There was plenty of great golf played in Illinois in 2016. Golfers rated courses from downstate and the Quad Cities to Springfield and Chicagoland. There are no shortage of great semi-private and daily-fee courses that earned strong marks on Golf Advisor throughout the year. One course made the U.S. top 50 courses, while the other 24 courses are a mix of great values on 100-year-old courses and upscale facilities designed by name architects. This year's edition has some significant turnover compared to the 2015 best-of list.
To compile our state lists, we used a similar method to that of our our national Top 50 ranking. A course's score is based on their overall (50%) rating and subcategory average (50%). Reviews are weighted based on how prolific that reviewer is on Golf Advisor, and a course receives a bump in their rating if their score is better than that reviewer's average score.
Don't see your favorite Illinois golf course? You can make your voice heard by writing a review here.
Top courses by subcategory in Illinois in 2016
Course layout: Iron Valley Golf Club
Course conditions: Royal Manchester Golf Club
Value: Pontiac Elks Country Club
Off-course amenities: Highlands of Elgin
Pace of play: Pontiac Elks Country Club
Staff friendliness: Bowes Creek Golf Club
Top 25 courses in Illinois in 2016
Grayslake
Homewood
Crete
Barrington
Waukegan
Fairview Heights
Crest Hill
Glenview
Wood River
16. TPC Deere Run
Silvis
Romeoville
Marengo
Chicago
Rockford
Dundee
Rockford
Elgin
Byron
Roscoe
Pontiac
Oglesby
Wheaton
Bloomington
Waterloo
Elgin
No. 21 in the U.S. in 2016
These courses are real nice and quite challenging!!!