Sportsman's rebranded as Heritage Oaks Golf Club
The Northbrook Park District announced that in tandem with the renovation and construction project at the 90-year-old Sportsman's Country Club, its 27-hole golf facility has been rebranded as Heritage Oaks Golf Club.
The change by the district's Golf Committee, approved by the Northbrook Park District board, culminated a four-month process that began with interviews and community focus groups, plus analysis by Chicago's a5 brand and digital consulting firm.
"A number of names were developed by our consultant and then discussed, reviewed, ranked and voted on by our project team," Northbrook Park District marketing and communications director Joan Scovic wrote in an email to the Daily Herald.
"With the large number of oak trees under the district's stewardship and the rich heritage of this 90-year-old course, Heritage Oaks Golf Club is a name that is truly indicative of what this facility will offer to the Northbrook Community."
Names for amenities at the property at 3535 Dundee Road in Northbrook were reaffirmed or also developed.
They include the Classic 18 course, the Legacy 9 course, the Acorn Grill & Terrace, the Practice Range at Heritage Oaks, the Northbrook Golf Academy and Sporty's Halfway House.
The Heritage Oaks Golf Club logo is a clean, crisp design featuring a sharply lined acorn, with a golf tee stem, on an off-white field. It's encircled by a black ring that includes the name and its year of founding, 1931, in the off-white color.
"The striking visual of a single acorn in the logo represents the sustainability of 100-year-old oak trees, signifying not only new traditions but embracing a sense of knowledge rooted in this long-standing place being passed on to future generations," Scovic stated in the release.
As part of the Northbrook Park District's "2018-22: New Places to Play" initiative, $12.5 million was allocated to improve the Edward Dearie-designed golf course and amenities.
Closed since September 2019, renovations were executed on both the Classic 18 and Legacy 9 (formerly East 9) courses, plus the practice range. While both courses were closed throughout 2020, by Oct. 31 there were more than 22,000 rounds played on the par-3 Anetsberger Golf Course, nearly double its prior record of 12,500 rounds.
The projected opening for the courses is late summer. That enables spring and early summer growing seasons for the new, disease-resistant grasses on the rebuilt Classic 18 greens, the Legacy 9 greens, new forward tees, fairways and practice range. The final opening date will depend on the weather early this year.
In addition to the rehabbed courses and practice range, the former 6,000-square-foot Sportsman's clubhouse makes way for a 10,000-square clubhouse, well under construction.
To be available year-round, it'll encompass a pro shop, offices, a golf room with Full Swing Pro Series golf simulators, plus the elevated, full-service Acorn Grill & Terrace and space for private parties and events.