Golfer’s Guide Chicagoland Golf Courses Stories

After getting wind of Poplar Creek Country Club becoming The Bridges of Poplar Creek Country Club, I had to check it out. I’m very glad I did. Bridges of Poplar Creek is testament to modern day magic, the reinvention of an already stout, 35-year-old golf course and clubhouse thanks to a multi-million dollar enhancement project. Floods that occasionally plagued fairways after heavy rains will no longer occur.

The addition of “Bridges” to the club moniker is fitting. Installation of eight wood bridges of a notable 1,000-plus linear feet give “pop” to golfers’ aesthetics-laden journey and a golf history lesson along the way.

Private club life has always been an appealing prospect to avid golfers. The sheer number of golf facilities in America has made the country club lifestyle available to the masses, not just the executives of Fortune 500 companies.

Suddenly everyone could dream of immaculately manicured edges, doorto-door service and friendly clubhouse confines. But recent trends and a changing family dynamic have made belonging to a country club more problematic.

For many, a weak economy has halted thoughts of exclusive membership at private clubs, but alternatives able to deliver the same atmosphere and quality without the commitment exist. Klein Creek Golf Club is one of those alternatives, and as a member of the Royal Country Clubs (The Royal Fox, The Royal Hawk), the semiprivate club in Winfield is well versed in delivering an upscale golf product.

To say that Chicago doesn’t have a rich history in the game of golf is like proclaiming that the beloved Cubs have been   baseball’s fortunate sons over the past decade. When it comes to the game invented over the sandy dunes of St. Andrews, there isn’t a spot in America with a more storied past than the Windy City.

It’s an honor and a privilege to be in the golf business in and around the Chicago metropolitan area, and that fact isn’t lost on Dan DeCrow, general manager of Whitetail Ridge Golf Club.

Before going into detail about the routing of the course he oversees or rattling off the measurements of the clubhouse, DeCrow emphasized customer service as the top priority at Whitetail Ridge.