6 minute read
A NEW LEASE ON LIFE Timber Creek is still staying the course after 105 years, thanks to a local couple who helped it out of the rough
from SVM_Golf Guide_2020
by Shaw Media
MICHAEL KRABBENHOEFT/MKRABBENHOEFT@SAUKVALLEY.COM
lease new on life A
Timber Creek is still staying the course after 105 years, thanks to a local couple who helped it out of the rough
BY CODY CUTTER | Sauk Valley Media ccutter@saukvalley.com
Editor’s note: As of this magazine’s publication, golf courses in Illinois were closed until May 1 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Information may change based on the reopening of courses. Contact your local golf course or check their websites/Facebook pages for the most up-to-date information.
DIXON – It’s been more than a year since Timber Creek reopened its blue grass fairways and bent grass greens, and the couple running it are looking forward to keeping a tee-time tradition alive that started more than a century ago.
Brenda and Rick Humphrey, owners of Humphrey Show Cattle in rural Dixon, are leasing the 18-hole, par 71 course from father-and-son Ron and Brett Keith, with an option to buy.
ALEX T. PASCHAL/APASCHAL@SAUKVALLEY.COM
When the greens turn to white, it’s time to swap the golf cart for a sled. Earlier this year, Timber Creek opened its slopes to sledders who enjoyed the snow day.
Along with the 105-year-old course, its 136-acre footprint features a banquet center, Bogey’s Bar and Grill, and an outdoor swimming pool and tennis courts, which also can be converted into pickleball use.
The Humphreys have kept the restaurant active during the offseason, and opened the course in January to a community sled party. The course’s hills and valleys made it an ideal spot for dashing through the snow.
Once the snow said goodbye, the Humphreys were looking forward to saying hello to customers. However, just as the greens were maturing, the COVID-19 pandemic put a hold on the start of the season – until at least May. That’s when it will be OK for golfers to head back out on the course, provided they follow state guidelines. The state has laid down TIMBER CREEK cont’d from page 4
a dozen new ground rules for the links during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Among them: Twosomes only, golfers must hoof it on the course – no carts, tee times must be spread out 15 minutes apart with bookings online or by telephone, players can’t touch the flag stick, cups will be modified for easier ball retrieval, courses can’t offer food service, and clubhouses will remain closed.
In addition, no practice ranges and chipping or putting greens will be allowed, in order to limit large gatherings of people, and players who want to use a pull cart must bring their own.
“With almost a full year under our belt getting the course back into condition, we hope you will come out and enjoy the beautiful historic setting here,” management said in a Feb. 27 Facebook post.
TIMBER CREEK cont’d on page 8
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Monday-Friday 7AM - 8AM $25 After 1pm $20 After 4pm: $18 LAKE CARROLL GOLF COURSE
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That “beautiful setting” took no small amount of hard work. The Humphreys faced the daunting task getting the course back in shape, lopping down weeds and mowing grass – but they had some help from fans of the fairways who wanted to see the local links returned to their former golfing glory.
After the Humphreys took over, on days when the weather wasn’t too awful in the spring course members volunteered their services – cutting down trees, picking up sticks, and scouring the landscape with an armada of mowers.
“It was unbelievable, how tall that grass was,” Rick Curia, a member of the volunteer mowing crew, said in 2019.
All that blood, sweat and shears paid off. “To see how the course is today, it’s truly a miracle,” Curia said.
The course was open last year from 6:30 a.m. to dusk. Mens leagues ran Thursdays and women’s leagues on Wednesdays from August to October.
The Keiths bought the course in 2007 and changed it from private to semi-private. Before that, the course had operated in the red in recent years. Ron worked 80-hour weeks trying to keep it afloat, but ultimately the family decided to sell. No buyer had come forward by a Feb. 3, 2018, deadline, and the course closed. Not long after that, the Humphreys stepped in and sealed a deal with the Keiths to keep Timber Creek open. After a few months of getting the course ready for play, it reopened last year on
July 12.
Memberships include a golf cart, use of the unlimited driving range, club storage, locker and locker room use, unlimited golf rounds, and participation in the Lincoln Highway Tournament qualifier competition.
Single, couple, family and junior membership deals are available, as well as limited membership deals. A round of 18 holes is $30, or $20 for nine. TIMBER CREEK cont’d from page 5
Did you know ... ? • Timber Creek’s original name was
Dixon Country Club? • The oldest women’s golf tournament in the nation, the Women’s Lincoln Highway Tournament, began in 1923 at Dixon Country Club? • Future President Ronald Reagan caddied at Dixon Country Club while he lived in Dixon? • Charles Walgreen, founder of the Walgreens drugstore chain, was a club member? • Ralph Stonehouse, who hit the first tee shot at the first Master’s, once was the club’s head pro? • Jack Nicklaus played a 9-hole exhibition at the course in 1965? More info Timber Creek Golf Course and Bogey’s Bar and Grill 729 Timber Creek Road,
Dixon 18 holes, par 71 Facebook: Timber Creek Golf & Bogey’s Dixon Call the pro shop at 815- 288-GOLF (4653) or email timbercreekgolf- dixon@gmail.com for hours, pricing and details.
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