in mode." Grass planted in late summer and fall is being given time to get a foothold along with hundreds of new trees and shrubs.

"At this point, we're hoping to have a cooperative winter and a warm spring so we can get the grass and surfaces in good condition for the public to come back in summer 2017," said Ed Stevenson, acting executive director for the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County.

The district, which owns Oak Meadows, stopped golf operations in July 2015 to pursue the renovations.

The project "is really a marriage between conservation and recreation," Stevenson said. "We set out to do everything we might do to make the preserve itself higher quality and ... build a golf course within the preserve that's going to be fun and challenging for golfers."

Oak Meadows, which was constructed in the 1920s, featured an 18-hole course and a 9-hole facility called Maple Meadows East. But the property was experiencing increased flooding, and the excess water was damaging the courses.

By consolidating the courses, the forest district was able to create a better facility with holes that are higher and drier, officials said.

Before work began, officials worried that fixing the flooding issues would mean abandoning the property's important role in retaining stormwater.

"Finally we came along and said, 'Why does it have to be that way? Why can't we hold stormwater better and build a better golf course?" Stevenson said.

Portions of the property still will flood during heavy rains, he said, but the water will be held in areas intended for that purpose. The course's tees, greens and fairways, meanwhile, are expected to remain dry.

At the start of the project, hundreds of mostly nonnative trees were cut down. Then bulldozers and other earth-moving machines shaped areas for new wetlands and stormwater storage. More than 700,000 cubic yards of dirt were moved.

The result is a property that can store an additional 20 million gallons of stormwater.

The dirt, meanwhile, was used to elevate golf surfaces that chronically flooded.

"The fairways used to be very flat," Stevenson said. "They didn't drain well. Now there are changes in the contour of the terrain."

Each of the 18 holes was rebuilt. Some will look familiar, while others will appear completely new.

To illustrate the point, Stevenson stood on the new 16th hole on the southeast side of the property. He said the spot is about six feet higher than it used to be.

Meanwhile, the old 16th hole - which was an island green - now is a wetland with natural grasses.

Steps also were taken to make Salt Creek cleaner and improve its water quality.

Before the project, pieces of concrete and sheet metal were used to prevent erosion along the creek. All that has been removed.

Instead, several hundred of the trees that were cut down were incorporated into the shoreline where they have the added benefit of creating habitats for fish.

Eventually, more than 500 native trees will be planted to replace those that were eliminated. More than 1,000 native shrubs also are being added.

When everything is grown, Stevenson said, playing a round at Oak Meadows will be like taking a tour of a northern Illinois landscape. Golfers will see wetlands, woodlands and prairie.

"People coming out to play golf are truly going to be introduced to nature," forest preserve Commissioner Jeff Redick said. "I think they're going to see a lot of things - whether it's wildlife or just the nature-scape - that you don't traditionally see in a golf setting."

While many golf courses have been struggling financially, Redick said the renovation was worthwhile.

"I think this is the future of what golf courses need to be," he said.

Stevenson said good golf courses are beautiful and fun to play. He said a great golf course is fun, beautiful and also solves problems for the community.

"For nongolfers - even if they never set foot on the property - we're helping to improve water quality," Stevenson said. "We're helping to expand native habitat. And we're holding more stormwater."