[Matthew Sander]

Hello all,

I'm going to be posting my first photo tour of Downers Grove Golf Course. Bear with me as I am no pro with the camera or hole descriptions. However, it is a course that I thought deserved some attention here. As most of you probably know it resides on the site of the original Chicago Golf Club. Here is link to the Downers Grove Park District web site which includes a course history:

http://www.dgparks.org/Golf/course-information-rates.htm

The original 9 holes were constructed by CBM and the membership of the Chicago Golf Club in 1892 and 9 additional holes were added in 1893. After the Chicago Golf Club moved to the Wheaton property in 1895 the course has had several names including Belmont Country Club. At some point it was returned to 9 holes and I don't know how much if any of the current layout has anything to do with any of its previous versions. However, the site itself has history and adds to the interest of a round at DG.

The current version of the course is not long, but it has variety and some interesting quirks. Also, there were several alternate tees that could provide different looks and strategies to the holes, especially if you were going to play an 18 hole loop. The course could benefit from some significant tree removal, but it is a park district course, so I don't imagine that will happen anytime soon. Also, some of the locals mentioned it can be a death march. Our first 9 was a breeze at around 1.5 hours or so (which was slowed a little for picture taking and observations). The second 9 was probably more typical and took closer to 2.5 hours. Around the course you can see outlines of older grassed in bunkers as well as green pads that were significantly larger. Hopefully my first photo tour turns out OK...thanks...

Matt

[Matthew Sander]

Hole 1 (414 par 4, all yardages are from the tips) A straightforward drive, but the green has a fairly signifcant left to right and back to front slope. There is a little knob left of the green that can kick balls onto the putting surface.









Hole 2 (416 par 4) A pretty view from an elevated tee box. The creek crosses the fairway at about 280. The green is flat with the approach shot playing slightly uphill.





A view back at the fairway and teeing ground...


Hole 3 (467 par 5) A shortish par 5 that really plays as a long par 4. However it is uphill most of the way. The approach (either 2nd or 3rd shot) is semi blind and you can only see the top of the flag. The uphill approach makes it difficult to judge distance and stop the ball quickly.







Chris Flamion chipping on from just short of the 3rd green


This is a view from the alternate back tee which eliminates the angle of the tee shot

[Mac Plumart]

More, please.

[Jud_T]

Somehow Flamion always makes these things.  He's just lucky the fat old man wasn't there to beat him like a drum.

[Chris Flamion]

I am lucky to be fairly self employed.

And "the old fat man" is due for a rematch.  Even if I haven't played since then.

That chip also led to a birdie, only hole I won all day. 

[Matthew Sander]

Here you go Mac...

Hole 4 (375 par 4) Blind and downhill dogleg left with a fairway that slopes away from you from the normal tee...




However, when we played the tees were up shortening the hole to about 325 straight away...As you can see, some tree removal would open up the views and playing corridors a bit...





The green has some pretty significant back to front and right to left slope...



Here is a photo of a lost bunker...



Hole 5 (331 par 4) Maybe the coolest hole on the course. It is a short dogleg left with a wetland lining the right side with bunkers left and a target bunker straight through the fairway.  At least 3 options off of the tee...You can have a crack at the green. The front bunker isn't a bad option...



Layup short of the left hand bunkers with a mid iron...



Or hit a fwy wood/hybrid at the bunker through the fairway to open up the green...





Here is another shot that shows some candidates for tree removal...

[Matthew Sander]

Hole 6 (183 par 3) Tee shot with mid iron is more downhill than the pic suggests. This is a hole where you could see the outline of the old and larger green pad. There are also depressions around the green that would indicate old bunkers.





Hole 7 (420 par 4) This hole has a tee shot that bends gently left w/ thick trees hard to the left of the fairway.



The green is benched into a hill and you can't see the putting surface from the approach area which is flat. Hitting and holding the green is difficult as it is quite shallow. Due to the pitch of the green and the overall back to front slope of the hill putts from behind the hole are fast.



Chris and I felt that a false front and/or tighter entrance cut might be a nice touch with this green to up the ante a little on the approach. The current fairway cut keeps the ball very near the front if you come up short.

[Matthew Sander]

Hole 8 (192 par 3) Flat mid or long iron shot to flat green. This hole has an upper tee bed (shown in the 2nd pic) that adds about 40 feet of elevation to the tee shot.







This is a bunker that was atypical of the other bunkers on the course...



Hole 9 (482 par 5) We played the hole straighaway the first go-round. There are tee beds that can make it play right to left (2nd pic) or left to right as well.





Go for green in two from the top of the hill



Or lay up and have an uphill approach




Downers Grove Golf Course is an enjoyable 9 holer with some character and a little quirk. The property is rolling/hilly but extremely walkable. The use of the hills for visual uncertainty is one of the course's best defenses. It's solid if not remarkable golf and is also an enjoyable walk on a historic piece of property...

[Tim_Cronin]

Matthew, thanks for the pictures. I haven't played it since the latest (I think latest) renovation. Used to open with back-to-back par 3s!

[Ben Voelker]

Matthew,

Thanks for the photos!

It seems there are a couple of really nice driving angles on a few of the holes, 3, 4, 5 and 9 in particular given a specific set of tees.  I assume the course was playing quite slow like many of those muni courses in the Chicagoland area seem to.

Ben

[Matthew Sander]

Ben,

Some of the holes do have nice driving angles. #3 when playing left to right stands out to me. With a solid drive, you could run through the fairway into the bunker. An over-faded or over-aggressive tee shot could find the hardwoods right. It is a very attractive hole and its uphill nature adds to the difficulty, since it is very short for a par 5.

#4 is a bit awkward from the angled tee. The tee shot is blind and right to left. You are hitting down the hill over a native area and the fairway slopes away from you. You can lay up to the flat part of the fairway, or try to pound it around the corner to the bottom of the hill and leave yourself a very short approach.

Our first nine wasn't bad, around 1.5 hours. However, the second 9 was closer to 2.5 and probably more typical of the usual pace...

Matt

[Joe Bausch]

Very nice Matt!

Joe

P.S.  And all I thought of interest from Downers Grove was Leaping Lanny Poffo, the Poet Laureate of the WWF.   

[Tim Nugent]

Much has changed over the years, especially the inclusion of the ponds.
A good place to see this would be HistoricAerials/com  Luckily, they have alot of old aerials and a tool called Swiping that lets you match up 2 aerials from different years for comparison.

[Mac Plumart]

Tim N...great idea!!

[Matthew Sander]

Thanks Joe! Don't forget about Lanny's brother, Randy "Macho Man" Savage...

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