Mill Creek Golf Course in Geneva is closed

Golfers are relatively opinionated about which courses they like or don't like, and pretty specific as to why.

For the most part, Mill Creek Golf Course in Geneva has had pretty decent reviews. Except for one thing: It's been on-again, off-again the past couple of years in terms of being open.

Ever since Arcis Golf turned management of the Mill Creek back over to Shodeen Group last year, the opinions about that course have focused more on whether it is open or not, and not as much about whether the putting surfaces were in good shape or the overall condition of the layout was of high quality.

For the record, I like Mill Creek and always have. I'm not a good enough player to get into any particulars that make me like or dislike a course more than another, but this one has always given me a chance for a decent score and has some beautiful holes and a nice clubhouse.

But that problem of being open or not is again in play.

For those not sure, it is closed now. It was closed for a short time last year as well, when the management transition took place, before reopening again for the summer and fall golf seasons.

Forget the golf for a moment and consider that Mill Creek was also a good wedding reception location, so planning for those in advance was tough.

With other management leases complete in December 2018, Shodeen has kept the course closed in order to conduct inspections of the facilities and grounds to determine what needs to be done to open the course for the 2020 season.

"We've had a couple different companies go out and do some inspections and assessment of the property," said Al Krause, chief operating officer for Shodeen.

Krause likely has those inspection reports in hand by now, though he did acknowledge it took a little longer than he was thinking. Like most any other outdoor activities this past spring, the amount of rain in this area has made the inspections difficult.

But the course remains in good shape.

"We hired a third-party contractor to go out and cut the grass and fertilize," Krause said. "The rain put them behind too, but it's been no different for any other landscaper or park district out there."

Krause wasn't certain whether original homeowner contracts in Mill Creek had caveats written in about the operation of the golf course.

"It goes back a long time by now, but the area has to be maintained as open space, and a golf course qualifies as open space," he said.

In the complicated world of golf and the operation of courses as a business, there is no guarantee what could happen next at Mill Creek. It's not a stretch to think that the current inspections and assessments can't be tools for a future sale or another management switch.

But for the time being, Krause insists the plan for Shodeen to reopen the course is "moving forward in a positive direction."

"This is a nice golf course and a nice piece of property," he added.

It was long:

Speaking of golf, no one fainted when Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns announced it at the TriCity Family Services golf outing at Prairie Landing last week. But it was true.

I won the longest putt contest on a designated hole, sinking about a 25-footer.

No, I am not a good golfer. But I can putt fairly well.

Despite dodging one torrential downpour, this was an enjoyable day. TriCity Family Services put on a great outing, and Prairie Landing is a challenging and fun course to play.

Phil pushed it:

Anyone who has never given much thought to the fact that the late Phil Elfstrom, among others, pushed hard to get a bridge built over the river along Fabyan Parkway in the late 1960s might want to take a moment to at least say, "That was a smart move."

It should be easy to give some credit to this former county and forest preserve leader if you've been stuck in the traffic along Fabyan during the bridge work.

If not, you'll have plenty of time to do so. It's going to be like this for months.

Stinky intruders:

At least the cooler spring allowed me to recently turn on our fireplace. It was important to do so because of some unwanted invaders.

It seemed strange to me that stink bugs were somehow showing up buzzing around the lamp by my recliner every night. But a few friends mentioned having the same problem. And they discovered the bugs were making their way in through the fireplace.

A quick glance at our fireplace confirmed this theory. There were plenty of dead stink bugs in there, so some live ones were certainly lurking.

Since lighting a nice fire, however, we haven't seen a single intruder. Any reasonable stink bug would know that a fire burning in their secret passageway would signal it was time to leave.

That doesn't mean they won't resurface, but at least we know what the key weapon in our arsenal is.

Teddy is back:

This one is for those who really enjoy local history and, in particular, a fondness or interest in our 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt.

Joe Weigand will portray Roosevelt at 5 p.m. Saturday, July 13, in a dedication of the 1906 Dairy Barn at Garfield Farm Museum on Garfield Road in Campton Hills.

The event raises money for the museum's collection building.

Cost is $50 per person and information is available at (630) 584-8485 or info@garfieldfarm.org.

dheun@sbcglobal.net