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4.4
224 Reviews (224)
5 Stars
102
4 Stars
97
3 Stars
17
2 Stars
4
1 Stars
4
Conditions
4.8
Value
4.4
Layout
4.5
Friendliness
4.8
Pace
4.4
Amenities
3.7
98.2%
Recommend this course
210 out of 224 reviews
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About

Holes 18
Type Public/Municipal
Par 72
Length 6893 yards
Slope 129
Rating 73.5

Prairie Bluff Golf Course in Lockport stretches across 237 acres of gently rolling hills covered with native prairie grass. The course has a links-style layout that can play much tougher depending on the wind speed that day. Overall though, the course is player friendly enough for any skill level. The layout is open with few trees and the fairways are wide and forgiving, taking away some of the intimidation provided by the bordering rough. There is also water on the golf course, but the hazards that come into play aren't overly strenuous. You can still expect some challenges from the minimal but strategically placed bunkering. Besides the golf course, Prairie Bluff is known as one of the area's hidden gems for its outstanding restaurant, which is known especially for the barbecue brisket.

Course Details

Year Built 1998
Fairways Bent Grass
Greens Bent Grass
Golf Season Open: 4/01 Closed: 11/15
Architect Andy North (1998) Roger Packard (1998) Greg Martin (2012)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes
Clubs Yes
Pull-carts Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Bunker Yes
Caddies No
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes
Practice Hole Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Fivesomes Allowed No
Walking Allowed Yes
Dress code Appropriate golf attire.

Food & Beverage

Bar

Available Facilities

Clubhouse, Banquet Facilities

Accolades

  • Golf Advisor: Top Courses in Illinois (2016 #19)

Reviews

4.4
224 Reviews (224)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 23
Patio Dining 16
Brunch 11
Course Challenges Include:
Bunkers 21
Thick Rough 21
Water Hazards 16
This course/club is great for:
Locals 27
Advanced Golfers 17
Seniors 14
This Course's Location is:
In the 'Burbs 30
Worth the Drive 19

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 Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Overall

In great condition , well maintained with great pace of play

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Response from on 07/17/2018:
Thank you for playing Prairie Bluff Golf Course! We appreciate your 5 stars and kind words. Come back again soon!
Played On
Reviews 8
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Great course but SLOW even with 630 tee time

Great course and great value! However when 8 come to play at 7 am or before I expect to get done in 4.5 hours or less. Typically way less when starting at 630. Love the wide open format and greens held. They rolled slower than I would like but were true. Yardage markers were a bit off but we lasered our shots in. We quit after 15 holes as it was too slow. I hardly ever quit but the groups ahead were slowing to a stop in the heat. Keep the morning tee times to those that can at least move along. Otherwise great course but I wouldn't drive to risk a 5 or 5.5 hour round regardless of the price.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Amenities Average
Default User Avatar
Commented on 07/03/2018

I am sorry to hear about your round. I am looking into the day, but I have no groups that meet your description (back to back foursomes before 6:30) over the last 3 weeks. Can you please provide more information.

Played On
Reviews 6
Handicap 25+
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Hot weather
Used cart

Nice Father's Day weekend round

Booked through GolfNow with my 16-year-old son and me with a cart. Was $70 total. 7:42 a.m. tee time. Course was in really good shape. A few rough spots, but overall in really good shape. Wide open, but strategic bunker placements made up for it. Greens were lightning fast. I had a hard time with that because I'm a mediocre player. My son struggled somewhat too and he's a high school golfer with the school team. Was paired up with a couple of really good players. Had a 20-minute lightning delay. Tee boxes were in good shape. We played the longest tees. Overall, I look forward to going back.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Response from on 06/20/2018:
Hello, we're happy you enjoyed our good course conditions and friendly staff. Thank you for playing Prairie Bluff Golf Course! #PrairieBluffGC
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Great Links Style Golf in Chicago

The course is set on open, rolling terrain. The fairways, rough, and greens are very well maintained. Unfortunately, I found the sand. Fortunately, the sand is as good as it gets in Chicagoland.

The restaurant has both indoor and outdoor dining, and a great menu.

I'll be back.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Response from on 06/19/2018:
Hello, we're happ you enjoyed our good course conditions and a great value. Thank you for playing Prairie Bluff Golf Course, we look forward to seeing you again soon! #PrairieBluffGC
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

The course was a links style. We had a lot of rain in the morning and the course was wet but handled the water fairly well. The course was only allowing carts on cart path only which if we would have known before we would have walked the course since we walked most of it anyway. Overall was a fun course to play.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Response from on 06/11/2018:
Thank you for playing Prairie Bluff Golf Course. We're glad you had fun! Hopefully you'll have better weather for your next round.
Played On
Reviews 28
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Amenities Average
Response from on 06/04/2018:
Thanks for the 4 stars, Frank!
Played On
Reviews 8
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Response from on 06/04/2018:
Thanks for the 5 stars! Come back again soon.
Played On
Reviews 73
Handicap 25+
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Top 1000 Contributor
First Time Playing

Great Course

Fairways, greens and general conditions were excellent. Most well maintained course I've played in the Chicago area. Highly recommend!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Response from on 06/11/2018:
Thank you for playing Prairie Bluff Golf Course! We appreciate you highly recommending our golf course to others as well. Come back soon!
Played On
Reviews 38
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Hot weather
Walked

Maybe my favorite golf course

All things considered Prairie Bluff just might be my favorite go to course. Always in good to very good shape and a challenge for better golfers but very playable for high index golfers. Lots of space to hit a wayward shot, find it and hit it again. And it is just beautiful to look at. Very friendly staff and pace of play is usually pretty good. Greens roll true for the most part and the rough around the green is thick and difficult, a combination better players love for the challenge and high index players can appreciate because they won't lose balls.

My ONLY complaint is they will all too often put pins ON slopes instead at the top or base of slopes. Nothing more frustrating than hitting an excellent iron 10 feet past the pin only to find you have to go over a hump and cannot stop it on the other side. I treated a friend to a round and alas he will never return he was so frustrated with the pin placements. I shot even par with 2 birdies and my only 2 bogies were 3 putts from pins on slopes. They do so many things so right it is a shame they get this wrong. But again, pin placement is my only complaint and I play there at least 2 times a week. A must play if you have not experienced it.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Response from on 06/11/2018:
Thank you for playing Prairie Bluff Golf Course! We're thrilled to hear that you consider us to be one of your favorite courses. We are very appreciative of your kind words but also your feedback regarding the hole locations. See you again soon!
Played On
Reviews 46
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Fun Great Price

You will like this course Lots of tees to choose from
Good food as well When I can get a deal i can’t resist Me and my wife have played here maybe 30 to 50 times

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Response from on 06/11/2018:
Thanks for playing Prairie Bluff Golf Course again and again! We're glad to hear you enjoy the food as well as the golf. Be sure to Like us on Facebook for the latest course news and specials. Hope to see you out here for another 50 rounds!
Played On
Reviews 6
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Response from on 05/24/2018:
Thanks for the 5 stars!
Played On
Reviews 11
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Nice course, good conditions

One green had some bad bare spots, but otherwise conditions were very good. Greens were smooth and large, didn't have a lot of huge breaks. Layout is OK but only a few water holes, hardly any trees, overall not terribly hard. The wind wasn't blowing hard but I suspect it can get very windy as it is fairly high up and not shielded much.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Difficulty Fairly Easy
Response from on 05/24/2018:
Thanks for playing Prairie Bluff Golf Course! We're glad to hear you enjoyed the course conditions and layout. The wind can definitely be a factor so we're glad to hear you played on a calm day. Come back again soon!
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Excellent Course

Always well manicured. Excellent, friendly staff. Beware on windy days!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Response from on 05/16/2018:
Thank you very much! Our staff is always working hard to make sure we provide the best golf experience in the area. See you again soon!
Played On
Reviews 2
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Response from on 05/02/2018:
Thanks for the 4 stars!
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Windy weather
Used cart

Great Condition

Some of the truest greens I've played on in a long time. Very impressed with my first round at Prairie Bluff. Course is pretty straight forward this early in the year. I could see the difficulty rising significantly when the rough/fescue begins to grow in more. Course was in great condition and the rangers were very present to keep pace of play up. I will definitely be adding this course to my list of courses to play again in the future.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Response from on 05/16/2018:
Thank you for playing Prairie Bluff Golf Course! We're glad you enjoyed your round with us and we're thrilled to hear you'll be adding Prairie Bluff to your list of courses to play again in the future. Be sure to Like us on Facebook for the latest course news and specials.
Played On
Reviews 8
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Response from on 04/26/2018:
Thanks for recommending our course to others!
Played On
Reviews 18
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Response from on 04/26/2018:
Thank you! Come back again soon.
Played On
Reviews 14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
2.0
Previously Played

Sand, Sand, Sand!

Sand ALL over the greens. I know it’s December, but hey Prairie Bluff, “Don’t charge almost $40 is. December then! Or have some info. on GolfNow about the course condition. There are plenty of other courses in a 5-10 mike radi where golfers can go besides you. Remember that.” Greedy!

Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Played On
Reviews 73
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Top 1000 Contributor
Previously Played
Windy weather
Used cart

Always Windy at Prairie Bluff

Always windy here as it is a links course but loads of fun and easy to score if you keep it in the fairway. Greens were super fast so you had to use finesse in putting.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 42
Handicap Don't know
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

great course

great course no cart person so bring your own drinks snacks

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Fair
Pace Average
Amenities Poor
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