SUGAR GROVE, Illinois (March 7, 2008) – For the fourth consecutive year, Golfweek Magazine has ranked Black Sheep Golf Club among America’s Best 100 Modern Courses, according to information published in its March 8 issue.
The magazine ranks Black Sheep 56th among the top-100 Modern Courses in 2008, with "modern" defined as any course built after 1960. The private club opened in 2002 but its inspired design and "golf-only" principle make it a throwback to the origins of the game.
"We are honored and proud that Black Sheep Golf Club again has been recognized by Golfweek as one of America’s Best 100 Modern Courses," said Black Sheep developer and club president Vincent Solano.
"Our course designer, David Esler, brought tremendous thought and creativity to this project and he has provided our members a pure golf experience reminiscent of a bygone era."
The only other Chicago-area course named in the Best 100 Modern category was Butler National GC in Oakbrook (No. 74). Six Chicago-area courses were ranked among the 100 Best Classic (pre-1960) courses: Chicago Golf Club (No. 15), Shoreacres GC (No. 27), Olympia Fields, North Course (No.42); Medinah CC (No. 55); Skokie CC (No. 78), and Beverly CC (No. 91).
Black Sheep represents golf in its purest state. Located on a 285-acre former farmstead, the 27-hole facility has a 6,200-square-foot, white, barn-style clubhouse in which most of the space is devoted to a sizeable and well-appointed locker room and a great room/bar with a small pro shop.
The men-only club also is defined by what it does not have: No adjacent real estate development. No hotel. No swimming pool. No tennis courts. No white-table-cloth dining room or social calendar. And not kitchen. Just a bar, a bartender, a refrigerator for sandwiches and beverages, and a grill on the porch should members want to cook a steak after a long day on the links. In addition, there is a small lodge onsite where up to eight members and/or guests can stay overnight. (The club has a number of national members).
Located west of downtown Chicago near the intersection of Interstate 88 and Illinois Route 47, Black Sheep was designed in the spirit of such classic inland links as Chicago Golf Club, Shinnecock Hills, Prairie Dunes, and Sand Hills.
In addition to the three nines – each of which is par 36 and measures from 3,300 to 3,800 yards – the facility features a world class driving range, short game practice area, and a two-acre putting green. The Golfweek ranking is based on evaluations of holes one through 18.
"The basic tenet of the place is strategic design," Esler said. "Vince and I agreed from the very beginning that strategy is the foundation of any great golf course and that is the principle that governed the project."
The course is characterized by unusually wide fairways that give players of varying abilities several risk/reward options off the tee. The more risk a player takes on his tee shot in terms of hitting it in the direction of the primary hazard (water, prairie grass, fescue, wetlands, etc.) the greater his reward for a good shot – i.e., a second shot that provides a better angle of approach to the green, better visibility of the next shot, and/or a shorter approach to the green.
Black Sheep’s naturally rolling prairie provides for significant elevation change and a feeling of movement throughout the golf course. The land’s naturally undulating terrain and Esler’s muscular bunkering style combined with the varied color palette of the properties native prairie grasses give the course its character and definition. Moreover, the lack of tree protection means the notorious Chicago area winds are a factor during most every round at Black Sheep.
"Solano turned Esler loose to create a wide expanse of playing surface, evocative of Prairie Dunes in terms of native grasses but unlike anything in the Chicago area," Golfweek architecture editor Bradley S. Klein once wrote when describing Black Sheep.
Black Sheep is unique for other reasons, including:
– Black Sheep is a member-owned equity club limited to 250 members.
– The current initiation fee is $90,000 for a regular member. National (non-resident) memberships are $15,000 with annual dues of $1,200.
– Unlike a typical country club, Black Sheep has no minimum spending requirements for food and beverage. Also, there are no cart fees, no tee times, and no fees for club storage, driving range or the locker room. The club has a strong caddie program and special playing privileges for the sons and sons-in-law of members.
– Black Sheep GC is a friend of the environment. The club has planted 140 acres of native prairie grasses and has created 15 acres of wetlands in a successful effort to restore the farmland to the pre-settlement landscape of Native Americans. The wetland restoration and the large scale planting of natural prairie grasses provide habitats for birds, animals, and insects. Such plantings also provide the surrounding area with a high quality system of storm water management and a better ecosystem. The golf course could become the standard by which environmentally superior golf courses are constructed in the future.
Contact:
Barry Cronin
Cronin Communications, Inc.
847-698-1801 (o)
847-867-3032 (m)
bcronin@cronincommunications.com
