Rich welcomes golf world to his exclusive course
Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove may draw more than 100,000 spectators to this week's Solheim Cup, but it has long been a stunning, yet exclusive course limited in membership to the select few.
Rich Harvest Farms boasts a membership list of about 50 people for the 18-hole course finished in 1997 by Jerry Rich, who cobbled together more than 1,800 acres of trees and rolling greens by buying up farms in the Sugar Grove area since the early 1980s.
"It is very exclusive," says Solheim Cup spokesman Barry Cronin. "The membership is not large."
One of the most well-known members of Rich Harvest Farms is Bulls legend Michael Jordan. Also on the shortlist is U.S. team captain Beth Daniel, an eight-time Solheim Cup team member.
The limited membership is in stark contrast to the attention Rich Harvest Farms is landing as host to the Solheim Cup, one of the largest events for the Ladies Professional Golf Association.
The competition attracts the best women golfers from Europe to go against the top U.S. players. The weeklong event also boasts teen challenges that feature the 12 best U.S. girls competing against their European counterparts.
Rich Harvest Farms staff say the international competition has attracted unprecedented attention to the far Western suburbs, filling up 8,000 hotel rooms in the region with golf enthusiasts.
Landing the Solheim Cup caps an ambitious run in the business for Rich, who made his fortune in stock exchange software programs.
"I think Jerry Rich and the entire community of Sugar Grove, Aurora, Naperville and the Western suburbs are elated that an international event with the profile of the Solheim Cup is in this area," Cronin said. "It is truly a worldwide event."
Rich began buying property in Sugar Grove in the 1980s to assemble a golf course, eventually owning more than 1,800 acres that is today consistently ranked among the top 100 courses in the world.
Rich modeled his ambition after the legendary Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, home of The Masters. He also modeled the short member list off the same course. Members must be invited into the club. They can't apply.
But there is also more to Rich Harvest Farms than challenging holes - with memorable names such as Devil's Elbow and Valley of Sin - and stunning scenery. The site draws the powerful for other uses, like when GOP presidential candidate John McCain stopped in last winter for a $1,000-per-ticket fundraiser supporting congressional candidate Jim Oberweis. The sprawling acreage even includes 20 miles of horse trails, a lake and beach and 10 cottages.
The Solheim Cup, which started on Monday, concludes three days of competition on Sunday.