13clubchallenger

First time to play here since renovations. I was impressed. Every hole has been an improvement. I like that for the most part you can play the course visually without a roadmap. GPS in carts was helpful for yardages. They rolled the greens before play and we were in one of the earliest groups, yet surfaces were a little rough around the first few holes. 4:10 pace.

Had to bail out after 14 holes due to lightning in the area. All in all, the recent reviews are correct about the state of conditioning being spotty, especially the greens. Yet this is an interesting layout with challenging green undulations and some tricky par 5's. Should be a 4 star course but current conditioning held it back.

Groupings were pretty well stacked up but we got around in 4 hours on a Saturday afternoon. Not bad.

Expected the course to play firmer because of the dry weather, but greens held well and had consistent pace. One of my favorite layouts.

Always fun to play here. Whatever green aeration had been reported previously has completely healed. Course in great shape. Note that many of the greens are crowned, and a few putts in 2-3 foot range had enough break to play outside the hole.

We went off early as a 3-some and didn't see another golfer until the turn. Front desk let us go off a few minutes early. 3:35 pace and early bird rate.

4:15 pace on a beautiful weekday. I decided to play it forward to the senior tees (I qualify) and was glad I did. But a few of the markers were down on the short tee boxes, giving an unrealistic yardage advantage on a few holes. I played it backward there.

Greens were fairly consistent, keeping up with the recent uptick of conditioning. Diabolical pin placement on #11.

This course could easily earn a 5 star if it had a range, had better marshaling/flow control on weekends (not an issue on this day), and more consistent conditioning.

Many courses in the area are still recovering from all the rain. This course will usually be one the last to dry out.

We were restricted to walking, disclosed to us well before tee time. Many bare bunkers, hard to tell if from weather or otherwise.

Friendly starter. Weekend twilight rate. Course got busy in the last couple hours of daylight.

I picked probably the worst weather day of the year to attempt to play.

To their credit, the management let us out in cart with no restrictions. They granted us a 9 hole rain check (we confirmed before we went off).

All in all, course seemed fine. Very wet, and rough in some areas was very long as it probably has been too wet to cut. We played the back 9 and there seemed to be a large number of back pin positions.

Looking forward to the other 9 on a better weather day!

There was recent green aeration. I thought the greens would have healed a bit more given the time to recover, but only some did.

Bring your walking legs. You may ride, but you cannot always drive to where your ball may wind up. They don't call this course Ravines without a reason!

A 4 star course in 3- star condition. I''m sure it will get improve throughout the season.

Lucky to catch a warm weekend and get out. Course held up well over the fall. Unfortunately, the ball washers and bunker rakes have all been removed by now. Played in 2 hours and made it in before nightfall.

Basic golf describes this course on a good day. Unfortunately, this was not one of those good days.

Course is really beat up from the season, and the fact that recent green aeration has not healed did not help. Greens were really beat up and fairways shaggy. On one par 5, there is a huge mound of soil and rocks where a bunker should be (or was?).

Management gave us the internet rate as a walk up, which was decent. This was a round planned around socialization so course served the purpose, but don't plan a serious round here until conditions improve.

One of the better park district courses in the Chicago area, holding up well with the dry weather. Just remember, everything breaks toward the river.

Fairways good, greens generally same although were rough around the hole with recent heavy play. Rough was basically dormant and hard as a rock - beware shots rolling into hazards that would ordinarily be held up.

Course has held up well with the long dry spell. Fairways well watered. Greens were true.

Any wind will double in strength out here. Fortunately, we played on a fairly calm day.

4 hour round. Nice lunch in the clubhouse, with great service. Overall, a very enjoyable round.

Upside: Accessible location and value price, not long but undulations on greens and water hazards will provide the challenge. Downside: No range and there are more appealing Nugent designs. The course is very claustrophobic both with proximity of adjacent holes as well as residences on the periphery.

The staff is friendly. There seems to be an honest effort toward maintaining conditions.There are notes in the carts to remind about fixing ball marks and divots. However, the clientele needs to follow those directions. They also need to learn to not pick up balls that do not belong to them.

Given that I go in with zero expectations for golf on a holiday, I was not disappointed.

4:15 pace was good but we went off very early. Really wish I could recommend, but I would not want another round like this.

The course has fundamentally good design and many visually appealing holes. Lots of water and OB. But the conditions didn't live up to the design. Course conditions ranged from good (fairways) to terrible (green side bunkers with little sand, large rocks in them, and weeks of growth of foliage).

On a few holes it is difficult to discern the line of play or proximity of hazards. There are residences running continuously along the perimeter of the course. Some residents evidently think it's ok to let their small children run out and play on a green while golfers are trying to complete their round. Not good.

Friendly staff in clubhouse. No range. Practice green is same pace as course, but surprisingly slower than expected. Perhaps the recent rains have softened the course up a bit. For sure, the greens were not taking well to foot scrapes and prints.

Played in just under 4 hours, not bad for a Friday afternoon.

A cautious recommend based on the layout, but dependent on the pricing you can get and whether conditions will improve.

Reviewed this course in May and remarked that it needed some time to get into mid-season shape. It's still a work in progress.

Quite a few spots through the green that need attention. Putting surfaces were really soaked. Some fairway bunkers had puddles, but others were newly filled.

90 degree enforced today. But played in 3:40 riding, going out very early. Got a Hot Deal on Golf Now so high marks for value. I like the design, and worth playing when the price is right.

Interesting layout, with some great elevated views. Tough slopes on many greens, which can bring 3 putts into the picture. Number 11 requires 3 perfect shots, and even then you need to negotiate the severity of the green.

The previous reviews are correct about the availability of drinking water; you need to bring your own. During our round however, the beverage cart service made frequent visits.

Decent pace of play for a Friday afternoon at 4 hours 20 min, and a friendly starter on number one. Course in good shape.

The overall rating awarded here is reflective of this entire facility as both a par 3 course and range.

This course is well known locally as a family oriented destination for a speedy round, where beginners can learn the game and experts can sharpen their touch. Despite the short length (about 100 yards per hole), there are enough twists to keep the experts on their toes. Greens, bunkers, and even a couple approaches are trickier than some par 3's on standard length courses. Greens are usually a bit slower than average but get faster around their annual par 3 tournament. The tees will be more like fairway length, so use a tee if you like to trap your wedges.

There is an active junior golf program each summer for various age groups. Several PGA Class A pros are on staff here with wide availability for lessons. Grass tees are offered on the range, and the range balls have great feel. The range is open all winter with heated stations. Adjacent and associated is a challenging mini golf track (not reviewed here but it is very good).

My only wish for improvement is for more than one ball washer throughout the course (currently the only washer in on #1 tee).

Wonderful facility, operated by a wonderful golf family.

The last time I played this course, it was only a year or two after it opened. Wasn't sure what to expect after all these years. Fortunately the course has stood up well.

The layout boasts a stout slope rating, but you may find your game plays a little better than what you'd expect from that. Generally there is ample room off the tee. Seems some trees have been cleared out here and there (like #4). Others have grown in (you really can't drive #9 anymore). A few of the holes will remind you that this course is built on an old strip mine, with the sensation that you are almost playing through a tunnel down the fairway (#5 and #8).

Played as a twosome, first off for the day. 3:10 pace. Friendly pro shop. Watch cart signs carefully, as sometimes you will come near the play of another hole. A few spotties on the greens but nothing that should keep you away from playing.

Par 3 13th is perhaps more scenic than the signature 16th.

Strong 4 star rating. Great value if you are willing to do the drive to get there.

One of the best public courses in the area that I have played. Course in great shape. Played at a great pace.

One thing they do on the scorecard is offer alternative tee configurations beyond the standard color tee marker sets. These days with my vanishing distance, I look for either a short set of blues or a long set of whites. The card gives you your ratings and slopes for such configurations, blending blue/white holes for example throughout the round.

Beware the fairway bunkers. The sand is so deep near the edges, your ball will bury. I had one shot leave only half an inch of ball exposed.

Nice layout. Attractive course that definitely links with nature as advertised. Enough water hazards to keep your attention.

Hot and windy day. Course was rather empty for a Saturday afternoon. 3:15 pace. Friendly staff. Grass tee range.

We were cautioned in the pro shop that the conditions were playing fast. True to that, several approaches needed to be played short to allow for run up. Same for most chips. Greens were a good pace and very consistent.

The only shot that checked was the 315 yard drive that my partner hit directly into the par 4 6th hole from the blue tees. Go figure.