Solheim Cup to pump up the volume

It's big.

When Jerry Rich got word from the LPGA several years ago that his Rich Harvest Farms course had been chosen from among three finalists to host the 2009 Solheim Cup, he said it felt "like reaching the top of Mount Everest."

Really big.

Designing and building his dream layout just beyond the far western suburbs had started some 22 years earlier. So holding the international event that pits the top ladies golfers from America and Europe in a team competition caps a tremendous amount of planning and hard work while providing a worldwide showcase for his gem.

How big?

It's gonna draw a crowd. And bring in big bucks.

The event's impact will extend well beyond the cozy village limits of Sugar Grove. Its three days of competition from Aug. 21 to 23 likely will attract more than 30,000 visitors each day. Practice rounds and social events, such as the Solheim After Sundown party, in the three days (Aug. 18 to 20) leading up to the opening ceremonies will also draw.

"It's a $50 million event," Sue Vos said of the economic impact for the area. She is the executive director of the Aurora Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Vos has been with the AACVB since 1992 and said the closest thing to the Solheim Cup in recent memory was an event held in 1995. That's when the Aurora Airport served as the Chicago stop for Freedom Flight, featuring a cross-country tour of World War II airplanes.

"We had about 200 volunteers for that and drew about 30,000 people, all told, over several days," she said.

Stonebridge Country Club on the city's far east side has been the site of both senior and ladies' professional tour events.

"This is pretty huge, significantly larger than a regular (LPGA) Tour event," Vos said.

An army of nearly 1,600 volunteers has been enlisted to run the Solheim Cup and is being overseen by Kelly Hyne, executive director of the event.

"We're close to a waiting list-only situation for volunteers," she said last week, noting they are divided into 35 committees and will help with duties including marshalling fans at each hole, handling admissions, helping with communication and shuttling players.

Hyne wouldn't say how many tickets have been sold, but she noted Rich Harvest is equipped to handle up to 40,000 people each day.

"It's still a little early," she said, noting that she's studied area buying trends for men's majors and regular tour events in the area.

"Chicago, traditionally, doesn't buy golf tickets until the last six weeks leading up to the tournament, so it's hard to say how we'll do, but I feel confident we'll have at least 30,000 each day.

"We've sold tickets to people from 49 different states and 11 countries."

That's one major difference from an event like the Solheim Cup and a regular tour stop.

"At a typical LPGA tournament only 1 percent of the fans come from out of state or out of the country, with the lone exception being the Women's Open," Hyne said.

In the short history of the Solheim Cup, which goes back to 1990 and is being held for just the 11th time (sixth in the U.S.), a large percentage of the fans come from outside the immediate area.

"In 2002 in Minnesota, 35 percent of the fans were from outside the area," Hyne said. "In 2005 it was 43 percent at Crooked Stick and we'll be around 50 percent."

That, of course, bodes well for local hotels and restaurants.

Hyne said the Solheim Cup Web site lists 52 area hotels ranging from Oak Brook to the east to the DeKalb-Sycamore area out west.

"Everybody is close to, if not sold out of their blocks," she said, adding that it will extend beyond the event. "My tent crew alone, which started last week setting up the tents on site, has 22 people who will be staying here for seven to eight weeks. They'll be here through the tournament and teardown (afterward)."

Vos said hotel room reservations have topped 7,000.

A lot of fans are repeat customers and because the event is held every two years, Hyne said she thinks it will be affected less by the current economic downturn.

"Once you experience it, it's such a unique event (that) a lot of people come back," she said. "People plan for it a long way out."

The last time the event was held in America in 2005 was at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind., just north of Indianapolis.

Spectators were limited to 30,000 each day and the event sold out eight months beforehand.

Fritz Mortl is the clubhouse manager at Crooked Stick, which has been home to a men's PGA Championship and will host the men's Senior Open this year.

"There weren't as many VIP or sponsors' tents like those events," he said of the Solheim Cup. "In fact, I only remember the one large entertainment tent, the Ping Pavilion (which Rich Harvest will also have), and of course a lot of concession stands.

"But it was a very good format and very competitive environment. And from the first day of practice on Monday we had several thousand people out here.

"You could feel it once the competition started, especially around the grandstands. There was a lot of national pride coming out with chants of 'USA, USA' and the like all day long."

Meg Mallon, an assistant to American captain Beth Daniel for this year's Solheim Cup and veteran of eight of the tournaments, noted the intensity of the event had picked up since the heavily favored Americans were upset in the second Solheim Cup.

"From the outside, it's grown exponentially," she said. "From the inside, ever since that event (1992 in Scotland), it's always been intense. It's my favorite event in golf.

"I love major championships, but we play an individual sport. When you can play not only on a team but represent your country, it's like our Olympics. It's the coolest thing to be a part of."

And while the Americans may have the home course advantage, the Europeans will have strong support.

"They're heavily into it and they travel well," Mallon said. "They bring a lot of people over. We don't want them to be boisterous but they are. I think it's got a universal appeal."

And one of the best scenes she's seen will come on the first tee.

"There's a group of ladies that sing to the players," she said. "That's a unique experience and one you won't get at the Ryder Cup. They make up songs about every player. You're gonna love it.

"The Europeans started it, but we have an American contingent that has joined right in. They'll sing, 'What's it all about, Alfie?' for (Swedish golfer) Helen Alfredsson. They play to tunes you'll know. It's a lot of fun."