Pine Meadow Golf Club

The course was in very good shape considering that there was a lot of rain the day before. The layout is challenging and makes you think. There was very little standing water though the ground was damp.

Pllayed the morning after the course received a lot of water from the storm. they allowed carts and the fairways drained very well. the greens were in fantastic condition and rolling very true. had a wonderful round of golf and enjoyed the restaurant afterwards.

The course received over an 1" of rain the night before we played. The greens were in excellent shape and rolled very well. The course was draining well -- very little standing water. Golf carts had no restrictions.

Look forward to going back again.

The fairways had some rough spots, but not many. The greens and pace of play were both good. Little pricey, but good public golf in Chicago is hard to come by.

After my first round, I just had to go back now that I had a feel for the layout.
Conditions were incredible...
something really neat happened a range came up and just talked to me...that's it, he just wanted to say hi, now that was refreshing.
I had joined up with some of their regulars and, heck, they tried to talk be into becoming a member of their permanent tee time group.
Just a nice friendly place.

Over the past couple of months I have been looking for a better course in the area that offered all of the golf amenities that one could ask for and I must honestly say that this is the place! Between the 3 chipping greens, 4 putting surfaces, and the 2 driving ranges this place really does have anything that you could need to improve your game. Pine Meadow even offers junior golf programs to help teach your child and to demonstrate proper golf edict to the young up and coming. Also, I know that the price can seem a little high at times but trust me when I say it is worth it. Too many times I have gone to cheaper course where ball marks appeared like mortar fire upon the putting greens and divots dominated the fairways as far as the eye can see, don't even get me started on how long it would take to even get through a single round of golf! I figure that all of these things really have more to do with the moral compass of the type of golfers that go to these course rather than the course itself so I can happily say the Pine Meadow seems to attract the better golfer that understands the process of a round and always seems to leave the course better than they found it! Ultimately, Pine Meadow is a higher price golf course but with it comes the pace of play and conditions that one would expect from this. Not to mention again the practice facilities to either warm you up for a good round or to go out and beat some balls out of frustration after a bad one!

It was a family get together to see our grandson show off his new skills as a junior player. We all had a rewarding experience, from club house to the course.
I purchased a new Greg Norman shirt, my son in law upgraded his putter.
While the course is difficult for us, we could not escape the natural beauty of the place, and we were lucky enough to see a cayote trotting across the fairway.
Chris served us from behind the counter, with a big smile, and friendly manner.
It was truely a pleasant way to spend a late afternoon.

Had heard about this venue, some comments not so good, some very good...so decided to find out for myself. Not sure what happened to some of those not so good comments, but my experience was WOW.
What a find....felt like Pinehurst not Chicago Metro.
Staff was proud and happy to talk about facility.
Range was incredible, gave 4 stars on amenities due to restaurant was just more of a snack bar.
Great selection in golf shop.....
But what impressed me the most was the friendliness of staff.
Greens were incredible....cannot wait to get back.

I hadn't played Pine Meadow for several years. It has always been one of my favorites in the Chicago area.

Great lay out, course in excellent condition,lov ed the greens very professional and friendly staff

friendly staff, pace of play is fast, greens in great shape, fairways always mowed to the correct length, great layout

The course was in good condition considering the rain we got in June. Upper range was open and in good shape. The greens were smooth, a little soft, and just about perfect speed for these greens that have a lot of back to front slope and internal contours.
Maintenance staff were in the process of reworking all the bunkers after all the rain. Most were completed and our group found getting out of them a fairly straightforward process.
Clubhouse was full with post round golfers eating and drinking and staff were very competent and helpful during our entire visit.

I was fortunate to play Pine Meadow in the early evening. The course layout is very fair but challenging.
The conditions were good but only because of the
heavy rains in lake county earlier in the week. The greens rolled very well but again the heavy rains didn't allow cutting when I played.
The staff went out their way to make my experience very enjoyable. The driving range is excellent and the fitting facilities are terrific. Any golfer who visits the northern suburbs of Chicago should make it a point to play Pine Meadow.

So sad what's happened to this course. Within a few years of opening was ranked as a top course in IL. Starting probably 15 years ago (just before our kids practiced and played there regularly) the staff, led by their GM became over the top obnoxious for some reason. Soon thereafter they stopped putting any money into this place. Go there on a Saturday morning and you can walk up (if you're desperate to play). Everyone is on the range and nobody willing to overpay for this crap.
You reap what you sow

I am a scratch golfer who enjoys playing early in the morning at a fast pace. Our fore some was the forth tee time of the day and we walked 18 holes in 3 hours and 50 minutes. We never waited on a shot and didn't hold anyone up so pace of play was as good as it gets. I've been told pace of play slows down later in the day but if you play early, be ready to move and enjoy the quick pace.

The layout of the course is fantastic, no homes and areas that make you feel like you are in Wyoming verses northern Illinois. The handicap ratings on some of the holes are suspect and the front nine played tougher for me than the back with some very long par 3 and par 4 holes from the gold tees. The overall condition of the course was outstanding except the sand traps were very wet. If they repair the drainage in the sand traps, the course condition will be second to none in this area.

This course all but lost their greens a few years ago but after a lot of effort by the current staff, they are now really top notch poa anna greens that are firm and run around 10.5 on the stimp meter. The greens are huge with a lot of undulation so be ready to play a lot of break on all of your putts and do not go above the hole on any front pins or you will really have you work cut out for you. I heard some complaints about the green speed being too slow but I really don't think most people could putt very well on these huge undulating greens if they were much faster than they are right now. The greenskeeper would also lose about half of his pin positions if the greens were much faster due to the undulation. It really didn't take very much to adapt to the slightly slower greens and I enjoyed the challenge of putting greens with a lot of break.

The practice facility is also top notch with new range balls, bent grass hitting areas and several chipping greens with sand traps. A few more targets to shot at different distances would be nice but this is truly a first class place to warm up or practice.

The staff was very nice but we didn't really see a ranger since we were moving pretty quickly early in the day.

If you enjoy a challenging course that is easy to walk, this is a great track.

Check out these pictures of the bunkers.... dirt/dried mud and no sand

So... This is the first time that I have EVER felt compelled to write any review; golf or otherwise.

My threesome began the morning on the first tee box waiting for the group ahead of us to clear the fairway. A single walker literally RAN up and told us that the pro shop said that they could go ahead of us even though we had a 746am tee time. We would've eventually (probably on the next tee) either allowed the single to pass or even join our group but the fact that the pro shop didn't ask us and just dictated to us seemed very unprofessional.

It also became very frustrating that the entire morning seemed to be booked with twosomes; I am a member of a club and most every public course I play will generally put groups together to make foursomes if it is overly crowded (which it was on this day). We ended up letting (4) twosomes pass us on the first four holes! Ridiculous!!!

Here's where it gets really good... When we made the turn my two buddies ran inside to [spend money and] grab a drink and use the restroom. We were told by the starter that they were pretty full behind us and that we needed to get to the 10th tee so as not to create a backup. We played the front nine in 2:15 while still allowing four groups to play through!!!

Now on the tenth tee, the group behind us (another twosome) drove up after we had hit our tee balls and we still attempted to waive them through but one of them decided to run to the clubhouse; so we finished the hole. After we teed off of eleven (my ball on the green and my two buddies within a few yards) the same twosome drove up to the tee box as we were putting out. We now noticed a ranger waiting by our carts to tell us that we needed to pick it up AND let the smaller groups behind us play through... WE HAD BEEN DOING THIS ALL DAY!!! Plus, it's speed up OR let someone through, not hurry up and then wait! Btw...we played the first two holes of the back nine in 16 minutes! After we exchanged words (firm but polite) we drove over to #12 and as was teeing off I hear a cart pull up in the middle of my back swing only to see that same ranger. This time he tells us that we are actually 2 MINUTES AHEAD OF PACE!!! However, he added that we should still let the smaller groups pass when they catch up. Thank you...we know how to play golf! Now in the middle of the 12th fairway and having hit our approaches to the par 5, we waived that same twosome from the previous couple of holes through and this time they passed. We then proceed to wait for thirteen minutes as they finished out the par 5. All along, the same ranger kept driving in and out of the woods to "monitor" the situation from beyond the green that we were playing in to. This was the last straw for me; I picked up my ball and left a golf course for only the second time in my life (the first time I had to leave from food poisoning).

Clearly, Pine Meadow thinks of themselves as an above average public golf course and they are correct. The course was in great shape and their clubhouse is full of quality gear from all of the top brands.

However, when I pay $80 for a mid-week round I expect a few things. I expect not to feel rushed only to find out that we are actually ahead of pace. I expect not to have to let a handful of smaller groups play through because of the way the course schedules. All of this could've been avoided if 1) small groups are combined to form larger groups on busier days, and 2) tee times are spaced 10 minutes apart instead of 7-8 minutes apart. This is a simple remedy that many top courses in the area (including the club I belong to as well as Pine Meadow's sister course Cog Hill) implement to combat these issues.

I have played this course many times and usually play in a couple of the scrambles each year and as I stated before the course itself is always in great condition. However, yesterday will be the last time I ever step foot on the grounds and I will vigorously steer all of my friends and golf groups away from this course! So long Pine Meadow.

I have played Pine Meadow many times. I was part of a Sunday group in the past and stopped because it routinely took 5 hours to play. It can be a very challenging course and the rangers do nothing to help so when beginners play from the back tees one needs to wait and wait and wait. The staff at the pro shop are condescending and arrogant. I was clearly insulted by the manager when I asked about a rain check assumption. He told me to remember the first letters of that word. I'm polite, they were not and I will never play there again.
The greens are better this year than in the past but they still don't compare to the local Forest Preserve or Park District courses (Countryside, a forest preserve course, has much better greens and bunkers). The layout is excellent and it would be a great place to play with the exception of the staff who act like they are doing you a favor taking your money. I played in the fall and the course was not properly blown so the leaves were a real problem, even in the fairways.
There are many other courses in the area which are better values and have staff that is pleasant and helpful (Stonewall Orchard, Steeple Chase, Lake Bluff Golf Course, Thunderhawk and even Countryside Golf). Don't waste your money.

I really like the layout of Pine Meadow. Its challenging yet fair. Greens are POA Annua, so they grow fast and get bumpy in the afternoon. If you play early in the morning, they are smooth as glass. Not a maintenance issue, its a grass type issue. My only feedback for the course would be that they need to do a better job of scattering or picking up grass clippings especially in the rough.

Course was in great shape even with spiked greens. Played a 4 hour round and the layout was pretty nice. Carts were dirty and beat up and you would a expect a nicer clubhouse for the price you play. The staff was friendly and if the course was a lil cheaper I definitely would play again.