Major renovation heralded with Hoffman Estates golf course name change
More than $6 million in renovations and improvements at Poplar Creek Country Club are almost done, and officials are touting the makeover with a new name — Bridges of Poplar Creek Country Club.
Nine holes will open for 18-hole rounds Saturday, March 26. All 18 holes will open in early June.
The addition of “Bridges” to the club moniker parallels installation of eight wood bridges along the 6,500-yard course. Plaques paying tribute to professional golf legends Bobby Jones, Chick Evans, Samuel Ryder and Babe Zaharias will adorn the bridges with capsules about their significant contributions to the game. They symbolize linkage of the club's storied past, present and future.
“Golfers who sneak-previewed the course are enamored with the changes,” said Brian Bechtold, general manager for the course, which is owned and operated by the Hoffman Estates Park District. “And paying homage to some of golf's grit-and-grind legends aligns with our municipal facility's family approach to golf and social activities.”
Poplar Creek has suffered from a flawed reputation due to flooding following heavy rain, Dean Bostrom, the district's executive director, said last July.
“We're stereotyped; classified as the golf course that floods,” he said. “That's the reality.”
Workers raised fairways and bridges above the floodplain to improve draining, which should help the course retain existing players while attracting new ones.
Fifteen holes underwent renovation, and No. 1 is now No. 10 to add excitement down the stretch. Holes 16, 17 and 18 — now known collectively as “The Final Charge” — are formulated in the shape of a lightning bolt to become a “trifecta of finishing holes among the best in Illinois,” Bechtold said.
The addition of multiple tee boxes gives the course renewed appeal to better golfers seeking added length and new golfers seeking shorter distances. Reconfigured fairways and bunkers, the addition of fescue on many holes for depth and definition, and new lakes make for challenging yet fair land-water hazards.
Lohmann Golf Design led the modernization of the 35-year-old golf course, preserving the classic Killian-Nugent layout while enhancing strategic shot values for golfers. Floods which occasionally plagued fairways after heavy rains will no longer occur.
Also new: a 9,100-square-foot putting green and a 3,500-square-foot bentgrass chipping area for a state-of-the-art learning center totaling 8,700 square feet. PGA-certified instruction on a 55-station driving range, plus the addition of a “FlightScope launch monitor” for scientific club fitting, has golfers improving their games.
The clubhouse received a facelift. In the main banquet room that holds more than 300 guests, there is new carpet, wallpaper, lighting, paint, ceiling construction, bathroom upgrades and a new dance floor. For business meetings, Wi-Fi, screens, LCD projectors and other accoutrements are available.
A new, 8,200-square-foot event area with a gazebo and waterfall makes for memorable weddings and special occasions.
Bridges of Poplar Creek Country Club is between Golf and Higgins roads, east of Barrington Road, just off Moon Lake Boulevard. Information is at bridgesofpoplarcreek.com, or call (847) 781-3681.
The district will pay for the project through an upcoming bond issue that will be repaid with revenue from the course.