A view of a hole at Bittersweet Golf Club.
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Rating Index Rating
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4.2
273 Reviews (273)
5 Stars
98
4 Stars
142
3 Stars
21
2 Stars
8
1 Stars
4
Conditions
4.1
Value
4.1
Layout
4.3
Friendliness
4.4
Pace
3.9
Amenities
4.1
91.9%
Recommend this course
252 out of 273 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.7
7 Reviews (7)
5 Stars
2
4 Stars
3
3 Stars
1
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
1
Conditions
3.4
Value
3.6
Layout
4.3
Pace
3.4
Amenities
4.1
StaffFriendliness
4.3
85.7%
Recommend this course
6 out of 7 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.2
42 Reviews (42)
5 Stars
17
4 Stars
18
3 Stars
5
2 Stars
1
1 Stars
1
Conditions
4.0
Value
4.0
Layout
4.1
Pace
3.9
Amenities
4.1
StaffFriendliness
4.4
88.1%
Recommend this course
37 out of 42 reviews
Read Reviews

About

Holes 18
Type Public
Par 72
Length 6751 yards
Slope 135
Rating 73.3

Bittersweet Golf Club in Gurnee, Ill. is ideally situated for a scenic round of golf. The diverse landscape flows seamlessly from lush wetlands to native prairies covered with colorful wildflowers. The layout also winds across a 100-year-old sage meadow and through forests of mature hardwoods, which serve as a home to an abundance of wildlife. Beyond the beautiful scenery, the terrain presents many challenges. The undulating fairways demand accuracy as you hit from multi-tiered tee boxes. Water also comes into play on almost every hole and there's an array of strategically placed bunkers you'll have to avoid. The eighth is the toughest hole on the front nine, a par-4 dogleg right with a lightning fast green. Bittersweet Golf Club's back nine is known for its scenery, which is best displayed on the signature par-5 11th hole, which offers not only a challenge but also a spectacular view from the tee.

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Course Details

Year Built 1996
Golf Season Open: 3/15 Closed: 11/15

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Caddies No
Golf School Academy Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

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

Food & Beverage

Restaurant

Available Facilities

Clubhouse, Banquet Facilities

Accolades

  • Golf Advisor: Top Courses in Illinois (2016 #12)

Reviews

4.2
273 Reviews (273)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 14
Patio Dining 8
Course Challenges Include:
Water Hazards 23
Forced Carries 18
Bunkers 12
This course/club is great for:
Advanced Golfers 19
Locals 14
Wildlife/ Scenic Views 13
This Course's Location is:
In the 'Burbs 17
Worth the Drive 15
Near Local Attractions 8

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 86
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Top 1000 Contributor
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 448
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Illinois Advisor
Top 10 Contributor

Only 3 stars...slow bad play

On a weekday morning you should not have to fight to just tee off. Checking in we were told there was a foursome and single in front of us. We get to the tee and have to ask what everyone's tee time is. Yep directly after the single except the single was smart and asked if he could join with the twosome teeing off. Thanks for that but then a two some that was supposed to play with the two some that just teed off showed up 10 MINUTES LATE for their time while we were about to walk on the 1st tee box. And these guys actually expected (and assumed they would play ahead of us.....even though they were very late. For good measure both were terrible golfers - had no idea where to park their cart...pretty much made us wait the entire 18 holes...several holes just dawdling to clear and drive away the front side of most greens. Many times we had to back off tee shots because these two Richards were off searching for balls deep into the woods and one would suddenly appear with no club in hand just walking across the fairway with no cart in sight. Clueless. It took them well over 15 minutes to play the 10th hole. They deserved all that bad Karma - both lost a dozen plus balls. This is not a course for twice a season golfers because of all the water hazards and swamps. Several greens are angled (back to front can be 3 clubs and the angles makes them not very deep especially with front or back flags.. Course was in decent shape but over the years we've never had a round that had a decent pace to it...weekday or weekend and I'm well into double digits rounds played here. We're sick and tired of having to be our own starter.....and no ranger to move play along. Golf on a weekday midday should not take close to 5 hours. 3 stars. If you enjoy a tight test of golf with lots of hazards and challenges to navigate this course is for you.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 20
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Amateur Hour and no Rangers

Course and practice area are very bmnice and a good challenge but I had to watch fivesomebahead of mectee off on every hole. No rangers! Pace of play is awful. I'd recommend if they ran it professionally. I had the aforementioned five some then when they let us play through (twosome) we got stuck behind 4 more horrible golfers. Once we skipped a hole and got our ahead of them I enjoyed the course. Front nine took over 2.5 hours. If they had someone keeping pace moving, this place is great. They don't though so it ruins the experience for golfers that expect etiquette. Really a shame since layout and course are nice. I wouldn't recommend or go back given this simple lack of attention to detail

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Good
Pace Poor
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 6
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 5
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
3.0
Previously Played

Overpriced

Not worth $70 dollars it’s more like a $50 course. Has been in much better shape in the past and better management. Never saw a ranger out on the course to push the pace of the slow pace of play. Seems like it’s ran by a bunch of teenagers with no experience in the golf industry.

Conditions Average
Value Fair
Layout Average
Friendliness Fair
Pace Average
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 18
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart

Stay in the Fairway

Great course. Lots of trees. Easy to lose a ball (or 10) if you do not stay in play.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 7
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Difficult!

Make sure to bring a couple of extra boxes of golf balls. Very difficult course for just your average golfer that likes to play on weekends. 1st time playing here and also the last

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Poor
Friendliness Fair
Pace Poor
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 25
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 25
Skill Advanced
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Bitter and sweet

We often say, this course is both bitter and sweet. It is challenging, but so beautiful and we really love to play it. Doesn’t even matter if the score was a little high the day was perfect and it was truly enjoyable. I almost think this course is more female, friendly than male, because women tend to hit straighter and not as far. Highly recommend you give it a try.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 16
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 5
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Bittersweet Review

Nice course. Nice condition. Good price on golfnow.com.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Fairly Easy
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Played On
Reviews 184
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 8
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

One change made quite a difference.

Last time I played here, the only issue I had was that the grass clippings were not blown off of the grass in the rough, causing us to lose balls that didn’t go OB. This time around everything was GREAT! Everything was groomed nicely. Fun bunch of par 3s on this course. Going to play this course a least a handful more times this year.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 10
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
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