On April 29 staff members of the Vernon Hills golf course, along with village officials, and representatives from KemperSports Management proudly announced the grand opening of the new practice putting green and short game training area.
Designed by renowned golf course architect Todd Quitno to replace the smaller oval putting green (approx. 550-sq.-ft.), construction of the new 16,100-sq.-ft. putting green began during the week of June 17, 2024. With multiple chipping areas to the enlarged practice green, this new short game facility, which stretches to a lengthy 65 yards, is located adjacent to the clubhouse and the course’s number one tee.
Under the guidance of golf course superintendent & KemperSports Midwest Regional Agronomist, Dave Groelle, the project was completed within 11 months while encountering the sometimes unusual twists and turns of Midwest weather. The new putting green is comprised of 007XL bentgrass which has been designated as a class of “Super Bents”. This variety will produce a turf showing greater disease resistance and lower fungicide use; it has finer leaves and a denser turf that is more tolerant to close mowing.
As this project commenced, former Vernon Hills Village President Roger Byrne initially stated “Vernon Hills Golf Course has been committed to player development for the last 40+ years. The creation of this short game facility shows our continued commitment to enhance the player development opportunities at the course.”
And thus the theme of ‘building the game of golf’ was echoed by all the speakers at this 2025 introductory celebration. B.R. Koehnemann, Director of Corporate Communications for KemperSports, introduced KemperSports Vice President Vince Juarez who stated “Industry trends continue to shift towards alternative forms of golf, including par-3 courses, putting courses and short game facilities. This addition to Vernon Hills adds to that trend.”
Recently elected Village of Vernon Hills president, Thom Koch, Jr., emphasized that “building a 16,000 square foot practice green at our Vernon Hills golf course is the best way that we can help to build the game of golf.”
The April 29 gathering included a ceremonial ribbon cutting and first putt(s) for the new putting green, and the unveiling of the sign. There are 9 holes cut into the new putting green which have flags numbered 10 through 18, thus producing the name “The Back 9 at the Muni Vernon Hills Golf Course”. Village President Koch expressed thanks to the un-named golfing patron whose suggestion led to moniker.
There is no charge to use the practice green and scorecards are available to record your score for the nine hole routing on the putting green.
About Vernon Hills Golf Course: Back in 1957 developers Barney Loeb and Quinn Hogan bought 120 acres south of Route 45 and east of Butterfield Road near the small town of Indian Creek for $60,000. They soon began selling pre-fab homes, built a motel, a restaurant, and an 18-hole golf course called Tally Ho Country Club.
Tally Ho CC existed for about twenty years, but ultimately closed with part of the land partitioned and sold as homesites while the remaining land and old Tally Ho CC clubhouse was donated to the established and incorporated Village of Vernon Hills.
Now owned by the village, this remaining land was transformed into the 9-hole Vernon Hills Golf Course. Architect Dick Nugent, with help from Ken Killian, designed Vernon Hills GC and the new course opened to the public in August, 1979. The Vernon Hills GC is now managed by KemperSports; the golf course features narrow bluegrass fairways and small bentgrass greens. The terrain at VHGC is rolling with a creek that meanders into play on seven holes.
The modern full-service clubhouse that opened in the spring of 1996, offers a varied lunch menu served all day and a full-service bar; the 16,100 square foot practice putting green and swing cage adjacent to the #1 tee allow golfers the opportunity for warm-up before their round.
Vernon Hills Golf Course – 7th Hole
The most notable feature of The Muni at Vernon Hills GC is the elevated tee on hole #7. Official surveying records in Lake County, Illinois, show that the altitude of VHGC’s #7 green is 682 feet above sea level and the #7 tee is 727 feet above sea level, producing a drop of exactly 45 feet from tee to green, with a pond spanning nearly the entire distance from tee to green complex. A spectacular, if not scary, view. FYI: the pond is 15 feet deep.
Vernon Hills Golf Course has been ranked as one of the Top Ten Best nine hole courses in the Chicagoland area. (Number #6 in the Chicago Golf Report rankings.)
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