A '70s Venture: Still Thriving After All These Years
Elmhurst and Villa Park golfers benefit from a 26-year union

Partnerships are like marriages; good ones endure, progress, and develop. After a successful marriage of 26 years, the Elmhurst Park District and the Village of Villa Park have "cultivated" Sugar Creek Golf Course, which is still "growing" today. Both parent entities worked hard to acquire land, secure finding and learn the business of golf.

The mission of both organizations was to provide an added recreational component for residents. Both boards worked hard overcoming many obstacles to make the course a reality (e.g., coordinating purchases of property; working with the neighborhood and its concerns about a golf course being developed, and working out the details of how to run an operation jointly).

Ultimately, both partners endured the process and developed a successful course. Sugar Creek Golf Course has grown and benefited the people of Elmhurst, Villa Park and golf enthusiasts by providing a 2,245 yard nine-hole, par-31 golf course featuring well-landscaped grounds and excellent turf with some of the most difficult bentgrass greens golfers will play. The course features two water holes joining the popular seven acre pond.

This joint venture in the '70s was considered visionary because few partnerships existed at that time and funds were plentiful. In today's business world, resources are scarce and partnerships are common, utilizing combined resources and deleting duplicated services to produce a leaner, meaner product. Examples abound in sports, health care, and parks and recreation.

Another unique feature of this partnership is that the golf course is not located in Elmhurst. Basically, the Elmhurst Park District had the money, Villa Park had the land. All facets of the partnership, such as who handles accounting and marketing, are spelled out in a joint agreement. The course is governed by the Sugar Creek Governing Board, a seven-member board that rotates membership annually: one year seats are filled by four citizens from Villa Park and three from Elmhurst; the next year four citizens represent Elmhurst. When considering expenditures over $5,000, the Sugar Creek board must receive approval from both the Elmhurst Park District board and the Villa Park commission.

Says Don Chapman, Elmhurst's director of project development: "Basically it's a good opportunity for both groups, providing a very good service for the community; giving them golf at a reasonable rate. And we all want to work together to make it happen. Our board is very realistic and interested in golf."

Bottom line, the benefits of the partnership are numerous:
· Each entity was able to meet future goals of their communities and the growing needs/interests of the community. In this case, golf is one of the fastest growing sports in America;

· Sharing combined resources creating fiscally responsible organizations;

· Jointly acquiring land and leveraging existing funds; and

· Developing joint marketing campaigns to promote the facility locally and internationally

In conclusion, this partnership allowed a dream to become a reality with a growing future in a positive outcome for Elmhurst Park District and the Village of Villa Park. In 1972, the golf course had projected 25,000 rounds of golf targeted to the senior market. Today, the course caters to all ages of golfers, including men, women, children and families. The number of rounds of golf has increased to an average of 50,000 a year. The course has added a pro shop and a remodeled/expanded clubhouse. Leagues and lessons have increased and targeted new markets, especially the growing interest from children. A junior lesson program has been developed to cater to ages 9 to 16, and 160 juniors are enrolled in leagues: an increase of 100 percent over past years. Golf has also entered the computer age. The Elmhurst Park District created an interactive golf game on the district's Web site (www.epd.org), where golfers can enjoy the opportunity of playing golf at Sugar Creek Golf Course from their computer.

Sugar Creek Golf Course is therapeutic for the golfer who is driving himself crazy or the golfer who is crazy about the game of golf. See you on the fairway.

COLLEEN CALLAHAN
is the director of marketing and communication for the Elmhurst Park District. This article was written in cooperation with Don Chapman, Elmhurst's director of project development, and Bob Niemann, director of parks and recreation for the Village of Villa Park.