Heritage Oaks Golf Club, formerly Sportsman’s Country Club, is closed for renovations. The courses and clubhouse are scheduled to open in late summer 2021. Watch this page and visit heritageoaksgc.com for more information – coming soon!

Click here for project details and status updates.

This Northbrook Park District property, with its tree-lined 27 holes of golf, practice range equipped with TrackMan Range technology, golf academy and indoor golf simulators, offers something for everyone. With the elevated Acorn Grill + Terrace overlooking the Audubon-certified courses, Heritage Oaks Golf Club welcomes you―for golf, for a meal, for a timeless experience. A destination for North Shore golfers since 1931, Sportsman’s Country Club will reopen as Heritage Oaks Golf Club in late summer 2021.

The newly renovated Heritage Oaks Golf Club includes:

  • Classic 18 & Legacy 9 Golf Courses
  • Renovated Outdoor Practice Range
  • Northbrook Golf Academy
  • New Clubhouse
  • Indoor Golf Simulator Room
  • Acorn Grill + Terrace
  • Golf Shop

The course is currently undergoing a major renovation. Course and range improvements are directed by Libertyville-based Jacobson Golf Course Design Inc. The District has hired RATIO Architects of Chicago to design the clubhouse, with Gewalt Hamilton Associates Inc. of Vernon Hills overseeing the civil engineering services for the project.

Heritage Oaks Golf Club is an available location for our Tree and Bench Donation Program. A tree donation includes the installation of a 2‐3 inch‐diameter tree and an engraved brass leaf, mounted on a donation wall at the Northbrook Leisure Center. Bench donations either replace an aging bench or add a bench to open space, and a bronze donor recognition plaque is attached to the bench. For more information, you can check out the Tree and Bench Donation Program page.
Tree and Bench Donation Program page.

History

For most of its history, since 1931, Sportsman’s was privately owned but open to the public. In the late 1970s, Eugene Corley Builders purchased the property, planning to construct a 215-acre development with houses, condominiums, tennis courts, office buildings and a golf course. Although the builder promised that the course would remain open to the public, local golfers formed two grassroots organizations that ultimately forced the issue onto a Village referendum.

Determined to return the land to the community and control the density of development, Northbrook residents overwhelmingly approved a $9 million bond authorizing the Northbrook Park District to buy Sportsman’s Country Club in 1978. Nine years later, another petition drive led to a second referendum, and the community approved $7.2 million in taxes to purchase the East 9 Course from the School Board. Today, the Park District owns and operates the entire facility and grounds.

The Classic 18 underwent a major bunker renovation in 2005 to update the design and quality. Award-winning firm Jacobson Golf Course Design designed the course improvements, recapturing the original design and feel, and providing a more enjoyable game of strategy and skill.

The Northbrook Park District Board of Commissioners approved the Comprehensive Master Plan: Moving Forward 2026, in February 2017, which provides direction for the District for the next ten years. This plan outlined key operational and capital initiatives determined by Northbrook residents as their priorities for investment and golf course improvements were determined a top priority. After careful review of community feedback and available financial resources, priority capital projects were identified. These initiatives, 2018–2022: New Places to Play, started in 2018 and included major renovations at the golf courses and the construction of a new clubhouse.

Click here for information on the New Places to Play projects.