DECATUR, Ill. – The new 18-hole golf course in Decatur, Illinois has been officially named, honoring a native bird often seen flying overhead or perched on a fencepost along State Route 51 South where the course is located. Red Tail Run Golf Club honors the red-tail hawk, a raptor, which is making a strong comeback in Illinois. A recent survey by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) shows that red-tailed hawks are thriving in the state, after a period of decline.
“It is not every day that you have the opportunity to name a new golf course,” said Chris Riley, president, Decatur Park District Board of Commissioners, owner and governing body for the new course. “We have watched the bird as it makes its “run” over the fields and woods of Decatur, and it seemed a natural name for our newest, and most magnificent, golf course.”
The Raymond Floyd signature course is designed in the prairie style, using native plants, flowers and grasses. The natural setting is reminiscent of Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in New York and provides similar vistas seen by early Illinois settlers.
Red Tail Run features five tee-boxes at each hole, designed to give players of all skill levels a challenging and fair game of golf. The course plays 5,100 yards from the front tees to 7,300 yards from the back tees. “Raymond's Turn,” holes 13 through 17, play through old established oaks in a traditional parkland setting.
“From the back two sets of tees that stretch of holes will challenge your golf skill,” said Harry Bowers, course designer for Signature Design Services and speaking on behalf of Raymond Floyd. “If you play even or one over through the "turn" you have something to brag about!”
Red Tail Run Golf Club is scheduled to open in the spring of 2006, making it only the fourth “signature” public course in Illinois. Decatur Park District currently owns and operates four additional golf courses; Hickory Point Golf Course, site of the Futures Golf Tour, the developmental tour of the LPGA, Scovill Golf Course, Nelson Golf Course and Faries Golf Course. Faries is due to close at the end of the 2005 golf season.
