DuPage Forest Preserves’ golf head named PGA Executive of the Year

To Ed Stevenson, it doesn’t seem that long ago that he was spending summers toting heavy golf bags around Briarwood Country Club in Deerfield.

“I grew up around golf. Golfers in the family. By the time I was able to get on my bike and pedal to the local country club, I worked as a caddy,” he said.

Forty years later, Stevenson, 52, who now resides in Wood Dale, is being honored statewide for his contributions to golf.

Now director of golf for the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, Stevenson has been named PGA Golf Executive of the Year 2024 by the Illinois PGA. It’s “one of the highest honors the Illinois PGA can bestow,” according to a description posted by the organization, adding that “candidates must possess outstanding qualities of leadership, vision, courage, strong moral character, and a substantial record of service to … the game of golf.”

“It’s a nice honor,” Stevenson said. “I was aware of being nominated, so I knew I was in consideration.

“But, overall, there are a lot of talented people doing some really good work (in the state). So, yeah, a bit of surprise and appreciation when you get recognized.”

Stevenson, who will receive the award April 24, graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in journalism, but the lure of golf was too strong to ignore.

“I’ve been lucky. I’ve been able to have a steady progression in my career,” he said. “I showed up 30 seasons ago at Oak Meadows Golf Club in Addison as an entry level assistant professional and worked my way up to the role of head professional there, eventually into a management role.”

Now called The Preserve at Oak Meadows after an extensive redesign, the 18-hole course is one of the three golf courses operated by the DuPage Forest Preserve District.

There’s another 18 holes at Maple Meadows in Wood Dale and nine holes at Green Meadows in Westmont.

Stevenson said the golf operation “has a lot of moving parts” with personnel in the golf and pro shops, those that handle food and beverages and the maintenance of the courses.

The district’s director of golf since 2011, he said his job “is to really manage those three legs of the stool and make sure all aspects come together to create a good experience.”

“(The goal is) not only to create fun for the golfer but to align with our mission as a forest preserve district,” he said.

That mission includes preserving open spaces, providing high-quality ecosystems and habitats, along with providing the visitors places to enjoy nature, Stevenson said.

Some wonder why a conservation agency owns golf courses.

Stevenson said the 5.5 million visits annually to the district’s 60 preserves includes golfers whose “connection to nature is chasing a little golf ball around our trail of golf holes.”

More than 100,000 rounds of golf are played at the three courses each year.

Stevenson is well versed in the attraction of golf to young and old.

“A lot of people are drawn to golf for time spent outside. You’re often competing not just against another person, but personal goals,” he said.

Golf, he said, offers valuable lessons, and that’s more than how to avoid a pond or hit out of a sand trap.

“You can only play the shot in front of you. You can’t go back and replay that last shot. You get a lot of life lessons from golf. A lot of that ties back even to this award.

“Through managing these courses, through helping people enjoy the game of golf, you really learn a lot about how to be a successful executive and a successful leader,” Stevenson said.

Golf courses saw a big increase in the number of players amid the COVID-19 pandemic because being outside was considered safer. That boom continues, he said.

Among the accomplishments he’s proud of, Stevenson is especially pleased with how renovations of The Preserve at Oak Meadows turned out.

“(It had) aging infrastructure and suffered from chronic flood damage. There was a clubhouse that was struck by lightning and was lost to fire. We had a property at a crossroads.”

The renovation took two years, from 2015 to 2017.

“We took 27 holes on flood-prone land and redesigned an 18-hole golf course, adding 30 acres to become new wetlands, a flood plain,” Stevenson said. “We created 18 holes that stay high and dry and don’t get flooded. And, we added 20 million gallons of stormwater storage on that property. Now we hold water there instead of (in) residents’ basements and backyards.”

That work was honored by Golf Digest with a Green Star Award for its positive environmental impact.

The new clubhouse that opened in 2021 was named clubhouse of the year by Golf Inc. Magazine.

Stevenson is not done. Another big project looms.

A renovation of Maple Meadows set to begin late this year “will update that property with the natural and native areas there, much like we did at Oak Meadows.”

“What’s been fun about this journey and what’s been nice to get recognition for is projects like this, we’ve been able to look at the game of golf more than just recreation. How can we make it tremendous fun and also address needs for the community?” he said.

You may think the Illinois PGA Executive of the Year is often playing the sport he loves.

Think again. Stevenson is so busy, he’s lucky to play a handful of rounds each year.

That lack of play has not hurt his game too much as he is “in the range of a 5 handicap.” For non-golfers, that means he’s usually breaking 80 on a par-72 course.

And, like most golfers — be they weekend warriors or pros like Tiger Woods — Stevenson subscribes to a saying often said on courses near and far: “There’s always that shot that brings you back.”

“There’s no feeling like it,” he said. “No feeling like it at all.”

Steve Metsch is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.