Downers Grove Golf Club

As previous reviewer said there is no macdonald remaining . However, Course is still worth the effort to play.. the course plays over hilly terrain and the conditions are some of the best I’ve seen in a public course. Rates are high for non-residents.

My previous review from 4 years ago below still applies. I'm a DG resident and avid golfer.....and I've not bothered to play it in over 4 years. Why you ask?? Costs over $30 to play 9 holes with a cart for residents! Way too expensive......you can play 18 for another $10 or less with similar very good conditions locally. It's likely that in a few days after my review is posted on GolfAdvisor you may be seeing pictures and reviews "waxing poetic" about DG. A club called NewClub is holding an event at DG this weekend. Golfers that supposedly "care" about the game and they only bother to play historic or top rated private golf courses.....(golfers of extreme means who think nothing of paying more than $100 to play golf per round because they can....in fact it seems to validate them or is a club bylaw!!), NewClub thinks DG is course worth playing? Please. A nice 9 holer....but nothing historic is left at all....but they need to "tick" a round at DG off their bucket list. They'll be disappointed but still might wax poetic...... In fact they should even have CB MacDonald listed on this page as the course designer removed.....maybe 3 or 4 holes "might" be originally routed by him....after that there's nothing. The guy the clubhouse is named after made sure most if not all of the original features (my first play here was in 1977) of that course were blown up...and that was in the early 90's. Imagine the 3rd hole being a par 3 with an historic punchbowl green. Completely blown up. You'll get 5 star conditions - but really 3 stars because DG Park District charges their residents and others way too much to play it.... it's 9 holes of very decent golf....but nothing that overly special.

I've played a good number of 9-hole courses in DuPage/Cook area, and this is the best. It's in excellent condition and is quite lovely. Given its old origins, some holes feel like they belong to an earlier era, like the 2 back-to-back short par 4s with sharp right-to-left doglegs, but one you've figured them out, you look forward to playing them the next time. $36 for 9 holes isn't a bargain, but fair enough so that you want to go back again and again.

I have played this course for many years. I have always loved the experiences, including the leagues that I have been apart of here. Overall, everything is kept very well. Fairways excellent, rough fair, and I have never had any issues with the greens. Water is an issue on holes 2, 3, 5, 6, 9. I recommend this course to any type of golfer if they are willing to pay a good amount of money to play.

Lucky to catch a warm weekend and get out. Course held up well over the fall. Unfortunately, the ball washers and bunker rakes have all been removed by now. Played in 2 hours and made it in before nightfall.

Here's the skinny - I've been playing this course since 1977. The last decade or so there's nary a blade of grass out of place.....the course is pristine, extremely well maintained, greens have good speed/very smooth and is scenic. The folks in the clubhouse are nice. Although golf has been played on this site since 1892 the course now looks like an overly maintained modern fairly cookie cutter course, multiple tee boxes with some personality but not much. In the early to mid nineties someone put grass killer on one of the original greens and then they mowed all the others and lost all of them. They then tore them up and put down new sod.....and sadly most if not all of the character/slopes of some outstanding old school CB McDonald original greens were lost forever. And the park district had so much money they decided to redesign/reroute a few holes....the "new" par 4 dog leg left 5th hole is completely out of character and far from old school....built a million dollar overlook sky high eighth tee box and moved all of the the ninth tees the right of pond/lake that you used to have to drive over. The site is historic....the course just isn't. It's nice to have a course/range so nearby but when they charge their residents almost $20 to walk and play nine holes that's a bit over the top. As such I only play there once a year (at most). Best time to play is usually weekdays in the early afternoon. Otherwise what should be a 1.5 hour round turns into 2.5 hours.

Great 9 hole track. Interesting layout and a good challenge. Conditioning was good and greens reasonably slippery - especially for this early in the season. The course land was originally site of Chicago Golf Club and I believe even 1 or 2 hole layouts were retained after CGC moved. Great value!