The Arboretum Club

By Jeff Reynolds,
TravelGolf.com Staff Writer

BUFFALO GROVE, Ill. - The name has changed and very little will stay the same when architects put the wraps on the complete overhaul of The Arboretum Club.

Formerly The Arboretum Golf Course, the Club is located in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, five miles west of Interstate 294.

When the marketing work had been completed and the name change finalized, the Dick Nugent-designed course - an 18-hole, 6,500-yard layout - was in line for sweeping changes. A facelift meant to simplify a course with water in play on 15 of 18 holes, mature trees and undulated, moguled fairways began in June and won't be entirely complete until Sept. 2002.

The course changes are to holes 1,3,4,6,8,9 and 16, all of which are gaining yardage or having new faces put on greens. The fourth and eighth will have new greens, as a common quandary on No. 4 is hitting - and holding - the green.

"The other thing on four is a lot of people bounce right and go directly into the water," Club Pro Jeff Tollefson said of the par-3 with a fairway slanted left to right, toward a lengthy water hazard. "We are going to re-grade that surface and make it more forgiving."

Adding length to the additional fairways will allow for a higher degree of error, meaning a mis-hit will now be in play instead of out of bounds or mired in a knee-high prairie grass which is commonplace at Arboretum.

Fourteen holes, to be exact, have a least one water hazard at Cinder Ridge. Along with the water, Cinder Ridge is dotted by many hidden wetlands and unforeseen lateral hazards. With this in mind, new players might want to consider playing a conservative round of golf during the first time around this track and enjoy the scenery.

The facilities will be top-notch, though they are nothing to scoff at these days. Already a full-service banquet area capable of housing and catering to upwards of 250 guests is expanding, and the clubhouse is the object of construction plans as well - hence the change from course to club.

"What we want to end up with is something that is ideal to host larger parties and corporate outings, things of that sort," Tollefson said. "I think that makes us more appealing and at the same time catches us up with modern facilities."

A warning to first-timers: Enjoy the first hole. A dry, par-4, the easiest such program on the course, is a dogleg left that plays 373 yards. The landing surface can be complicated, depending on flag position, but play the middle of the green for a safe putt to avoid entering one of three greenside bunkers.

Approach shots are simplified by the Arboretum Club's checkered flag system that becomes obsolete in 2002 with the arrival of the GPS system. The current system is color-coded to signify pin position. You'll find the pin in front if the flag is red, white means center and gold is back.

Now that you've scored a three or four on hole #1, I suggest a flotation device for you and your scorecard.

"Those first five, I think, are as tough as any in the area," Tollefson said. "There is a small chance to make a save if you have a shot take off."

The next three holes give a golfer an idea of what he or she has subscribed to: A full Nugent of golf beauty breaks down to a water-lined par 5, a par-4 with the greatest degree of difficulty on the course and a par-3 the course calls "one of the toughest par-3s in Illinois" with a good deal of justification.

The par-5 second is a risk-reward with water right and mid-fairway 275 yards out and OB looming to the left. If you are lucky enough to stay dry, which probably means you hit a 3-wood or less, you face another mental mash. With prevailing wind at your back, trying to reach the green in two is inviting. But again, the landing is well-guarded with deep traps right and front, and a residential swimming pool about 20 yards left of the green's backside.

The wise move here, and the one endorsed by Head Pro Carmen Molinaro is to lay up and pitch yourself onto the green to be ensured you'll be putting three or four and not five or six. Your stroke count is crucial considering the dance floor is another monster, tiered from front to back.

The degree of difficulty on the par-4, 400-yard third hole can be deceiving. The rolling fairway looks conquerable, but prevailing winds knock down all tee shots and leave the golfer conquered more often than not. Water is back in play right with deep rough lining the drink and OB lies to the immediate left. If you can get it, take your par and be happy.

No green is larger than the fifth, the dominating par-3. To get there, all you have to do is stay straight and long, and clear a couple of bunkers with a normally stiff wind taking your ball from right to left. Once you find the green, crowned heavily with potentially double- and triple-breaking putts, you may regret your presence.

Surviving the front nine was no easy task. The back nine is more open terrain; the water is seemingly less noticeable, at first, and thick rough steps to the fore are your biggest opponent.

"We like to say the back plays four or five strokes easier," Tollefson said.

No. 11 is the Arboretum's signature hole, a par-5, 514-yarder and one of the most brilliant aesthetically on the course. The dogleg to the left provides a white birdhouse as a guide toward the straightened portion of the fairway, about 220 yards from the elevated tee. Water winds back into play near the 300 marker, but getting moist shouldn't be a fear.

"I've always been driver, 3-wood and then pray for the best," Tollefson quipped.

With OB left and a wall of trees blocking second shots right, playing a driver or 3-wood-long iron combination to a short approach make par attainable.

Your best birdie chance since the No. 1 may be the 14th. A 113-yard, par-3, it is a straight nine iron over about 80 yards of water. You couldn't have guessed, but another large green is the biggest barricade between you and your first triangle on the scorecard.

The Arboretum Club
401 Half Day Road
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
Phone: (847)913-1112
www.arboretumgolf.com

Weekdays M-TH:
$38 walking
$54 w/cart

Weekends:
$50 walking
$76 w/cart

Yardage/Rating
Championship - 6,477/71.1 132
Standard - 6,113/69.5 128
Ladies - 5,039/68.7 118

Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management. The information in this story was accurate at the time of publication. All contact information, directions and prices should be confirmed directly with the golf course or resort before making reservations and/or travel plans.