Reid4766722

First time playing Harborside and I was really impressed with the conditioning of the course for late September. With it being the top Chicago public course, I was expecting beat up fairways and unfixed divots galore. Way off.

I grabbed the first available twilight tee time for a measly $42 and had nobody booked in front of me for ~40 minutes. A tactical move, as I showed up and went off 20 minutes early, and didn't really catch a group until 15. Really helped get me in before the sun went down.

As for the layout, I can see why it's a popular course. It's pretty open, but wayward drives could be punished. Green complexes were ok. Variety of holes could've been better, but it's understandable when it's essentially and out-back course for each nine. 3/4 par 5's play S-N, which isn't ideal. Oddly enough, and as hypocritical as this is, the par 3's were my favorite because of the wind. No wind = similar yardages, pretty simple. With wind = 3 different shots.

Overall, I'd return

Pros - Big fan of the routing. In/out of the trees to the re-designed holes. Nice mix of 'easy' vs. 'challenging' holes. Green complexes were great. I enjoyed the runoff areas off 4, 7, 15.

Cons - 1 fairway was in rough shape. Some over-watered and squishy spots. Greens appeared recently top-dressed, but still rolled very well. Many tee boxes closed for repair, so I played a huge variety of them!

Verdict - Great day minus the storm that rolled in while on 16, so I called it quits. Played as a single, which was great, but want to get back there with friends at some point.

A-/B+

I had really high hopes going into this round and overall, I was really impressed with my first trip here and to a Ross. It poured the day before, which led to a phone call from staff saying carts wouldn’t be allowed. Very glad this happened as I don’t have a carry bag, but they do have push carts.

As for the course, standing water was all over. Not their fault. Nor were the extra squishy greens. Staff may have taken this into account as some pins were tucked. I really enjoyed the design, but based on prior readings, the greens have shrank over the years and trees have been added that provide nothing.

I’d definitely recommend this course to others and honestly can’t wait to visit again, hopefully when it’s drier.