A look at which golf courses are open, closed or undergoing renovation in the Tri-Cities

The first hints of warmer weather tend to lure me toward my golf bag, and thoughts of hitting the local courses start swirling in my head - even if snow and cold return in short spurts.

At some point, I realize some courses on which I have played often are either closed or just part of memories.

We'll start with Pheasant Run Golf Course, which closed last year, along with the entire St. Charles resort. So that one goes into the memories vault, at least for now. A car dealership is taking over the MegaCenter portion, so it's not likely the golf course will be revived.

Another memory is Fox Valley Country Club in North Aurora, which was wiped off the face of the planet more than a year ago to make room for what is now Lincoln Valley, a growing subdivision. It's one of the few building a lot of new homes in the region.

Then we have Mill Creek Golf Course in Geneva, which has been open only about half a season the past few years because of a management transition when Arcis Golf turned the property back over to Shodeen Group.

In talking to Shodeen execs, it seemed as if things were on track to find new suitors and attempt to reopen the course last year - but the pandemic certainly sidetracked a lot of good ideas for all businesses.

One never knows for sure what Shodeen Group has in mind for any number of its properties, so those in local golf circles aren't expecting the course to open soon. It would be a pleasant surprise if it did by 2022.

We can add Settler's Hill, a course along Fabyan Parkway operated by the Kane County Forest Preserve, as another that won't be open this year. At least we know a major renovation is taking place this summer, and the course should reopen in late spring 2022.

Aurora course architect Greg Martin is working on that project, including some new holes and a new irrigation system. In addition, Settler's is adding a driving range and youth links of at least three holes.

Those are four courses I try to play at least once or twice during the course of a year. Granted, I've played Pottawatomie Golf Course's nine holes in St. Charles, probably more than any other course in my life, but I still don't like seeing so many local links fading away into history.

There are still fine choices in Prairie Landing or St. Andrews Golf and Country Club, both in West Chicago; Orchard Valley in Aurora; and Hughes Creek in Elburn, which would probably rate as my second-most played over the years. Bliss Creek in Sugar Grove probably is not far behind.

John O'Connor, the manager of Settler's Hill, tells me he is overseeing operations at Hughes Creek this year through GolfVisions management while Settler's is under construction. Former Hughes Creek manager Heather Espe has left to pursue other interests. Espe remains listed as the secretary for Meyer Family Golf Inc., of which Penny Meyer of Big Rock serves as president.

The courses that have remained open should see more business in light of the area closings, but we'll see how it all plays out as we await the consistency of warmer weather.

<h3 class="leadin">Values beyond swimming:

It's been roughly 25 years since Joan Leonard, swim instructor extraordinaire, told us our son "had a swimmer's body" and that he could be quite good in that sport.

She was probably correct, and how could she not be? She taught swimming to young people in the built-in pool at her St. Charles home for some 50 years. In doing the math, that's easily thousands of kids. So being able to spot a potentially good swimmer certainly came with the territory.

Leonard, who passed away late last month at the age of 88, excelled in another category - that of being a person who cared about her community and people she had come to know.

And she certainly remembered my family. Maybe it was because she knew me from my newspaper career and was so grateful for the times I wrote about her late husband Bob and the community efforts to build a portion of a Fox River walking path in his honor.

After all, Bob was an important supporter of a healthy Fox River and many other community activities.

Or maybe it was because she and Bob were just fine people who, once they made a connection with others, never forgot them.

So it was that, while quite a surprise in and of itself because we hadn't heard from her in some time, it was just like Joan to send our son and his wife a gift for their newborn baby girl last year.

Though he may not have thought about Joan in some time, our son certainly remembered his time with her, appreciated the gesture and fully understood how and why Joan would do such a thing. It was just in her nature.

Being a Geneva High School student with no pool at the school, he never did continue swimming other than for fun. But he got the other valuable lesson from Joan that continued to this day through a dolphin-themed baby T-shirt gift: There's still very much to be said for being decent people with a lot of love and kindness toward others.

The hardware guy:

I didn't know Bill Rosenfelder as well as others who had lived in Geneva or the Tri-Cities area much longer and knew his full history. He was the former fire department chief to most, but to me, he was a friendly businessman whose family operated my favorite hardware store, the Ace Hardware in Geneva.

But his name came up often concerning other community activities and causes.

When he passed away in late February, he left quite a legacy, the kind one would expect of a fellow devoted to making his hometown better while also operating an important business in its downtown.

The fact that he was on so many different boards in Geneva and the Kane County Fair Board and the Fox Valley Shrine Club told you how generous he was with his time.

His family should know one thing: Ace Hardware remains my go-to store, and his friendly greetings in that place for so many years firmly planted that seed.

The fish choices:

Readers like weighing in on favorite fish fry locations during Lent, so when I recently mentioned a few, some sent notes about their great choices.

One pointed to the Friday night fish buffet with numerous choices at the Knights of Columbus building on Route 25 in Batavia, noting that Enticing Cuisine chef Jason Stoffels is overseeing this operation.

The Maple Park American Legion also earned a mention for its Friday fish fry, which includes a bake sale of homemade treats.

My friend John Arthur Anderson, who I would refer to as Colonial Café's greatest talking billboard, reminded me the restaurants on the east side of St. Charles and south side of Naperville offer a Friday fish fry year-round.

<h3 class="leadin">Another Fox in Geneva:

FoxFire Restaurant in Geneva is expanding its operations by bringing the Copper Fox onto Third Street in the location formerly held by Wildwood restaurant.

This new location will serve as a banquet hall for private events or business meetings, as well as a public bar. It is touting its proximity to the Metra station as a perfect choice for corporate meetings as well.

dheun@sbcglobal.net