Playing Through

Golf course team cuts red tape for successful project

By Chris Thompson
Editor at large

There were a lot of players at the tee waiting to take a whack at the Hawk's View Golf Course plans long before the developers had a chance to move their first cubic yard of soil.

It took 25 public hearings, many more planning conferences and seemingly endless negotiations with the state Department of Natural Resources before course owners Dan and Sue Daniels were able to open their doors for the first round of golfers.

"The permitting process was pretty intense," said Bill Henry, owner of William R. Henry Associates, the Elkhorn firm that signed on to write government applications for the project. "We talked with our local assemblyman and an aide to Gov. Tommy Thompson so we could get a commitment from the DNR folks. It got to be trying at times, but we ultimately got through the process."

That process actually started about five years ago when Dave Hills first got the idea for a golf course in Lake Geneva. Hills said he put together a business plan to buy a plot of land, but his plan fell short.

"Dan Daniels bought the land, and we got together and looked at the golf possibilities," said Hills, who is now the Hawks View Golf Course general manager. "We toyed with the idea of 36 holes instead of 18, but because of the wetlands and elevation changes, we had a hard time with 36. So, we came up with 18 regular and 18 par-3 holes, and we took it from there."

Developing plans

In the spring of 1997, the Daniels bought a 165-acre plot that once was home to the Long Horn Ranch bar and restaurant. They complemented that with six other land purchases, totaling 149 acres, to come up with what would eventually become Hawk's View.

The next year, the Daniels hired Craig Schreiner Golf Course Architects Inc., Kansas City, Mo., and the project took off.

"One of the big reasons we went with Craig was we had a very nice natural setting -- and granted we used 314 acres -- but we only moved 600,000 cubic yards of dirt," Hills said. "That's unheard of in the golf world. To move only 600,000 cubic yards for 36 holes, especially in Wisconsin with its kettle moraines, was very minimal."

With plans in hand, the Daniels turned to Henry, who guided the owners through the permitting process. The original 165-acre parcel is located in Geneva, the extra 149 acres are in Lyons, both townships defer to Walworth County for zoning and conditional land-use issues and the entire property is close enough to Lake Geneva to be subject to the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction.

"The majority of the 149 extra acres was zoned A-1, which is the all-sacred agricultural land, and one thing the towns wanted was a restriction on the number of housing units," Henry said. "So the extra acres were zoned as a park district, which meant no residential development. We tried to be good stewards of the land and come up with a project that everyone was proud of."

And throughout the entire process, the DNR was waiting in the wings.

"The state DNR was a big hurdle," Henry said. "We went through virtually the same permitting process at the county level as we did with the DNR. I think the size of the property and the fact that virtually the entire property was being used as part of the project was unique."

Wetland requirements

The DNR's role in the project extended beyond the town's interest because the site included wetlands. Protecting those wetlands meant even more work for the developers, Hills said.

In order to gain DNR approval, the design team developed an extensive underground storm-water drainage system that caught not only surface water but water that drained onto the site from the surrounding land. Nearly a third of the project cost went toward that system.

"The fairways, bunkers, green surfaces and subsurfaces are all geared to drain, and everything drains to a basin," Hills said. "We had 3 inches of rain last August, and we had 3 feet of water in some inlets, but 15 minutes later, people were on the golf course. I've never seen a puddle on any green."

Hills said that despite jumping through countless hoops for local and state approval, the project was worth it. Since its completion last year, the course has been named one of the top 25 to play in the nation by Golf Magazine and a "must play" by Chicagoland Golf.

"With the exception of a lot of bureaucracy, it was a great experience," Hills said. "It was on budget, we had a very good builder and a good relationship with the architect. Was it a lot of work? Sure, but the finished product speaks for itself, and we're getting a lot of national attention."

Henry said he was glad to be a part of the project for several reasons.

"I'm an avid golfer, and to get involved with the golf course architects and see it from when they lay the first silt fence to opening day was quite an experience," he said. "My role evolved into an overseer of all the other players. It was kind of an unusual situation for an architect to be in, reviewing pay requests for the entire golf course."

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