Chicago-born architect Rick Jacobson has opened Bowes Creek Country Club, his first golf course in his native city.

Bowes Creek, located in the northwest suburban of Elgin has been on the drawing board for more than a decade. Jacobson drew his first routing for the course in 1998.

“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,” Jacobson said. “It took a lot of patience and perseverance to see it through but it definitely was worth it.”

The golf course is the focal point of a real estate development by Toll Brothers. The city of Elgin will own and operate the course. Jacobsen describes Bowes Creek as a rustic, prairie-style design in which fescue eyebrows outline the edges of bunkers and act as an extension of the 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 can play up to 6,900 and as short as 5,000 yards from the forward tees. It features elevation changes of up to 50 feet, particularly from tee boxes on the back nine. The layout spreads out over flat floodplain areas, rolling farmland, steeper elevations, prairie, wetlands, a lake, and groups of mature hardwood trees. A creek runs throughout the property. 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.”