The Romeoville, Ill., golf facility closed early the last two years to allow Ray Hearn to complete the golf course renovation, which saw improvements to each of its 18 holes. The 5,000-sq. ft. Performance Center features a full-service bar, a combination of 11 climate-controlled stations, two indoor heated bays for year-round practice, and 32 outdoor stations, along with a custom club-fitting room, putting room, and a repair and club-building center.
Mistwood Golf Club, an 18-hole golf facility in Romeoville, Ill., has undergone a multi-million dollar renovation of the course and constructed a state-of-the-art Performance Center.
The long-time home of the prestigious Illinois Women’s Open golf tournament, Mistwood closed early the last two years, enabling Michigan-based golf course architect Ray Hearn, the course’s original designer, to complete his renovation work and make strategic improvements to the course.
The major improvements involved performing renovation work on each of Mistwood’s 18 holes in terms of shot value and strategy. The most noticeable was at the par-5 third hole where the green has been relocated to create space for a future clubhouse, and a double fairway added. The creek that used to be in front of the green is now behind it, and it has been expanded into a pond that guards the entire right side of the hole and three sides of the green.
In addition, Lannon stone walls were added along holes No. 3, 7, 8, 9 14, 15, and 16, providing stunning visuals for golfers to experience. Other improvements included repositioning tee boxes and bunkers, adding new high quality bunker sand, lengthening the course to 7,040 yards, and adding fescue grasses throughout the course. Mistwood’s renovation also included the addition of 20 stacked sod-wall bunkers.
“I couldn’t be happier with how everything has come together on this project and believe we now have one of the top and most unique golf experiences in the Chicago area,” said owner Jim McWethy. “The work that Ray did incorporating the sod bunkers and the improvements he made to each hole are spectacular.”
The 5,000-sq. ft. Performance Center is designed with Irish-themed stone architecture and warm dark wood interior. The interior offers a full-service bar along with eight flat-screen televisions, making it a great place to hang out and practice. Golfers will also be able to stop there between nines or after their round, since the facility is also serving as a halfway house.
The Mistwood Performance Center includes a combination of 11 climate controlled stations, two indoor heated bays for year round practice, and 32 outdoor stations, along with a custom club-fitting room, putting room, and a repair and club-building center.
High-tech teaching aids like TrackMan ball flight analysis, SAM Putt Lab and Quintic ball motion putting analysis, and a re-designed driving range round out the Performance Center’s amenities.
“A big part of this renovation was due to my love of the game,” McWethy said. “By expanding, we did run counter to the rest of the golf world, but I feel it was worth it in order to position Mistwood among the very best golf experiences in the country. If you have an exceptional product, market it well, and take great care of your customers—even in this market, you can be successful and we are doing that at Mistwood.”
Tell Us What You Think!
You must be logged in to post a comment.