His First Original 18-Hole Course in the Chicago Area Is Designed to be Fun and Challenging for Golfers of All Abilities
LIBERTYVILLE, Illinois (September 22, 2009) – During his 18 years in business, Rick Jacobson’s golf course designs have been built in places such as Delaware, Maryland, New York, Virginia, and Wisconsin not to mention the nations of China and Japan.
As of today, Jacobson, a native of north suburban Glenview, will have a course of his own in the Chicago area.
Jacobson’s Bowes Creek Country Club in northwest suburban Elgin officially opened today to media and dignitaries invited to play the inaugural 18 holes on a course that has been on the drawing board for more than a decade.
“Every time you open a new course, there’s a sense of gratification when you see the holes take shape and eventually watch the golfers out there enjoying the course,” Jacobson said. “It took a lot of patience and perseverance to see it through but it definitely was worth it.” Jacobson drew his first routing for the course in 1998.
The golf course is the focal point of a Toll Brothers’ real estate development of the same name. The city of Elgin will own and operate the course as a public facility.
Bowes Creek is a rustic, prairie-style design in which fescue eyebrows outline the edges of bunkers and act as an extension of the naturalistic look of the adjacent landscape.
“We are trying to create a uniqueness in our courses to give our clients a marketable product that ultimately makes them successful,” Jacobson said. “Bowes Creek is the style of golf course the land dictates – natural rather than a pure manufactured look.”
The course measures as long as 6900 yards from the professional tees and as short as 5000 yards from the forward tees. It will have a total of five sets of tees and play to a par of 71.
The course is laid out on varying types of topography and features elevation changes of up to 50 feet, particularly from tee boxes on the back nine. The layout spreads out over flat flood plain areas, rolling farm land, steeper elevations, prairie, wetlands, a lake, and groups of mature hardwood trees. A creek runs throughout the property, Jacobson added. For the most part, homes will be located on the perimeter of the course.
“Although the golf course is located in a real estate community, it is a public course that will serve golfers of dramatically different levels of skill and experience,” Jacobson said. “Our goal is to make the game fun and enjoyable while making it interesting and challenging.”
Jacobson also designed a full state-of-the-art practice area complete with an elevated 30-station driving range with target greens at varying distances, putting and chipping greens, and a private lesson tee on the range.
Jacobson Golf Course Design is an international golf course design firm founded by Rick Jacobson in 1991.
Voted the Golf Course Architect of the Year in 2007 by the National Association of Private Clubs and Directors, Jacobson is known nationally for such heralded original 18-hole designs as Augustine GC in Stafford, Va., Bull Run CC in Haymarket, Va., Bear Trap Dunes in Ocean View, Del., and The Club at Strawberry Creek in Kenosha, Wis.
Bayside Resort and Golf Club in Fenwick Island, Del. was named among the top new courses in the U.S. for 2006 by Golf Digest and Golfweek magazines. The course was collaboration between Jacobson and Jack Nicklaus, his former employer and mentor.
Jacobson also is widely known for his sensitive renovations of such highly regarded classic courses, including Pete Dye’s Des Moines CC, site of the 1999 U.S. Senior Open, and Sunset Ridge CC in Northfield, Ill., ranked No. 1 Renovation of the Year in the private club category in 2006 by Golf Inc. magazine.
Contact:
Barry Cronin
Cronin Communications, Inc.
847-698-1801
bcronin@cronincommunications.com
