Road work may close Brae Loch golf course on weekdays

Brae Loch Golf Club near Grayslake could be closed weekdays next season, but it won't be due to the economy.

Because of expected road work on Route 45, the Lake County Forest Preserve District figures getting to the course will be rougher than any other hazard golfers may face. So, starting in spring 2010, Brae Loch will be open for play only on weekends during construction.

"I don't think you could get in here, to be honest with you," said Jim Ballowe, superintendent of revenue facilities for the forest preserve district.

Ballowe emphasized the course will close weekdays only if the road work proceeds. That appears likely.

"We're preparing for what we think is inevitable," he said.

The 2009-10 budget, approved by the forest district board on Thursday, says the Route 45 expansion will "severely impact the operations of the course with increased traffic and accessibility issues."

As a result, total revenues at Brae Loch are expected to drop from an anticipated $685,320 in 2008-09 to $517,500 in 2009-10.

"It'll also be a pretty big drop in expenditures, too," Ballowe said. "I can't say it's quite an offset, but it'll help."

The district operates four 18-hole golf courses, including Brae Loch.

Golf revenues have been a popular topic lately. The forest preserve district board this week, for example, stopped plans for a new course at Fort Sheridan, in part, because of the uncertain future of the golf industry.

For all its courses, the district expects total revenue to drop about 3 percent in 2009-10, which begins July 1, compared to estimates for 2008-09. Most of that drop would be directly related to weekday closure of Brae Loch.

This season has been relatively flat, Ballowe said.

"Pretty close to the same (as last year) to be honest with you, and that's with pretty bad weather," he said. "We're holding our own."

He said the district expects to learn the status of the Route 45 widening, from Route 120 north to Washington Street, in a few months.

The project has been planned for years, but recently resurfaced. Business owners to the south of Brae Loch, who are fighting a proposed barrier median that is part of the project, are preparing for construction next spring.

"The new thing is they did get the funding so the money is there now; it is going to happen," said Chuck Ravenscraft, general manager of Fast Jacks car wash.

That could not be immediately verified Friday by the Illinois Department of Transportation.