I looped at Black Sheep for 4 summers, 2007 through 2010.
They have 27 holes and each of the three 9's is comparable in quality to the others. The only have 2 sets of tees, roughly 7100 yards and 6500 yards.
The course used to be a farm. The land is rolling, with perhaps as much as 60 feet of elevation change on the property. The fairways are incredibly wide, probably 80 to 90 yards wide, on average. However, there certainly are preferred lines off the tees and almost alwasy the more agressive line means flirting with a bunker or native grass area. If you play it safe off the tee, you usually have a much more difficult second shot in to the green, or, perhaps a blind shot.
The greens are some of the best in Chicagoland = super smooth and pure. The tend to have long, gentle slopes and run around 11 on the stimp. The greens are open in the front, which, in theory, allows players to bounce shots in and avoid the heavy winds. However, they tend to overwater the course and it plays pretty soft, somewhat negating the ground game. That's too bad becasue David Esler obviously designed many of the holes so you could play the ball low.
Off the fairway, you have perhaps 10 feet of rough and then native grasses. These grasses grow as high as your head by July. In the fall, the native stuff browns out and contrasts nicely with the green fairways. As mentioned earlier, the course is surrounded by farmland and no houses or buildings border the property.
They have carts, but the course is easily walkable, with many greens bleeding into the next tee box. The average walk between green to tee is probably 30 yards. I would say half their rounds are walkers and half are riders.
The "lodge" is actually the original farmhouse on the property, which occupies the highest point. They have 4 or 5 bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, dinning room. It's pretty much like a house. The staff will make whatever you want for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Everything is made to order.
The clubouse is located across the parking lot from the lodge. It doesn't have a grill, just a well stocked bar, tiny pro shop, small locker and veranda. They have a grill outside, like you would have on your deck at home, and grill up burgers or hot dogs or whatever you want.
They don't get a lot of play, maybe 5000 rounds a year. A typical day would be 10 groups. In four years of looping, I never had a group wait on a shot and rounds are completed in 4 hours, often less. The club is men only. It has a completely laid back vibe with the only rules being no women on the grounds, no cell phones and no hats inside the clubhouse.
Kevin Healy, the head pro, and his staff do a fantastic job of providing a great experience for the day. They do not take themselves too seriously at Black Sheep, as evidenced by their logo.
I loved working there and as a caddie, was treated better at Black Sheep than any other club I've ever looped at. If in the area, it is certainly worth a look.