Town officials, course supporters christen new Glencoe Golf Club facilities
When Glencoe Village President Howard Roin stepped up to the microphone Friday to help celebrate the opening of Glencoe’s Golf Club’s new clubhouse, he remembered his first official event at what was then the club’s existing century-old building.
“We all were hoping that the ancient thing wasn’t going to fall on us before the event was over,” he joked, before going on to praise not only the new $15.7 million clubhouse behind him but also the cooperation between the Village, Cook County Forest Preserve, and entities like the Friends of the Glencoe Golf Club.
Friday’s official opening was celebrated by more than 100 people, who heard from village, county and golf club officials, as well as other major project backers, before getting the chance to walk through the new building.
The 126-acre golf club lies on both village and Cook County Forest Preserve land, Roin said and is neither just for golfers nor confined to Glencoe residents — many of whom don’t play golf, he said, but who understood that a new clubhouse would be a community asset — but is available to all Cook County residents.
Scott Britton, Cook County Board commissioner for the 14th district, echoed Roin’s assessment of the project as a long-term joint project in many ways although he admitted, referring to occasional glitches in talks between the county and the village, “There were a couple moments where I thought I was functioning as an unpaid mediator in this process.”
Friends of the Glencoe Golf Club came in for repeated thanks from speakers Friday; the group has raised more than $2.3 million toward a $3 million goal, said Friends board member Sara Pfaff, with all the money going to course and clubhouse enhancements. Pfaff helped present the Village with a check for $1 million from that ongoing effort.
Speakers also praised Glencoe resident Gillian Goodman and her late husband Ellis Martin Goodman for what Roin called “their outsized generosity” toward the project. A 50-person private event room in the clubhouse is named the Martin Rom in memory of Ellis Goodman.
Some of the enhancements Friends’ donations enabled include a regulation size croquet court, an event lawn and environmentally focused offerings, Nanos said. Those include a pollinator garden for birds, butterflies, and bees; a community garden; and a monarch butterfly sanctuary.
Enhancements also allowed for the planting of 32 new trees and ensuring that 75% of the new landscaping involves native plant species.
Ecological sustainability efforts extended to the building itself, Village Manager Philip Kiraly told listeners. It has a Silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building certification and has geothermal heating and cooling as well as bird-safe glass, he said.
The new building has space for sports simulators that go beyond golf, Kiraly said. Other highlights: room for 300 people across the building and outdoor spaces, a main dining room with seating for 100 and a bar area for 60; outside terrace seating for 75 people; and the new Westley restaurant, which is expected to open on Nov. 11.
Listeners saved their loudest applause for Stella Nanos, the golf club’s general manager, of whom Kiraly said, “Over nearly 20 years Stella has made this building something of a personal mission. She’s imagined it, advocated for it, worked through seemingly endless details and poured literally her heart and soul into making it everything it could be.”
Nanos in turn thanked village officials, Glencoe residents, and members of her staff, who she said “helped make this the absolute best public golf course on the North Shore.”
The original clubhouse was demolished in May 2025, following a 2023 referendum where voters approved the $18 million project. Of that money, a reported $15 million is coming from taxpayers.
Ceremony attendees gave the building top marks as they toured it.
Matt Siebert, a member of the village’s Golf Advisory Committee, said the new building and course enhancements will allow for year-round activities, even after the golf course closes for the winter.
Siebert recalled seeing the old clubhouse when he moved to Glencoe.
“It was in dire straits. You could never host an event like this there. This one’s gonna be a huge asset for Glencoe, not just for the golfers, but for the whole community,” he said.
Winnetka resident Susie Schreiber, who was able to vote in the referendum because of her home’s location on both sides of the Glencoe-Winnetka border, said she used to play golf at the club and looked forward to doing it again. Some of her relatives are excited about the croquet court, she said.
“This is way better than I expected. I thought you guys would do a good job, but this is beyond good,” Former Glencoe Trustee Ron Schmidt told Nanos. “Now it’s actually finished, I’m incredibly impressed.”
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Kathy Routliffe
Kathy Routliffe reported in Chicago's near and North Shore suburbs (including Wilmette) for more than 35 years, covering municipal and education beats. Her work, including feature writing, has won local and national awards. She is a native of Nova Scotia, Canada.
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