kevinmci58

It's been about 10 years since I played here. My memories were an ugly second hole around a lake, and back to back par 3s on the back 9. Well, the second hole is improved and a good looking hole now. The greens were some of the best I've played this summer. Played on an an early Saturday morning (6:40am) and played in 3 hours. Really. The few groups ahead all played at a good pace. Enjoyed it.

This course has some of the more creative holes in the area, especially on the interior. Many holes are funnel shaped from the tee. Narrow, tree lined fairways that widen as you move towards the green. The greens were in fantastic shape. There are three par 3s over 200 yards to add to the challenge. There are also short par 4s and par5s where game management is important. Now, the bad part. The part of the course that runs along the Dupage airport or roads is just ugly. It wouldn't take much to improve the look of the course. Replace the fence, add some trees. Additionally, there were five balls hit in our vicinity without a Fore being yelled. I guess this course attracts hackers with low rates. Pace wasn't great, sad we're used to slow play on the weekends. Never saw an on course marshall, so the course management doesn't care either.

This is a fun course to play. Not overly difficult, but some challenging holes. The course always seems to be in good condition, from the range to the greens. Used to find deals here, would play here more often.

Prince Winbush is one of the best (Assistant) Pros in the area. Otherwise, the day was a loss. It's early April, and the course was nearly empty in the afternoon. Yet, we managed to get behind the slowest group in the world. They were on 3 when we started, and we caught them on the 4th hole. They were playing 17-18 minutes per hole. It's hard to review a course, because you can't get past the pace of play. They had 3 holes open in front of them. Slow pace of play is killing the game. We skipped 8 and 9, played the back in 1:40.

It's been 6years since i played here. It's not a difficult course and a decent layout. Played the front in 1:30, and zipped through 10 and 11. Then, ONE HOUR TO PLAY 12 and 13. All because of one group choking the course. Played the back in 2:45. No Marshall's around. While we waited on 12, the group behind went and replayed 10, and 11. We were still waiting on 12. Since the course management doesn't care, AVOID THIS COURSE. DO NOT PLAY HERE.

I was paired with a twosome, that were fun to play with. We played in under 4 hours on a late Sunday morning. Course was in good condition. We saw one Marshall all day, on the 17th tee, who seemed to be recording cart numbers which seemed odd

I booked on Golfnow for $18, then it rained. I was supposed to be in a foursome but I think the rain chased a lot of people away. I had not played in Orchard Valley in a couple years. I remember when the carts had GPS, and the course didn't seem as well maintained as I remember. I didn't do any warmup and hit the first tee. The first green looked slow, but the speed of greens was good.

There was a threesome ahead of me that seemedslow, so I skipped 3 and 4. I then saw a foursome of older gentlemen that were going to let me play through on 6 but I just skipped that hole too. I caught up to the next group when I went to 14. I waited for them to reach the green, since there was nobody immediately behind me.

The course was in pretty good shape. Tees were fine, greens were pretty good. This still remains a tough course but fun to play.

I wanted to play here after the renovations. I didn't notice any difference in the holes. The greens on the practice holes were very sandy. There was a little sand on the first three greens and they played a little slower than normal. The rest of the greens were the usual quick speed. We were a twosome behind a foursome but pace of play was good. We were alerted to a storm and advised to come in, on the cart display. We played one more hole and got in before the rain! We waited out about a 40 minute storm. We returned to the course and finished under 4 hours even with the delay. This course is fun and challenging. Keep it on the fairway and close to the hole for a good day.

I've been playing Tamarack since 1998. The greens were excellent, as always. However, the rest of the course was terrible. Tamarack has regressed to the point of being a dog track, This used to be one of the best courses in the area. Tamarack has done a lot of outings in the past. Now, there were bare spots throughout the fairway. Bunkers had a minimal amount of sand. Some basic maintenance is needed. Then, the course setup was too easy. I've always played the black tees and that was a good test for me. The par 3s were set up at their listed distance. However, the par 4s were about 30 yards shorter than on the scorecard. 10 is listed as a 530 yard par 5. It was playing at about 450. 12 is listed as 570, it was playing around 480. Oh yeah, The guy in the pro shop didn't seem like he wanted to be there. So, the only positive was that the greens were in great shape. I don't expect to play here again.

Played on a crisp October morning. Pace of play was excellent. Course was in good condition, the fairways had been aerated. The greens were true and fast.

I'm playing a tournament at FH in a few weeks so I wanted to get a feel. The course starts easy, but gave me a chance to appreciate the greens. There is undulation on every hole, but it's gentle. No sharp breaks, The undulation is sometimes hard to detect so take your time to read the greens.

Pay attention to the names given to each hole because they give clues that may not be obvious from the tee. You need to think on this course, placement of shots is key. If you don't hit to the right spot, you can find yourself in trouble. The ball rolls well on this course with all the hills so even a poorly struck shot could have good results. The first 8 holes are scoreable so take advantage. The 9th hole is the first real challenge where you need two good shots or a big score can result.

The back 9 is completely different. Take advantage of the first five holes, as 15-18 will test your endurance and patience. Especially on 15 and 16, you need to place your tee ball in the right spot, otherwise you're playing for bogey. On 15, the ground is either bare or divot filled where most people lay up on the second shot (80 yards) so it may be better to layup around 120 (a down slope funnels many balls to the 80 yard zone). 16 requires a precise tee shot. 17 requires a well struck iron. 18 is more open but has plenty of trouble. It is easy to have a high score on any of these 4 holes.

The greens are shaved, perhaps too much. They play quick, but are fair. I found it hard to get close to a pin with approach shots, not knowing how the greens undulated.

The key here is not to be greedy. Take your medicine sometimes, and take advantage of the scoreable holes.

The rack rate seems high, but there are discount rates out there.

Links of Carillon always looks great. The entire complex is well maintained. However, many of the carts didn't have GPS, and those that did looked like it was jerryrigged. I have to assume that the are doing a conversion to new carts or a new GPS system. Also, there were numberous fresh ball marks on the greens. Come on, golfers, fix your marks! The group ahead had two walkers. I'm not sure what they were thinking because they would walk on a 90 degree from their ball then walk down the cart path. They walked a lot longer than they needed to, and this naturally slowed them down. After their 4th holes, they were walking a more direct path to their ball.

When I first played the course, I played from the white tees, and it was easy to score well. From the blues, it's a different story. This is very challenging and you have to keep your focus. IT's early Spring and the rate was $23 with cart for 18 holes. Not too bad. The bunkers need work, and they didn't have rakes out yet. Overall, the course was in pretty good shape. Pace of play was good, but funny how everyone on the course seemed to apologize to each other for playing slow. 3 1/2 hours isn't bad for a nice April Friday afternoon.

You can usually find good rates at Village Greens. I played for free through the Birthday Club so I can't be too critical. The course was actually in decent shape considering that it is the first week it has been opened for play. Negatives: the bunkers need sand, the bunkers had no rakes, and no ball washers yet on the course (considering some places were muddy this was annoying), no beverage/food service. The pro shop staff is always friendly and accommodating, no other staff was around.

Played on November 21. Early morning fog didn't really clear until the 14th hole. But only lost one ball due to the fog. Course is still in good condition, even for late November. Played on the #1 course.

Had a tournament at Willow Crest cancelled once after a night of rain. It had rained for a couple days, so parts of the course were very soggy. It was cart path only. Also, the greens had recently been aerated and were much slower than I've seen in the past. Otherwise, the tees and fairways were in great shape. I'm not sure there is an easy hole on the course. Bring your A game and keep your concentration up. 6 par 3s, all require a good shot; no cheapies. Long par 5s, especially 11 at 596 yards. Rate was $35 in October (70 degree day) - good rate for this course. Barely finished in daylight, 4 hour round on a busy course.