A view from Settler's Hill Golf Course
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Rating Index Rating
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3.0
502 Reviews (502)
5 Stars
88
4 Stars
182
3 Stars
114
2 Stars
71
1 Stars
47
Conditions
2.6
Value
3.1
Layout
3.8
Friendliness
4.1
Pace
3.8
Amenities
2.5
49.3%
Recommend this course
330 out of 502 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.7
13 Reviews (13)
5 Stars
5
4 Stars
3
3 Stars
2
2 Stars
2
1 Stars
1
Conditions
3.2
Value
3.4
Layout
4.1
Pace
3.8
Amenities
3.0
StaffFriendliness
4.4
69.2%
Recommend this course
9 out of 13 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
2.8
99 Reviews (99)
5 Stars
12
4 Stars
18
3 Stars
24
2 Stars
28
1 Stars
17
Conditions
2.4
Value
2.7
Layout
3.6
Pace
3.8
Amenities
2.3
StaffFriendliness
4.1
42.4%
Recommend this course
42 out of 99 reviews
Read Reviews

About

Holes 18
Type Public
Style Links/Parkland
Par 72
Length 6630 yards
Slope 131
Rating 72.2

Settler's Hill Golf Course sprawls across a diverse landscape that ranges from windswept highlands to mature woodlands. The course actually sits on the site of a former landfill but you would never be able to tell with its rolling topography that has become its signature characteristic. When playing, you'll be transported from the Scottish highlands to the forests of northern Michigan without even having to leave Chicagoland. Links-style and parkland holes are interspersed with water to create a test of your skills you won't soon forget. The greens have their interesting quirks and they are framed with deep bunkers and the rolling fairways demand accuracy. Besides the challenging round and affordable rates, Settler's Hill Golf Course's west-central location in Batavia near the Fox River also makes it a popular choice for meeting friends for a round.

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Settler's Hill Golf Course
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Course Details

Year Built 1988
Fairways Bent Grass
Greens Bent Grass
Golf Season Open: 4/01 Closed: 11/01
Architect Bob Lohmann (1988)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes
Clubs Yes
Pull-carts Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range No
Teaching Pro Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Walking Allowed Yes

Food & Beverage

Snacks

Available Facilities

Clubhouse

Reviews

3.0
502 Reviews (502)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 10
Course Challenges Include:
Elevation Changes 38
Undulating Greens 29
Thick Rough 20
This course/club is great for:
Locals 27
Advanced Golfers 23
Wildlife/ Scenic Views 18
This Course's Location is:
In the 'Burbs 38
Worth the Drive 16
Convenient to the City 10

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

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Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Layout Fair
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 24
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Disappointed

Played this course before it was reconfigured and after. Not a high fan of the changes.
My biggest disappointment is with the overal condition of the course. Fairways were in rough safe along with tee boxes and greens. I will say the San traps were well maintes and certainly fair. Your personal GPS devices won’t work with the changes made on the back nine and the carts do not have GPS. Paid $42 on Golf now and really think for the condition of the course that is too much. Course has decent bones and pretty good layout just needs to TLC.

Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 14
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart
Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Fair
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Still needs a lot of work

Tee boxes were so hard that you needed a hammer to put a tee in. The whole course extremely hard (it was like hitting off a mat) and was badly in need of water - made the distance on my drives look great, but the inconsistency was a killer. Greens were awful - thin, dead and bumpy. Sand traps were nice and fluffy. Unless they are planning on building a new clubhouse, the 1st and 18th hole placements make no sense. Definitely will not be back this year - maybe by 2024 it will have improved.

Conditions Fair
Value Poor
Layout Poor
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 9
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Settlers Hill Built on a Dump and living up to it

This course has really gone downhill. We played it because the “made improvements” and wanted to se the changes. Lots of new sand traps that were in excellent condition but in weird spots in middle of fairways. General condition of fairways and greens was terrible. Paying over $50pp with cart was way overpriced for conditions.

Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Course itself is nice.

The course itself if nice, the fact that the ground conditions are as bad as they are makes it very difficult. The ground is unbelievably hard, and 1/3 of the course is dead/browning. I like the layout and the pace of play but dear lord this place needs a tsunami to soften the ground and green this place up.

Conditions Poor
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Fair
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 27
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Windy weather
Used cart

Ruined remodel

Course reopened last year after a remodeling, and was appalled at how poor of a shape the course was in. The greens were especially terrible (on #3, there was a large trench of missing grass right next to the hole), and the fairways showed evidence of poor soil conditions. Bunkers were in decent shape, but that was about the only bright spot in conditioning. The core design is very good and a fun mix of challenging holes. The conditioning was too much to overcome though. Only 3 staff on duty for the entire course, and the food/beverage options for a Friday afternoon were straight up garbage.

Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Amenities Poor
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
1.0
Previously Played
Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Poor
Friendliness Average
Pace Fair
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Fair
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Needs Some Rest

The new layout has great potential and the green complexes remain some of the most challenging in the area. But the course is not ready for the volume golf that is being played there. Tee boxes are a mess, some you can’t get a tee in the ground and others can’t find enough grass to get a level setup.

The course could use at least a half season to just recover and mature in the new areas. Oversees the greens and fairways and with water and fertilizer your value and enjoyment would escalate.

Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Fair
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Somehow worse after renovations

This used to be my favorite local course. I was very excited to hear how much they were investing into improvements and new amenities. While I think the new features are nice, the old layout of the course was much better. The most glaring issue I have now though is the way they maintain the course now that it's reopened. It's almost as if they ran out of money in the budget for it because half the tee boxes either are torn to shreds or so hard you can't even get a tee into the ground. Very disappointing that so much money was invested into this course yet there is a large concensus which feels it's a significant downgrade

Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 5
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Disappointed

The course was in terrible condition, Fairways were weedÿ and had bare spots the greens were bad with bare spɔts and bumpy I expected a better course for spending 40 dollars

Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Layout Fair
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 20
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Greens still immature

Course well drained and fairways in great shape after renovation. Greens are patchy and have not filled in yet since the major course renovation....new driving range and practice area are excellent additions. Lots of divots in fairways, adding divot repair sand to the carts would be a huge addition.... also divot repair sand on tee boxes would be helpful too.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
3.0
Previously Played
Conditions Poor
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

General problems

Like the changes. Course is coming along nicely. However, not having more yardage markers is bad for game. But the biggest problem was and is there was no water available on a super hot day. No beverage cart. Don’t give the Covid excuse either. We were miserable out there. It will be a while before I come back.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 25
Handicap 15-19
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Previously Played
Wet weather
Used cart

Hacked t-boxes

Having played this course earlier in the year we wanted to go back- We were disappointed most of the t-boxes we hacked to pieces even to the point of being hard to find level ground to stand -Secondly it's obvious that most clients were expecting someone else to fix divots in fairways & ball marks on greens. I know that the course underwent a massive rebuild -but there were large areas of new sod placement that looked like they had been done by children. So I wouldn't recommend playing this course & especially for $65. Very disappointed by the whole day...

Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Fair
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
First Time Playing

Settler’s Hill

An ode to the Scottish links experience. A challenging/easy and fire experience. One of my favorite courses. Most people I talk to don’t like the course. But I loved it.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 17
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Average
Value Fair
Layout Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Fair
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Poor
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