Rich Harvest Farms is a private, 18-hole, 1,800-acre (7.3 km2) golf course and country club near Sugar Grove, Illinois with 49 members built in 1989 and expanded in 1999. Owned by Jerry Rich, a self-made millionaire from inventing a method to incorporate five separate stock exchange software programs into one and graduate of Northern Illinois University. Rich Harvest Farms hosted the 2007 NCAA Central Regional Men's Golf Championships and was the 2009 site of the Solheim Cup USA v. Europe matches. In 1999, it was named the fifth-best new private course in the U.S. by Golf Digest. In 2003, the course made its debut on that magazine’s list of Top 100 American Golf Courses. It is currently ranked number 45. After the success of the Solheim Cup, the LPGA is looking at Rich Harvest Farms to potentially host a future tournament.
In addition to a golf course and several private residences, the 2,200-acre (8.9 km2) rural site houses several antique stage coaches and a collection of vintage and modern vehicles, including Al Unser's 1992 Indy car, and cars from many movies. A portion of Rich's massive automobile collection occupies the first floor of a building with a 50,000 sq ft (4,600 m2). footprint.
The golf course is an extreme test of a golfer's skill. Measuring well over 7,700 yards (7,000 m) from the professional tees, the course requires precision with every shot. The famous fourth hole, Devil's Elbow, has one of the most intimidating tree-lined tee boxes and fairways of any golf course.
The site has a unique history. Rich, with golf course architect, Greg Martin, designed the present 18-hole course as an expansion from his original "18-hole" course, which began with only six greens -- each approached from three different angles from three different tees and fairways.
The course will be used for the 2012 Ryder Cup Captain's Challenge, which could be due to the Ryder Cup being held at Medinah Country Club in Medinah, IL.
Read more about Rich Harvest Farms: Gallery, External Links
Famous quotes containing the words rich, harvest and/or farms:
“The massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band
Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer’s hand.”
—Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)
“They may bring their fattest cattle and richest fruits to the fair, but they are all eclipsed by the show of men. These are stirring autumn days, when men sweep by in crowds, amid the rustle of leaves like migrating finches; this is the true harvest of the year, when the air is but the breath of men, and the rustling of leaves is as the trampling of the crowd.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“We noticed several other sandy tracts in our voyage; and the course of the Merrimack can be traced from the nearest mountain by its yellow sand-banks, though the river itself is for the most part invisible. Lawsuits, as we hear, have in some cases grown out of these causes. Railroads have been made through certain irritable districts, breaking their sod, and so have set the sand to blowing, till it has converted fertile farms into deserts, and the company has had to pay the damages.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)