Whereas a lot of wealthy individuals have built golf clubs, very
few of them have actually designed the courses. But Jerry Rich, inspired by the
late architect Dick Wilson, bought 1,820 acres of farmland 50 miles west of
Chicago and with the guidance of course architect Greg Martin, built 18 of the
most demanding holes—playing over prairie and through wooded areas—in the
Midwest. (In the 2007 NCAA Men’s Regional, at a relatively benign 7,214 yards,
the scoring average was 78.44.)
Although the club is private—there are just 50 members—Rich has
opened the facility for the area’s youth. In addition to being a home course for
his alma mater, Northern Illinois University, Rich Harvest is the headquarters
of the Kids Golf Foundation of Illinois, which he co-founded. Since 1998 the
organization has helped bring the game to thousands of children in the state,
and in 2009 the foundation will help run the Solheim Cup, which will be played
on Rich’s creation.
