Oak Meadows gets new name following course redesign

A view of the fifteenth green and sixteenth fairway at the new course
The water quality of Salt Creek, seen here running along the side of the sixteenth fairway, has been improved

By Sean Dudley

Fri 24 Feb, 2017

When the Oak Meadows golf course in Addison, Illinois, reopens later this year following Greg Martin’s redesign, it will do so with a new name.

The Preserve at Oak Meadows will be the new moniker for the course, following the transformation of what was previously a 27-hole facility into a brand new 18-hole layout.

The new 7,100-yard course has been built on the site of the 18-hole Oak Meadows course and the adjacent nine-hole East Course at Maple Meadows Golf Club. Martin discussed his plans for the layout with GCA back in November 2016.

The course was formally renamed in a ceremony this week by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, who have pumped more than US$16million into transforming the site.

Once work is complete, only 15 per cent of the 288-acre site will be taken up by fairways, greens and teeing areas. Other areas of the site have been altered to help accommodate hikers, joggers and cyclists.

“Area residents have enjoyed golf at this location for nearly a century, but some may not have realised the many other benefits this property could provide,” said Marsha Murphy, Forest Preserve District 1 commissioner. “Our work to renovate the course exposes the true beauty of the landscape and its functions. The new name is a fitting tribute to our agency’s greater conservation purpose.”

The Oak Meadows course used to suffer from frequent flooding. However, the redesign and renovation of the course has coincided with environmental restoration work to help improve storm water management.

Work has also been done to help enhance the water quality in Salt Creek, which runs through the course.

“The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County is excited to give this incredible property a new name that more accurately reflects what it has become: a revitalised preserve – a place where conservation and recreation thrive together,” said Joe Cantore, president of Forest Preserve District of DuPage County. “We believe The Preserve at Oak Meadows is a model for how conservation agencies can blend ecological initiatives with golf and recreation.”