Michael Burrows:
To answer your question would require a good bit of time since I believe there are a number of "short" courses that I like. Among the ones that come immediately to mind in no particular order include:
*Cypress Point
*Prairie Dunes
*SFGC
*Merion / East
*Crystal Downs
*Pacific Dunes
*Fisher's Island
*Camargo Club
*Wannamoisett (great short course that has plenty of bite for a par-69)
*Winged Foot / East
Those are on my first page of all courses. I have not played Chicago so I can't comment. A few I enjoy, but are a full notch below the above listing.
They include:
*The Kittanset Club
*Somerset Hills
Some that I believe are overrated include:
*Maidstone
*Shoreacreas
My position is that great courses under a certain yardage (let's just say 6,600 yards) become difficult to attain unless there is some compelling architectural quality included (lower par figure, interesting greens, great land, etc, etc.). In my mind, there has to be some long par-4's or long par-3's thrown into the equation to "spice" up the action. Clearly, others disagree and that's what makes such discussions interesting. Hope my answer helps ...