Morris Golf Guide 3-31-2013

golf Area Golf Course Directory

A special supplement to the Morris Daily Herald

Morris

Country Club

Private Golf Club and Public Banquet Facility Address: 2615 West Route 6, Morris | Phone Number: (815) 942-3440 (Office) | (815) 942-3628 (Golf Shop) Manager: PGA Director of Golf, John Keegan Business History: The club was sold in 2012 and is under new ownership. The new owners have made major improvements at the club in the past year.

Improvements include a sand bunker renovation project, the addition of a new bar attached to the current clubhouse, a clubhouse renovation, the addition of over 1 mile of cart paths and a driving range renovation of the tee and landing area that added over 7 acres to the property. The club has never offered as much for area golfers, and the value of this great private club is at an all time high! New membership classifications have been added to attract golfers who play as little as only twice a month!

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Mother Nature has to be credited partially with the design of the club as many holes are enhanced by the number of towering trees and the rolling hillsides that make Morris Country Club unlike any other course you’ve played.

The camaraderie of the membership makes it a comforting place for new members as the various leagues for men, women, seniors and couples make the club one of the most becoming private clubs anywhere.

The club offers a full service restaurant, a banquet facility specializing in weddings and corporate events, a driving range and short game practice area as well as PGA golf instruction.

The rich traditions of Morris Country Club are unmatched throughout the area as

members enjoy a full schedule of events for men and women, social events including live entertainment, as well as an award winning golf shop and extraordinary junior golf program.

Significant Changes and Plans for 2013: The club will be under new ownership for 2013 with many renovations and improvements planned for the golf course as well as the clubhouse.

New membership programs are available for golf, starting at only $900 for the entire season. Social memberships are available at only $40 per month for clubhouse access.

Something Unique and Noteworthy about our Business: The Morris Country Club is truly a full service club. In addition to a full service restaurant that offers lunch and dinner 6 days a week and breakfast on weekends, our full service bar and beverage cart is first class.

Our 4-season banquet facility holds up to 300 people and hosts many events for local organizations, large corporate events and wedding receptions. The clubhouse back lawn is the perfect venue to host your wedding before your reception begins. Our main dining room holds up to 80 guests for smaller events.

Our Executive Chef, Jay Hass, and our Event Coordinator Tricia Whybark will share their talents to insure a perfect event for your group. All event space is available to the public. Interested parties should contract Tricia at (815) 942-3440.

Our incredible golf course offers the perfect combination of challenge and length to be a fun test for your golf outing participants.

Outing coordinators love our full service outing packages that make for a worry free day which allows them to spend time with their clientele.

Contact John Keegan regarding any golf outing needs or bookings at (815) 942-3628.

Our full service golf shop includes everything you could ask for from a golf operation. From our award winning golf shop merchandise, including great apparel choice and the area’s largest selection of golf equipment, to full golf club repair, we’ve got you covered.

With prices lower than you’d pay a large discount store and service you’d expect from a small town local store, you can’t go wrong with our golf shop.

PGA Golf instruction is available from PGA Professional John Keegan, as well as putter, iron, wedge and driver fitting.

Technology used for the lessons and fitting include a launch monitor, Tomi Putting Unit, and video instruction as well as a full swing simulator in our indoor studio that is available year-round.

We are extremely excited about the 2013 season. Please contact us by phone (815) 9423440 or by email morriscountryclub@att.net for more information regarding membership, outings or banquets/events. n

Treat Yourself To The Rich Traditions Of

New Exciting Membership Opportunities Available for 2013.

Book Your Next Event at Public Banquet Facility.

Please call for more details!

GREAT GOLF

All Membership Classifications are Limited in Size.

Call John Keegan at (815) 942-3440 To Reserve Your Membership!

FABULOUS FOOD SUPERB SERVICE Our Average Round of Golf Takes Just Over 3 Hours!

2615 W. Route 6 • Morris • 815-942-3440

www.MorrisCountryClub.com • email: info@morriscountryclub.com Golf Guide • 2013 | 3

PRAIRIE LAKES

Country Club and Inn

Take a ride in the country and discover one of the nicest golf courses in the area. As soon as you drive through the gate you hear the birds chirping and see one of the many lakes on the property.

Prairie Lakes Country Club and Inn, at 2550 N. 32nd Road, Marseilles, has been providing dining, golf, and hotel services to the Marseilles community since the 1960s. They offer more than just a golf course setting by extending their services to include The Lakes Dining and Banquets and Bogies Bar and Grill. There is also a full service hotel to make your visit more of a destination.

This nine hole course features water and sand, and is set in a beautiful landscape. There is a pro shop offering all of your golf necessities. You can easily walk the nine holes, or use a cart.

There are also eighteen hole options offered.

Prairie Lakes is a semi-private course with memberships available. The pricing is great. Walk-ins are welcome, or tee times can be reserved. For a season of fun, check into joining one of the leagues. If you are planning a golf outing be sure to check with the Prairie Lakes staff for available dates and packages.

After golf, enjoy lunch at Bogies Bar and Grill, or stay for an excellent dinner prepared by the club’s own chef. They offer prime rib dinners every Friday and Saturday, as well as weeknight specials.

For a great getaway call them about their “STAY AND PLAY” packages. They include golf, food, and a night at the inn. The rooms at the inn are all newly renovated.

The friendly staff is always happy to answer questions. Their goal is to impress each visitor by offering excellent service. For more information, call 815-7955107, or visit their website, www. prairielakescc.com. n

GREEN FEES WEEKDAYS Walking Cart per Person

WEEKENDS/HOLIDAY 9-Holes 18-Holes Walking $15 $20 Cart per Person $10 $15

2550 N. 32nd Rd., Marseilles, IL 61341 Phone: (815) 795-5107 • www.prairielakescc.com

LEAGUES NOW FORMING! Mon. Men’s League Tues. Ladies’s League Wed. Mixed League Fri. AM Senior League LEAGUE FEES: 9 Holes $12 (includes cart)

9-Holes 18-Holes $12 $17 $8 $13

TWILIGHT THURSDAY 9 Holes w/cart Ribeye Dinner after 3:00 pm

$

25 STAY AND PLAY DOUBLE Includes a Double Room for Two People, for One Nights’ Stay with Unlimited Twilight Golf with Cart after Check-In, 18 holes of Golf with a Cart for The Following Day, and a $20 Food Voucher.

WEEKDAYS: $160 WEEKENDS: $195

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Heritage Bluffs For the last 20 years, Chicagoland area residents have had the chance to frequent Heritage Bluffs Golf Course in Channahon. Since it opened in August of 1993, Heritage Bluffs has ranked amongst the best golf courses in the area.

With its 20th anniversary approaching, the public golf course located on Bluff Road off of I-55 and two miles south of I-80, will be celebrating the occasion this summer. This in addition to those who will take to the course simply as a casual or serious round. The course is 166 rolling acres in which everyone can find a length to suit their game — which is in between 5,000 and 7,000 yards.

“My favorite part of Heritage Bluffs is both the people and the facility itself,” Heritage Bluffs Golf Course manager Brian Smith said. “We have a terrific staff. Our staff is courteous and helpful and do their best to forge relationships with our golfers to create a “club” atmosphere.

“Our patrons are also some of the best I have had the pleasure of serving. Our course is a challenging Dick Nugentlayout which tests every level of golfer. The elevation changes in our course are unique and frame outstanding golf holes.”

To commemorate the 20th anniversary, there will be a number of things going on this summer according to Smith.

On April 7, there will be a Spring Fling Scramble. That is a four-person scramble event which will accommodate up to 32 teams. The fee for that day is $55 per person, which includes a round of golf, a cart, range balls, a bowl of chili and a pitcher of selected frosty beverages for each team. That day there will also be a closest to the pin contest and a skins game will be optional. The event will begin with a shotgun start at 8:30 am.

“We are going to have a scramble event every month to commemorate 20 years. The formats will be published on our website calendar — www.heritagebluffs.com,” Smith said. “These events start with the “Spring Fling” four-person scramble, but we are also going to have some new programs this year, such as Thursday night clinics.

“Twice a month we will hold clinics on varying topics, which will also be able to be found on our website. We will be having a couple of Family Golf Evenings at the course designed to get families out to play golf together, this event will utilize the driving range and practice area with games and events as well as play on the course utilizing our US KIDS Golf tee markers.”

There will also be a new mobile application for smart phones rolled out for the anniversary season that golfers can download for free. This app is meant to enhance the golf experience at Heritage Bluffs and allow golfers a members-only feel to a public facility. Check out the website at in the coming months for the mobile application and a list of events and prizes.

Along with the award-winning course Heritage Bluffs also features a large all-grass practice range along with a large putting green and a separate chipping green and bunker. After your round you can elect to relax in the Grille Room or out on the patio, enjoying a full menu of delicious food and beverage choices. Or, shop in a fully-stocked pro shop for all your golf needs.

Heritage Bluffs is a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary and has received a 4-Star rating from Golf Digest magazine.

Find out why when you head out and tee it up.

For more information call 815-467-PUTT or visit www. heritagebluffs.com for more information on Heritage Bluffs Public Golf Club.

Come join us for the 2013 Spring Fling Scramble on Sunday April 7th, 2013. This is a 4 person scramble event which will be open to the first 32 teams that register.

Included in the $55 per person fee is golf, cart, range balls, bowl of chili, and a pitcher of frosty beverages per team.

There will also be 4 closest to the pin prizes and an optional skins game.

Play will be in eightsomes for this event. Shotgun start at 8:30am. There will be food and drink specials that day. Call the golf shop to reserve your foursome at (815) 467-7888.

Save the Date!

Heritage Bluffs Open Returning in 2013 on September 7th.

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS! Events & Prizes Monthly Celebrating Our Anniversary • 18 hole Championship Golf Course • 166 rolling acres • All grass practice range - large putting green and separate chipping green • Delicious Grille Room Restaurant – offering patio dining • Fully stocked Pro Shop • Thursday Night Clinics throughout the season twice a month • Family Golf Evenings throughout the season (See our website and calendar for more information)

24355 West Bluff Road (1/2 mile south of Rt. 6) Channahon, IL www.heritagebluffs.com •815-521-2499 Find us on Facebook Golf Guide • 2013 | 5

D

Dwight

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Country Club Dwight Country Club General Manager Joe Bloxam is living proof that you can go home again. And home to Bloxam is not just Dwight, Illinois, but perhaps every bit as much the Country Club itself.

“I grew up here and began golfing at the country club by the sixth grade,” Bloxam said. “I then ended up working here all the way through college.”

Bloxam is not the only local golfer who can claim to do such a thing. After all, the Dwight Country Club was founded in 1913, which makes it the oldest golf course in Livingston County.

Located 70 miles southwest of Chicago, the Dwight Country Club is set in a quite rural setting out in the middle of cornfields in central Illinois. It is an 18-hole semi-private golf course, though the general public is invited.

“It’s an old course in the middle of a lot of oak trees,” Bloxam said. “The greens are fast and it’s quite a challenge for the people of a small town like Dwight. We’re very fortunate to have a facility like this.”

Dwight Country Club has three sets of tees; blue at par-71 (6,306 yards), white at par-71 (6,056 yards) and red at par-72 (5,056 yards). There are water hazards on 12 of the 18 holes. There is also a driving range and a course beverage cart is available for groups large or small.

Also available for corporate or social events is a pro shop, golf clubs, golf bags, men’s and women’s apparel, shoes and accessories. If you are hungry, players can get anything from a quick snack to a quick lunch or a complete luncheon or dinner. The restaurant hours are daily for lunch and on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday between 5-8:30 p.m.

All that has been pretty much standard at the course for quite a while now. However, fairly new to the club is a new irrigation system that waters the fairways and was put in in 2004. The reason that Bloxam came back to Dwight after moving away? The new club house which was constructed in 2001.

“The new club house is why I came back,” he admitted. “I wouldn’t have come back before that happened. I thought it would be a challenge and it just worked out that way.”

After 15 years away, Bloxam returned to become the general manager and he has also spent the last four years as the Dwight High School varsity golf coach.

The Dwight Country Club will play host to several tournaments from March through November and the full slate of events can be found on the club’s website at www.dwightcountryclub.com.

Tournament entries can vary. Becoming a member with a family membership totals $1,396.67. That includes the membership itself, a DCC Certificate, which is a three-year commitment and price for a gas cart and storage shed.

For more information, you can also call (815) 584-1399. n

Athletic Outfitters

CLASSIC COMFORT

EXCEPTIONAL POLOS FROM THE WORLD’S #1 GOLF APPAREL BRAND

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Combining a legacy of innovative thinking with high-performance design, each style gives you a decided advantage for success on and off the course.

“We have designed the most luxurious apparel for the for the athlete who wants distinct looks with unique product trims and details with a modern fit,” said Doug Reed, Nike Golf Category Business Director. “The apparel is designed for the athlete who seeks craftmanship and tailoring, while demanding the very best performance.

Athletic Outfitters at 409 Liberty Street in Morris, offers a full line of golf apparel, as well as other Nike performance wear and footwear for men and women.

WE CARRY A LARGE SELECTION OF NIKE GOLF APPAREL, PERFORMANCE WEAR, AND FOOTWEAR BE BOLD

409 Liberty Street, Morris

••�Driving Range • Restaurant • Pro Shop

(815) 942-6696

Golf at Dwight Country Club

FORE LESS!

No new member or end of year assessments.

No food minimums.

Family Membership for 2012 DCC Certificate (3 year Commitment) Gas Cart Shed Storage Total for the Whole year

• Quiet Rural Wooded Setting • 18 Hole Semi-Private Golf Course (Public Invited) • Established in 1913 (Livingston County’s Oldest)

31577 N. 2400 E. Rd Dwight, Illinois 60420 (815) 584-9825

$905.00 $166.67 $325.00 $1396.67

HOURS: The RESTAURANT will be open for Lunch daily; for Dinner on Wednesday, Friday & Saturday nights from 5:00pm - 8:30pm

Golf Guide • 2013 | 7

local golf course

DIRECTORY

Nettle Creek Country Club 5355 N Saratoga Rd. Morris, IL 815-941-4300

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LaSalle County PRAIRIE Lakes Country Club 2550 N. 32nd Rd. Marseilles, IL 815-795-5107

Pine Hills Golf Club 1665 N 2501 Rd. Ottawa, IL 815-795-5107 The Bourne Golf Club 2539 N. 35th Rd. Marseilles, IL 815-496-2301 Dayton Ridge Golf 3076 E. 18th Rd. Ottawa, IL 815-434-0145

Kane County Bliss Creek Golf Course 1 Golfview Rd. Sugar Grove, IL 630-466-4177

Will County (continued)

Fox Bend Golf Course 3516 Route 34 Oswego, IL 630-554-3939

Inwood Golf Course 3200 W Jefferson Joliet, IL 815-741-7265

Whitetail Ridge Golf Course 7671 Clubhouse Dr. Yorkville, IL 630-882-8988

The Links at Carillon 21200 Carillon Dr. Plainfield, IL 815-886-2132

Kankakee County

Mistwood Golf Club: 1700 W. Renwick Rd. Romeoville, IL 815-254-3333

High Point Golf Club 309 High Point Dr. Essex, IL 815-365-GOLF

Livingston County

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Morris Country Club 2615 W Route 6, Morris, IL Office 815-942-3440 Golf Shop 815-942-3628

Kendall County

Dwight Country Club 31577 N. 2400 E Rd. Dwight IL 815-584-9825

Will County Cinder Ridge Golf Course 24801 Lakepoint Drive Wilmington, IL 815-476-4000

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Grundy County

Heritage Bluffs Public Golf Club 24355 W. Bluff Rd Channahon, IL 815-467-7888

Naperbrook Golf Course 22204 W. Hassert Blvd. Plainfield, IL 630-378-4215 Prairie Bluff Golf Course 19433 Renwick Rd. Crest Hill, IL 815-836-4653 Wedgewood Golf Course Rt. 59 and Caton Farm Rd. Joliet, IL 815-741-7270 Woodruff Golf Course Gouger Rd. and Rt. 30 Joliet, IL 815-741-7272