The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County is hosting an open house featuring golf course architect Greg Martin on Oct. 25 at 6 p.m. at Maple Meadows Golf Preserve, 272 Addison Road in Wood Dale, to present a proposed improvement plan for the site.

A brief survey on dupageforest.org also allows community members to provide their comments through Nov. 8.

In February 2022, the Forest Preserve District hired Martin Design Partnership, Ltd. to develop a new master plan for Maple Meadows to modernize the course and better align it with the Forest Preserve District's mission to provide native habitat, natural areas, and enhanced environmental conditions. Proposed improvements include the following:

• Reconfigured holes designed to speed up play, improve the player experience, and enhance buffer zones with adjacent residential communities
• Expanded short-game practice areas
• Enhanced clubhouse amenities, including a covered outdoor patio pavilion with fireplace and an enlarged patio to expand options for outdoor dining and group gatherings

The plan’s key objectives were to continue to serve the course’s existing audience while also attracting new golfers; to renovate infrastructure to ensure long-term operational efficiency; and to embrace environmental stewardship principles by reducing impervious surfaces, decreasing fragmented natural areas and mowed areas, and converting managed turf areas to native areas to reduce the use of herbicides and fertilizers and increase native habitat.

The final master plan will be presented for approval to the Forest Preserve District’s board of commissioners in December.

Maple Meadows was acquired by the Forest Preserve District in 1987 and has remained a popular recreational amenity in the community. The existing infrastructure, nearly three decades old, requires comprehensive updates to ensure it remains a quality destination for public golf enthusiasts.