What's good that's public in chicago or within a two hours drive?

[Jason Topp]

I gte mixed reviews about cog hill, dont know anyone who played "the general at eagle ridge,"  are the indianapolis area courses with two hours?

I'm guessing the General is the course in Galena.  Beautiful spot.  The course is not as good as Cog Hill. 

[Chris_Clouser]

If you want to venture over to the Indiana side of the border look at White Hawk in Crown Point.  Try to get on the Grey and Black nines, if at all possible.  The Red and Silver nines are extremely boring for opposing reasons.  One is open and small planes could land on the fairways.  The other has forced carries on almost every hole and has no strategic qualities. 

[Trey Kemp]

Mike,

Here are a few others that have not been mentioned:

Shepherds Crook Golf Course - Zion, IL (Keith Foster)  To me this is the best value in the Chicago area.  You can play for about $40 and its a fun course that won't beat you up.

The Club at Strawberry Creek - Kenosha, WI (Rick Jacobson)  This is a new course and in a year or two it will be private so now would be a good time to try it out.  This is a fun course and the conditions are great!

Morningstar Golf Course - Waukesha, WI (Rick Jacobson)  This one is about 95 miles from Chicago, but is built in a quarry and has some interesting terrain not usually seen in the Chicago area.  I think you can play here for about $45.

These are just a few others that I enjoy, I think after reading everyones post you have a good list to choose from. 

[K. Krahenbuhl]

Does anyone have any more specific thoughts RE: The Glen Club? 

I will be traveling back to Chicago from Houston this Thursday-Saturday for a wedding and it was one of the options that I was considering.  Not worrying about the sticker shock is it worth a play or would I be better served trying elsewhere?  Also, if anyone would like to join the fun just let me know.

[Jeff Shelman]

Kyle,

The Glen Club isn't bad at all. It is overpriced, but there are some pretty good holes out there.

It's going to be in good shape. It has pretty good geography. The pace of play has been pretty good the times I've played out there. I think it is well above average public golf.

GW has it as the No. 2 public course in Illinois behind Cog 4. I have played several on the list, but not all of them so I can't comment on whether I think that is tremendously out of line. I think the course is very much on par with Pine Meadow and Cantigny.

I think we can all acknowledge that Fazio isn't exactly a favorite of the folks on here and I think The Glen Club is probably hurt by that. I think if you go in with expectations that you aren't going to be blown away by the architecture, you'll have a good time.

[K. Krahenbuhl]

Thanks for the insights guys.

[Rob_Waldron]

You may want to give George Dunne a shot. I was very impressed by this Southside Municipal gem when I played it two years ago. Considering the massive greens and tees, you could play the course 7 days in a row and never play the same course!

[Mark Smolens]

I played Cantigny on Saturday.  The greens had been recently sanded (to be rolled this am!), but were still lightning fast, and the rough was deep -- they're hosting the Ill. Amateur next month.  The Glen is very nice, but way overpriced unless you can find a member to play with.  I'd play Pine Meadow, Thunderhawk, Orchard Valley, Harborside, Shepard's Crook, and even Forest Preserve National (hate that they changed the name to George Dunne) despite severe conditioning issues before I went back to the Glen. . .

[Steve Kline]

What about the Links at Glen Ellyn? I'm playing there next week.

[PThomas]

What about the Links at Glen Ellyn? I'm playing there next week.

the course was renovated in the last year or so...but i haven't been there since it was done

[SL_Solow]

How important is price?  When George Dunne is thrown into the conversation with the Glen, the only issue is price.  I am not a big Fazio fan although I have enjoyed several of his courses.  The Glen is a very solid golf course. 

[Mark Smolens]

They did a wonderful job on the green complexes at the Village Links.  For some reason the fairways have not grown in as well as the greens imo.  The course looks very different to the eye.  It's also very, very long from the back tees for those concerned with the distances the ball travels. . .

[J_ Crisham]

You may want to give George Dunne a shot. I was very impressed by this Southside Municipal gem when I played it two years ago. Considering the massive greens and tees, you could play the course 7 days in a row and never play the same course!
[/
You could also play this course for 7 days and only get in 4 rounds given the pace of play! Great layout but very frustrating pace of play issues. I used to play here 40 times per year as a teenager. Now time is an issue. Nice layout and very tough track from the back tees.quote]

[JR Potts]

What about the Links at Glen Ellyn? I'm playing there next week.

the course was renovated in the last year or so...but i haven't been there since it was done

You're not missing anything.  The back nine was absolutely destroyed by the renovation.  The 10th hole is horrible.  The bunkering on 14th hole doesn't fit at all and the green is absolutely abysmal.  The 16th was converted into a terrible Par 5 and the design of the 18th wasn't improved on at all through the alternate fairway.

That being said, the pace of play is usually excellent and the facility is run very well.  I liked the old Links....the new one I can do without.

[PThomas]

What about the Links at Glen Ellyn? I'm playing there next week.

the course was renovated in the last year or so...but i haven't been there since it was done

You're not missing anything.  The back nine was absolutely destroyed by the renovation.  The 10th hole is horrible.  The bunkering on 14th hole doesn't fit at all and the green is absolutely abysmal.  The 16th was converted into a terrible Par 5 and the design of the 18th wasn't improved on at all through the alternate fairway.

That being said, the pace of play is usually excellent and the facility is run very well.  I liked the old Links....the new one I can do without.

why exactly did they rework this course?  The old one wasn't bad......and apparently they spent LOTS of money to do it...why?  will they be able to recover those costs??

[JR Potts]

why exactly did they rework this course?  The old one wasn't bad......and apparently they spent LOTS of money to do it...why?  will they be able to recover those costs??

Great question.  Last time I asked I got some answer about the poa greens.....which in my estimation were the best public greens around.

Ironically enough, the scores for the Western Qualifier (God rest its soul), were lower after the re-do than before.