Renovations Complete at Ivanhoe

Some clubs talk a good game when it comes to upgrading their golf courses for top-flight tournament consideration. The brain trust at The Ivanhoe Club put their money where their mouth is, authorizing a $4.5 million renovation carried out by Arthur Hills/Steve Forrest and Associates.

Toledo-based Hills/Forrest completed its major overhaul of Ivanhoe over a 60-month period, always keeping 18 holes in play for the membership. The new 27-holes opened in their entirety last year, but are enjoying their first full season of play in 2005.

Raymond Kondziela, Ivanhoe's general manager and chief operating officer, raves about the results and makes no effort to hide the club's ultimate ambitions. "The club has positioned itself to host a PGA Tour event," he says. "We hired Arthur Hills/Steve Forrest and Associates because we wanted the same architects who were called upon to tighten up Oakland Hills, Oakmont, Inverness, Congressional and Country Club of North Carolina, among others. Our members wanted a club that, with time, would rival Medinah, Shoreacres and Olympia Fields. I think we have achieved the first step."

"Now," adds Ivanhoe Club president Kevin Connelly, "we want to showcase these dramatic improvements to golf’s governing bodies for future tournament consideration."

Ivanhoe’s story is unusual if only for the exceedingly high standards of its membership. The original 27 holes, designed by Dick Nugent, were opened just 14 years ago, in 1991. The club had routinely been ranked among the top 25 courses in Illinois. Yet by 1998, the club resolved to take its course to the next level.

"One of the central issues addressed by our renovation work was the lack of variety inherent to the three nines at Ivanhoe," says Drew Rogers, the partner who directed the project for Hills/Forrest. "Many 27-hole clubs have an 18-hole course designed in one style, and a third nine, perhaps in a different style. The members felt that all three nines at Ivanhoe were too similar and needed their own stylistic identities. That was our mission and I think it’s safe to say we met that challenge in creating the Forest, Marsh and Prairie nines."

The new Forest nine is aptly named, as it meanders over wooded ground that features striking elevation changes. Indeed, the Forest includes the highest elevations in all of Lake County. The Marsh nine couldn't be more different, as it breaks out into more open, low-lying surroundings accented by colorful wetlands that, thanks to Hills/Forrest, figure in numerous risk-reward options. The Prairie is yet another departure, as it plays through a largely tree-less expanse amid fescue-strewn hillocks bared to elements.

In re-bunkering all 27 holes, repositioning tees and rethinking each green complex, Hills/Forrest complemented all three nines with an entirely new strategic formula – one more suited to the members and the prospect of championship tournament play. What's more, Hills/Forrest accomplished this while keeping 18 holes open for play at all times.

"Ivanhoe has many avid golfers and, while their goal was to bring Ivanhoe up to a playing standard on par with the famous courses of Chicago, it was also very important to keep 18 holes open for golf," Rogers says. "We agreed on a three-phase master plan approach laid out to the membership in 1998 that tackled each nine separately while keeping the other 18 intact."

With all 27 holes in play, Kondziela and his members can now turn their attention to courting big-time tournament organizers, something Kondziela has done before. Prior to joining Ivanhoe, he was instrumental behind the scenes in organizing several Philadelphia events, including the Bell Atlantic Senior Championship in 1991 and the Tylenol Classic from 1989-91. Kondziela was also a key facilitator in bringing the PGA Tour's SEI Pennsylvania Classic to his own club, Waynesborough CC, in 2000 – the Tour's first appearance in Philadelphia in more than 20 years.

Of course, championship events are commonplace at layouts designed by Arthur Hills/Steve Forrest & Associates (www.arthurhills.com). In total, 34 of Hills/Forrest designs have hosted a PGA Tour, Champions Tour, LPGA Tour, Nationwide Tour, USGA, PGA of America, NCAA Championship and European Tour events. Most recently, Oitavos Golfe Quinta da Marinha played host to the European PGA Tour's 2005 Open of Portugal. Gaillardia Golf & Country Club in Oklahoma City hosted the Champions Tour's season-ending Tour Championship in 2002, and Mirasol Golf & Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., recently played host to the PGA Tour's Honda Classic. As the host course, Bighorn Golf Club in Palm Desert, Calif., was instrumental in popularizing a pair of made-for-television events, The Skins Game and the Battle of Bighorn.

"I am very proud and pleased with the renovation efforts at Ivanhoe," says Arthur Hills, founder and principal of Hills/Forrest. "This is a strong club with strong leadership, and now they have 27 holes of strong, strategically sound golf. Ivanhoe is a fine example of how a once well-regarded club can be reborn and be considered one of the best."

Tom Hohenadel, chairman of Ivanhoe's Club Renovation and Grounds & Greens committees, echoes those sentiments and, characteristically, takes them a step further: "Our hats are off to Arthur Hills for a job well done. His bold and unique redesign of The Ivanhoe Club will create lasting memories for our members for years to come. Ivanhoe is now positioned to join the ranks of the top 100 courses in America."

Arthur Hills/Steve Forrest & Associates is one of golf's most prolific and respected course designers, with 180 courses to its name and projects under construction on four continents. Hills/Forrest was recently commissioned to design its first course in Bahrain, and the firm has projects under construction in Mexico, China and Sweden. The eagerly awaited Hills Golf Club will celebrate its grand opening in late, just north of Gothenberg, while Olde Stone, an exquisite new private club project, is nearing completion in western Kentucky.