Two Elgin courses rise in Golfweek rankings
Elgin's two newest golf courses rose even higher in the Golfweek rankings this year.
The Highlands of Elgin, which the golf magazine ranked fourth in 2011 among public courses in Illinois, can now claim the second place spot — only bested by Cog Hill in Lemont. Bowes Creek Country Club moved up one position to eighth best in the state, out of a field of more than 700.
The Highlands opened with a redesigned course in 2010, the same year Bowes Creek had its first full season open to the public.
Mike Lehman, director of golf operations in Elgin, said people need to get out and experience the new design to appreciate it — an opportunity the Golfweek raters had.
“I think it proved its worth in their eyes, and certainly has in the eyes of the players that play it on a regular basis,” Lehman said.
Both courses are open for the season offering play basically from dawn to dusk.
Bowes Creek is designed as a “member for a day” golfing experience. The Highlands is geared toward a lower price point and particularly marketed as a great place for golf outings.
No other community in Illinois claims two of the top 10 courses. Glenview's The Glen Club, Mundelein's Pine Meadow, Wheaton's Cantigny and Grayslake's also made the list. #8220;To know that you have two that are up there is really just a wonderful thing,#8221; Lehman said. #8220;It's certainly bringing people to our community.#8221; Randy Reopelle, Director of Parks and Recreation, said the golf courses generate revenue from nonresidents and leave people with a positive view of the city. #8220;Because that's something that's hard to measure and quantify, it's not talked about a lot,#8221; Reopelle said. #8220;Especially in budget talks.#8221; While the city's golf operations factored into sometimes heated budget discussions in the community, city council members maintained their commitment to the courses this year. In a push to fund only core services, some community members called for a discontinuation of the golf operations. But Mayor David Kaptain said the latest rankings help support the decision to keep the courses going.#8220;It becomes an economic development tool,#8221; Kaptain said, referring to the chance to market the city to potential businesses based on its golf amenities. The council has discussed offering golf memberships as parts of economic development incentive agreements.Kaptain and Reopelle also pointed to the city's third course, Wing Park, as the oldest municipal course in the state and noteworthy in its own right as a historic place. ---- /[URL] While the 2012 rankings for best municipal courses have not been released yet, Golfweek named The Highlands the ninth best municipally-owned course in the country #8212; the top course in Illinois #8212; last year. Both Elgin courses also made the Best New Courses list in 2010 and The Highlands did so again in 2011.