(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A west suburban golf course has reopened as “new and improved” after being closed for more than a season.
Settler’s Hill Golf Course in Batavia was built in 1988 on a landfill. According to Monica Meyers, executive director of the Forest Preserve District of Kane County, it was badly in need of upgrades.
“You can imagine having a course on landfill. You get some interesting earth-shifting and settling,” she said.
The course was closed all last year and had a “soft” re-opening a couple of weeks ago after $7.5 million in improvements. They include a double-row, on-demand irrigation system and underground drainage that allows the course to quickly dry out.
There is also a new driving range, a new practice green and a learning center that includes a four-hole course for practicing iron shots.
Still to come, Meyers says, is a new clubhouse where the ninth and 18th holes will finish.
Meyers said the Forest Preserve District did “a lot of soul-searching” before deciding to renovate Settler’s Hill as a golf course. She says the district had considered converting it into a nature trail but realized there was enough usage by golfers as well as revenues every year to the district.
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