$6.2 million to repair flooded Hoffman Estates golf course

Unfortunately for the Hoffman Estates Park District, last weekend's heavy rains made parts of the golf course at Poplar Creek Country Club unplayable once more.

But thanks to a plan approved by the park board this week, park district officials hope scuba gear will no longer be needed while playing the 18-hole course.

"When something major happens, we'll be in a better position," said Dean Bostrom, the park district's executive director.

The park district will spend about $6.2 million fixing flooding problems at the course after board members earlier this week approved the plan. The district will pay for the project through an upcoming bond issue that will be repaid with revenue from the course. Officials hope to start work by Aug. 6, which would render as many as nine holes unplayable at a given time. The entire course would reopen late June 2011.

Bostrom said the park district is waiting for permits from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources before breaking ground. If the permits don't come through in time, the project will be postponed and rebid, with construction slated for sometime next year.

The work is a permanent solution for a problem that's plagued the park district since it took over the golf course in 1990.

"It's going to pay dividends, perhaps even for a generation," said board member Craig Bernacki. "Once it's fixed, it's fixed."

Flooding affects holes all over the course, making it difficult for golfers. "You can't walk from hole No. 6 to hole No. 9 very easily because seven and eight flood," Bernacki said.

Workers will raise fairways and bridges above the floodplain to improve draining. Bostrom said the work could help flooding issues for the entire area. The flooding has been worsening through the years, he added.

Floods cost the park district about $10,000 in lost green fees on a given summer Saturday, as golfers take their games to other courses, said Tony LaFrenere, the park district's deputy director and director of recreation.

Eliminating that revenue loss and drawing increased play because of the improvements actually will ease the burden on taxpayers, Bernacki said, calling the golf course one of three main revenue makers for the park district. The others are the Community Ice Arena and Prairie Stone Sports and Wellness Center.

"We're really investing in one of our business centers," he said. "You can't survive on tax revenues alone."

From a golfer's perspective, Poplar Creek has suffered from a flawed reputation, Bostrom said. This will help reinvent the golf course and retain existing players while attracting new ones.

"We're stereotyped; classified as the golf course that floods," he said. "That's the reality."

The park district went forward with the project this year because costs were lower as the struggling economy resulted in bids that were more competitive, Bostrom said. Also, permit requirements for work in the flood plain will change next year, which would add 10 percent to 15 percent to the overall cost.

LaFrenere said based on the number of holes available to play, the park district could adjust what it charges in green fees during construction. Golf season typically starts in mid-March ending in late-November, around Thanksgiving Day. LaFrenere said about 3,400 rounds of golf are played each season.