james120280

Quite simply, the BEST public course in Illinois...PERIOD!!!

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.