Chicagoland Golf

[Ian Mackenzie]

A. North Shore - flat Colt/Allison with great greens
B. Evanston - Pritchard restored Ross
C. Park Ridge - Esler restored Ross, so much fun!
D. Ruth Lake - Art Hills did "restoration" of Langford/Moreau
E. Indian Hill
F. Westmoreland
G. Sunset Ridge
H. Chicago Highlands - new Art Hills linksy course very close to city. Best greens.

If anyone gets to pick two private clubs in Chicago, and they pick ANY on the above list, they should be beaten to a bloody pulp.  Park Ridge? are you fucking kidding?

Well, you know what they say about opinions....

And, I am not Fecking kidding you.

I play in a tournament every year (at least last 3 years straight) at Park Ridge (with club champions from every Chicago private course) and there is serious consensus that Park Ridge is a hidden gem. I thought it was fun and a member's course (not championship) that could be enjoyed for years. Some of the fastest and truest greens i have ever seen!

Also did Mid-Am qualifying at Chicago Highlands and thought it was VERY enjoyable.
I have played all of these courses and it is my opinion that one would enjoy a game at these clubs, but that there are certainly others that would be perhaps appreciated and enjoyed more. There are courses that could be prioritized above these, as i listed, but playing these should not qualify one for a beating.

For that list, Mr. O'Connor, I suggest you go here:

- Jackson Park
- Sportsman's
- Chick Evans
- White Pines - perhaps more up your alley...;-)

[Paul OConnor]

I would rather play Jackson Park than Park Ridge.  If the club champions think Park Ridge is a hidden gem, they should also be beaten. 

[JR Potts]

Park Ridge...not a hidden gem.  It's a best a CZ.

Old Elm stays out of the public eye because it's the hardest Club to get into and on in Chicago.  Its membership is more akin to Augusta than any other club ice been to in the Midwest and the average age of a member is around 75.

If you get two picks, skip the outliers except for Old Elm and play the chalk.

John K- rarely three putt and rarely lose a ball at Butler?  Surely you jest.   I've had day or there where a half dozen balls weren't weren't enough.  You can easily lose a ball and get penalized by a hazard or ob on 14 of the 18 holes....and all of those greens are three puttable due to the speed.

[Mark Chaplin]

JR - I played Old Elm with Dan Moore, our host was an exceptionally nice gentleman. I asked him how he joined Old Elm, apparently he returned from living on the East coast and after being in Chicago for less than a week was called by the club and asked to sort out his dues as he'd been elected a member. Needless to say he hadn't even applied!!

[PCCraig]

At Old Elm you get a letter in the mail telling you that you've been elected as a member, and that if you accept you send in a check for $X.

The membership is small but the average age is nowhere near as old as it used to be, so I'm told.

It is always a special treat to spend time at Old Elm.

[PCCraig]

There is a ton of good golf in Chicago, and in certain parts of the suburbs it's hard to go a couple miles without hitting another country club. If you were making a special trip there to see courses (and access isn't an issue), you could tailor a trip around what you like pretty easily (i.e. Classic and Quirky vs. big "championship"-style courses). It's all good.

The one that hasn't gotten a lot of love (so far) on this list is Glen View. It's a sentimental favorite of mine, but after being lucky enough to have gotten a sneak peak at the renovation work being completed by Jim Urbina, it's going to be better than all but a few courses in Chicagoland.

[Paul OConnor]

"...it's going to be better than all but a few courses in Chicagoland. "

Pat, surely you jest.  That would be the most miraculous renovation ever. 
 

[PCCraig]

"...it's going to be better than all but a few courses in Chicagoland. "

Pat, surely you jest.  That would be the most miraculous renovation ever.  
 

No jest.

If a friend was traveling to Chicago and wanted to see something interesting, and not just interested in belt notching a name course, I would send them to Glen View before all but a few courses in Chicago.

[Paul OConnor]

Pat, I think your brain is frozen, go back in the house. 

[Steve Green]

Just to chime in the two best in Chicago are Chicago Golf and Shoreacres. 

Shoreacres cares about its rating and has recently removed some trees and made other changes recommended by Doak.  Both it and Chicago Golf will have you wowed on every hole.

Old Elm is spectacular.  The membership there does not care about ratings.  It is the club they belong to to play golf and be with the guys while they have memberships at Skokie, Indian Hill, Exmoor etc for the family.

You can't go wrong if you get on any of these three.

I would avoid Medinah it is not nearly as special as these three.

[Ian Mackenzie]

Chicago has a great golf history and there are courses for everyone. From $10 - $150 daily fee options to some "Top 100" courses, there are over 200 tracks within 50 miles of Chicago  (and there is nothing but water east of the city!!) Ross, MacDonald, Flynn, Park, Bendelow, Wilson, Colt/Allison and even Norman, Fazio, Hills, Nicklaus and PB Dye, Chicago is well-represented.

Back to the original post...

There are 30+ courses that make up the "top list" here and most have been covered above with general consensus on the top 3 or so. From the small and intimate to the large and loud, it"s all here. US Open venues, PGAs, regular tour stops, US Ams, Ryder Cup, Western Am and on.

However, as many private courses do not offer unaccompanied bookings - even if your pro from your home course makes a call - then you need to play with a member. If that's possible, then away you go. If it is not, then there are other courses (public and private) to perhaps explore. You may have better luck getting on.

1. Merit Club - great conditioning on a spectacular piece of land. Hosted 1999 Women's US Open.
2. The Glen Club - (not be confused with Glen View Club), a Tom Fazio semi-private course on an old Naval Air Station that hosts a Nationwide event annually
3. Conway Farms - private Fazio course that recently hosted Fedex Cup event
4. Olympia Fields - US Open on north course 10 years ago and i think the south course may be under construction. Heck, they may even offer you a membership here!
5. Glen Oak and Butterfield are close to Butler and Chi Golf and are very pleasant
6. Briarwood is another hidden gem (has some Dr. Mackenzie roots with Colt/Allison)

Just as CGC is one of the founding 5 clubs of the USGA, there are 4 clubs that make up the founding clubs of the CDGA - Midlothian, Glen View, Exmoor and Onwentsia. They are all worth playing.

- Doak and RGD did work at Onwentsia
- Pritchard did the restoration at Exmoor
- Urbina is about to complete restoration at Glen View (George waters did a lot of the bunker shaping)
- Midlo is thinking about doing something I hear

But, if you favor venues that have starters with head sets and tee times then you may just not appreciate the nuances of the older courses. And, if you dislike north side courses...well, just because...we are used to that here. It's like baseball as there are two major league teams in Chicago. The Cubs play in a grimy 100 year old stadium in the middle of a residential part on the north side of the city and is known as one of "the best bars in the country". The White Sox play in a large, generic monolith right next to the interstate on the south side. South side fans love the White Sox and Sox fans hate the Cubs and everything "north side".

Meanwhile, Cubs' fans just don"t care about the White Sox. Period...;-)

[Sven Nilsen]

Ian:

The South Course at Olympia Fields is not under construction.  It was renovated a while back by Steve Smyers.

There are some alterations taking place on the North Course, but the level of work does not rise to wholesale changes.

I'd suggest the original poster learn to use the search function.  If you plug "Chicago" in there are 40 pages of threads with information on courses in the area, including a couple by Terry Lavin outlining just about all of the information covered in this thread. 

I'm starting to wonder if I missed the memo that this site had turned into a travel agency.

Sven

[Brian Colbert]

Park Ridge...not a hidden gem.  It's a best a CZ.

Old Elm stays out of the public eye because it's the hardest Club to get into and on in Chicago.  Its membership is more akin to Augusta than any other club ice been to in the Midwest and the average age of a member is around 75.

If you get two picks, skip the outliers except for Old Elm and play the chalk.

John K- rarely three putt and rarely lose a ball at Butler?  Surely you jest.   I've had day or there where a half dozen balls weren't weren't enough.  You can easily lose a ball and get penalized by a hazard or ob on 14 of the 18 holes....and all of those greens are three puttable due to the speed.

I'm with you, JR. I played Butler about 50 times this summer and I think the number of times I didn't lose a ball or three putt was 0.

[Terry Lavin]

Precious little Chicago golf intelligence here, it seems to me. But one can use the search function...

[Tim_Cronin]

Ian:

The South Course at Olympia Fields is not under construction.  It was renovated a while back by Steve Smyers.

There are some alterations taking place on the North Course, but the level of work does not rise to wholesale changes.

I'd suggest the original poster learn to use the search function.  If you plug "Chicago" in there are 40 pages of threads with information on courses in the area, including a couple by Terry Lavin outlining just about all of the information covered in this thread. 

I'm starting to wonder if I missed the memo that this site had turned into a travel agency.

Sven

Ah, but at this time of year, timely information on the status of the Reverse Jans can't be found in an old thread!

[Jud_T]

I played Butler about 50 times this summer

I assume this means you're not a teetotaler.

[Jim Hoak]

I've been fortunate enough to play many courses in Chicago, and I think it may have the best selection of top courses in the country--arguably.
I can't add a lot because it's already been said--But Chicago Golf for the history and the architecture; Shoreacres for the most fun; and Old Elm for the experience.  Any 2 of these 3 would be wonderful.