Jim Gaugert, longtime head professional and general manager at the historic former Hillmoor golf course, will play a lead role in plans to renovate the landmark course as part of the new Wight Canyon Residential Golf Community, Wight Realty has announced.
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Gaugert, 45, will be responsible for overseeing the operations of Wight Canyon’s golf division, said Mike Assad, executive vice-president of the Wight Group, based in Schaumburg, Ill. The 6,373-yard, 18-hole course will remain open through the summer before closing this fall for renovations.
Gaugert’s first tasks will be assisting with design of the new clubhouse and development of the golf course layout at the soon-to-be-transformed course, Lake Geneva’s first course and a local hallmark for more than 80 years.
The popular 91-acre golf course will be redesigned following a philosophy that works with and highlights the property’s natural attributes – the rolling terrain, woods, wetlands and the White River -- to produce a more player-friendly course that challenges the skilled player, and can be played in less than four hours. The end result will be the creation of one of the Midwest's most beautiful and memorable golf experiences.
“I’m truly excited: we are going to build an awesome project,” says Gaugert, who began working as a golf pro at the course in 1989.
With Lake Geneva growing in popularity as a vacation and second-home destination as well as a year-round location, Gaugert aims to ensure the redesigned course appeals to both out-of-town visitors as well as local residents who have embraced the course over the years.
“We want to cater to both the tourists that come to town and visit, while still remaining the number one place for people who live here to play golf and have a burger and a soda,” Gaugert says.
Gaugert also will be responsible for training new personnel, overseeing landscape design and helping to merge the golf operations into the operations of the resort facility also planned for the site, Assad said.
Upon completion, Wight Canyon will offer a total of 275 residences. In addition to the golf course, new homes and clubhouse, plans for a resort hotel and banquet facilities are in the works.
Wight Canyon will fill the void for ownership prospects in Lake Geneva with resort-style living ideally situated near downtown Chicago and Rockford in Illinois, as well as Madison and Milwaukee in Wisconsin. O’Hare International Airport is just 90 minutes from Wight Canyon.
Wight Realty Group, Inc. is a real estate development management and brokerage firm specializing in land development, commercial, entertainment and hotel properties. The Wight Group has provided architecture, engineering, and construction services worldwide for over sixty-five years.
For more information about Wight Canyon, interested parties may visit www.WightCanyon.com.