The Highlands of Elgin

What The Highlands of Elgin does

The Highlands of Elgin is an 18-hole municipal golf course operated by the City of Elgin, Illinois, located at 875 Sports Way in Elgin. The course combines nine original holes flowing over rolling terrain with nine holes reclaimed from an old stone quarry, featuring a twelve-acre quarry lake and four elevated bluff holes 30-40 feet above the water. The prairie-style clubhouse houses a golf shop, locker rooms, event rooms, and the Grumpy Goat Tavern, a full-service restaurant and bar. The facility includes a lighted practice area with bent grass tees, 20 hitting stations, a short game area, and a 9,000 sq. ft. putting green, plus an indoor Full Swing Pro 2.0 Widescreen Golf Simulator with ION3 Camera technology offering access to over 60 famous courses.

The business generates revenue across eight streams: daily green fees (walking and cart, with resident and standard tiers), annual season passes (Premiere at $3,140, Basic at $2,625, plus limited and weekday-only tiers), practice range buckets ($7-$16), golf simulator rentals ($45-$75/hour, weekday/weekend tiered), private and group lessons plus ladies and junior clinics, golf cart rental, corporate/group outings (minimum 16 players), and tournament entry fees. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via online tee-time booking through booking.proshopteetimes.com, walk-in pro shop sales, and direct sales for group events. Customer segments include individual recreational golfers (primary), corporate outing groups, and golf students served by PGA-certified instructors led by Jim Vogt, Head Golf Professional since 1996 and Assistant Director of Golf for the City of Elgin. The facility hosts the 110th Annual Elgin Open jointly with Bowes Creek Country Club and operates under Illinois state regulations including an 8.5% sales tax on cart and club rentals effective January 1, 2025.

Name

The Highlands of Elgin

Legal name

The Highlands of Elgin

Website

https://highlandsofelgin.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Highlands of Elgin is a municipal 18-hole golf course in Elgin, Illinois, operated by the City of Elgin, featuring unique quarry holes, a practice facility, a Full Swing Pro 2.0 simulator, PGA instruction, and on-site dining at Grumpy Goat Tavern serving regional individual golfers and group outing clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Golf Course Operations

NAICS

Golf Courses and Country Clubs (713910)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Golf Courses & Golf Facilities (MPAKAEAD)

Keywords

• Public golf course
• Golf simulator rental
• Golf instruction
• Tournament hosting
• Municipal golf facility

Headquarters

HQ city

Elgin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Daily Green Fees: Walking and cart fees for 9 and 18 hole rounds, with resident and standard pricing tiers. Weekday and weekend/holiday rates apply.
2. Season Passes: Annual unlimited golf memberships including Highlands Premiere (with cart), Highlands Basic (golf only), and various limited passes for seniors, juniors, and weekday-only options.
3. Practice Range: Range balls sold in large, medium, and small buckets. Frequent hitter awards program available.
4. Golf Simulator: Hourly rental of Full Swing Pro 2.0 simulator with weekday and weekend pricing tiers, with peak hour surcharges.
5. Golf Lessons: Private lessons, group lessons, ladies clinic programs, PGA Junior League, and Junior Golf Week programs.
6. Golf Cart Rental: Per golfer cart rental for 18-hole and 9-hole rounds, with Illinois sales tax of 8.5% applied.
7. Golf Outings and Tournaments: Group outing packages including 18 holes, GPS-equipped cart, and range balls. Minimum 16 players required. Tournament entry fees for various events.
8. Food and Beverage: Grumpy Goat Tavern full-service restaurant and bar open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with appetizers, salads, burgers, sandwiches, steak, and seafood.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Highlands of Elgin is a public 18-hole championship golf course with nine holes set in a reclaimed stone quarry featuring a 12-acre quarry lake and four elevated bluff holes, plus nine original rolling-terrain holes. The facility offers a lighted practice area, a Full Swing Pro 2.0 indoor golf simulator, PGA-certified lessons, season-pass memberships, group outing and tournament hosting, and the on-site Grumpy Goat Tavern restaurant and bar.

Product overview

The Highlands of Elgin operates as a premier public golf facility offering an 18-hole championship course with two distinct nine-hole sections: the original rolling terrain holes and nine dramatic quarry holes featuring a twelve-acre lake and elevated bluff views. The facility provides a Full Swing Pro 2.0 golf simulator with access to over 60 famous courses, a lighted practice facility with bent grass tees and short game areas, and on-site dining at Grumpy Goat Tavern. Additional revenue streams include golf instruction programs (individual, group, ladies, and junior), tournament hosting, and corporate/outing services. Season pass memberships provide unlimited or limited access tiers for residents and standard visitors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Full Swing Pro 2.0 Widescreen Golf Simulator: Golf simulator featuring Full Swing technology with ION3 Camera and infrared technology for realistic ball flight simulation.
• Fore! Ladies Only Golf Program
• PGA Junior League

Products and services

• The Highlands of Elgin Golf Course An 18-hole public golf course offering a par-72 championship layout with five tee boxes (stroke ratings 63.6 to 73.7 for men) that combines nine original rolling-terrain holes with nine holes carved through an old stone quarry featuring a 12-acre quarry lake and elevated bluff shots. Available to regional golfers via walking or cart play on a pay-per-round or season-pass basis.
• Full Swing Pro 2.0 Widescreen Golf Simulator Indoor golf simulator rental using Full Swing Pro 2.0 technology with ION3 overhead camera ball-impact measurement and infrared plus high-speed blue light LED cameras for accurate real-time ball flight. Offers access to over 60 famous golf courses worldwide, rented hourly with weekday/weekend tiered pricing and peak-hour surcharges.
• Practice Facility Lighted practice facility offering bent grass tees and synthetic turf mats, 6 target greens, a short game area for chipping and bunker practice, and a 9,000 sq. ft. putting green, with range balls sold in small, medium, and large buckets.
• Grumpy Goat Tavern On-site full-service restaurant and bar open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, serving appetizers, salads, soups, burgers, signature sandwiches, chicken, pasta, steak, and seafood, alongside an extensive bourbon, whiskey, wine, and craft beer selection.
• Golf Lessons Program Instructional offerings including individual private lessons, group lessons, the Fore! Ladies Only Golf Program, PGA Junior League, and Junior Golf Week, taught by PGA-certified instructors including Head Golf Professional Jim Vogt.
• Tournament Events Annual tournament programming including the Two Person Scramble, the 110th Annual Elgin Open held jointly with Bowes Creek Country Club, the Two Person Best Ball, and other scramble formats across various skill levels.
• Golf Outings Group outing hosting for corporate and charity events with a minimum 16-player requirement, including 18 holes, GPS-equipped carts, range balls, pre-event consultation, registration tables, post-event prize tables, on-course beverage service, and full food and beverage operations through Grumpy Goat Tavern.
• Season Passes Annual unlimited or limited golf memberships including Highlands Premiere (unlimited golf and cart), Highlands Basic (unlimited golf only), Limited 7 Day, Senior Limited 7 Day, Junior Limited 7 Day, Senior Weekday, and Junior Weekday passes, available at resident and standard pricing tiers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 18-hole championship course with 5 tee boxes ranging from 63.6 to 73.7 stroke rating
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Bowes Creek Country ClubminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 July 2026Co-hosts the 110th Annual Elgin Open tournament, a two-day event held across both Bowes Creek Country Club and The Highlands of Elgin golf courses.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Topgolf: Technology-driven golf entertainment venue chain. Comparable on simulator-based, year-round, non-traditional-golfer customer acquisition and the integration of F&B with golf play — though oriented toward entertainment rather than traditional course play.
• X-Golf: Indoor golf simulator entertainment centers with food and beverage service. Comparable on simulator-as-primary-experience model that competes for year-round golfer spend, particularly in shoulder and off seasons.

Direct peers

• Phillips Park Golf Course: Municipal 18-hole public course in Aurora, IL operated by a Fox Valley municipality. Comparable on municipal ownership, public green-fee pricing, and regional Fox Valley customer overlap with Highlands.
• Bowes Creek Country Club: Adjacent municipal-affiliated public golf course in Elgin, IL, co-hosted with Highlands for the 110th Annual Elgin Open. Directly comparable on customer base, ownership structure (City of Elgin), and price/membership tiers.

Broad incumbents

• Cantigny Golf: 27-hole premium public facility in Wheaton, IL offering lessons, outings, simulator, and tournament hosting. Comparable full-service operating model serving the same greater-Chicago golfer demographic.
• Medinah Country Club: Premier Chicagoland private club with 54 holes and major championship pedigree. Comparable in serving elite Chicago-area golf demand and hosting large-scale tournaments, though operating under a private membership model.
• Cog Hill Golf & Country Club: Iconic 72-hole Chicagoland public golf facility and former PGA Tour host. Comparable as a high-volume, premium Illinois public course drawing regional golfers, though at much larger scale than Highlands.

Regional players

• Klein Creek Golf Club: Public 18-hole facility in Winfield, IL owned by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County. Comparable on public/municipal-affiliated ownership, Chicagoland customer base, and full-service amenities including lessons and outings.
• Boulder Ridge Country Club: Public-access course in Lake in the Hills in the same McHenry/Kane County region as Highlands. Comparable on suburban-Chicago public golf demand, tournament hosting, and outing-driven group business.
• White Pines Golf Club: Public 18-hole facility in Oregon, IL offering lessons, leagues, and outings. Comparable on Illinois public-course operating model and revenue mix, though at smaller scale and more rural catchment.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/highlandselgin
• Facebookfacebook.com/thehighlandsofelgin?sk=wall#!/thehighlandsofelgin?sk=wall
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-highlands-of-elgin

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Highlands of Elgin