fjgilbert

I've played Highland Woods many times over the years. When I first started playing golf Highland Woods was a nice challenge. As my skill improved I began to migrate away from Highland Woods to play more difficult courses. I now play Highland Woods when I'm struggling with my game and I need to play a course to "lighten the load" so to speak.

A word of warning however. More often than not the pace of play at Highland Woods is very slow particularly in the afternoon. So I choose my tee times carefully. I try to play the course in the morning on weekdays.

The greens are generally in good condition. The fairways can be "iffy" and the rough is usually troublesome. The rough is generally short enough to allow you to find your golf ball but it's long enough to offer a challenge.

There are plenty of trees on the course and you'll encounter water occasionally. The 6th hole is most challenging in this regard. Water comes into play on the right side of the fairway for almost the entire length of the hole. This isn't particularly unique except for the fact that the water is difficult to see on your second shot and the fairway slants towards the water. So the best advice I can give you for this hole is STAY LEFT all the way to the green.

If you're planning on playing this course as a single and you want to use a cart, plan on being paired with a stranger. However, if you're lucky enough to be playing on a slow day, you'll generally be allowed to be in a cart by yourself. I find this is true for most of the courses that I play.

I think the normal greens fee for this course is way too high. I find this is true for all of the Billy Casper managed golf courses in the area. That's why you should use GolfNow to find special rates. You can also use the forest preserve web site to look for special rates.

One last thing. If you play during the winter regardless of the temperature, this course is open all year. So I play this course frequently during the winter months until the heavy snow falls. However, call the course before you play to ensure they're offering winter rates. I've been UNpleasantly surprised a couple of times at the greens fee during November, December and January.

I'll start with a summary: Fairway conditions - excellent; Green conditions - excellent; Rough - excellent (i.e., not long enough to lose golf balls but thick enough to draw your attention).

I found the fairways on Bittersweet to be a nice mix of narrow, hard to hit fairways with fairways that were wide enough to enable you to relax a bit. All of the fairways were nicely cut and therefore rewarded you with a good lie for your effort provided you didn't land in a divot.

I always judge a golf course by the condition of its greens. I can forgive unkempt fairways and granular sand traps if a course's greens are in pristine condition. Bittersweet had none of the former and a lot of the latter. I like fast greens on which a ball rolls true. Bittersweet didn't disappoint. This means that you need a deft touch in your short game. A knowledge of the greens wouldn't hurt either.

The sand in the traps wasn't as fine as I would like but the traps were manageable.

I started playing the course from the white tees. However, after the first ten holes I decided to move to the blue tees because the distance from the white tees was way too short for me. And I'm not a long hitter. Bittersweet's score card states that anyone with a handicap from 6 to 17 should play from the blue tees. I disagree with that. My opinion is that anyone with a handicap from 6 to 12 should play from the blue tees. I'd hate to be behind a player with a 17 handicap playing from the blue tees unless of course he/she knows how to keep pace.

This course also has its share of water and trees. However, since I was playing the course for the first time I paid particular attention to the score card for distances and hazards and to my pleasant surprise the score card was very helpful.

Anyway I thoroughly enjoyed this course and I would return to it in a heart beat.

My impression of a golf course relies first and foremost on the quality of its greens. The greens of Fox Run were in excellent condition. So I was very satisfied with the greens. However, I can't say the same thing for the fairways. The fairways were in desperate need of cutting.

Many of the holes require straight shooting. What I mean by that is there is not a lot of room for bailing out on these holes. So either hit a good shot or face the consequences. I personally like that on a golf course.

The pace of play was very slow. I've encountered this a number of times when playing Fox Run. So if you're a fast player (which I am), expect to play at a slower pace than you're used to. I tolerated this because I received a great deal on GolfNow. And besides I like the golf course.

All three nine hole courses are very well maintained. The greens are always in excellent condition. Because of the condition of the greens I always keep this course in my list of the top five that I play in the North/Nortwest suburbs of Chicago. That's not to say that the greens are the sole feature of this course. But I always judge the condition of a golf course first and foremost by the condition of its greens.

The rough on this course can be punishing. And I think rightfully so. The rough is not necessarily long but it is thick. So it's not difficult to get out of the rough but it is very difficult to make correct contact with the club face to pull off a good shot.

This course rewards good shot making with well maintained fairways and with approachable pin positions on most holes. The sand in the bunkers is not of very fine quality but it's not coarse either. So it's very playable for those who know how to play bunker shots out of the sand.

There's also enough water on this course to grab your attention. But this course gives plenty of room to avoid the water on most of the holes.

I would highly recommend this course to anyone looking for a challenging and enjoyable game of golf.

There may be only one other course that I've played this year other than The Highlands of Elgin that has lived up to its hype. Keep in mind the The Highlands is a links style course. For the unfamiliar this means no trees, undulating fairways and greens, the need to roll approach shots to some of the greens, lots of wind and very high grass.

The Highlands offers a variety of tee boxes to accommodate all skill levels. I think this is vitally important since this course is so challenging.

The fairways and the greens were in excellent condition. When I say the greens were in excellent condition I mean they were quite fast, they were undulating, and they ran true. There were also very few divots on the greens. So the people that play this course know how to treat greens or the maintenance staff keep on top of things.

Very tall grass replaces trees on a links course. So it's very important to stay out of this grass on your tee shots. That's true for The Highlands. If you land in the grass, good luck finding your ball much less hitting out of it.

The rough on this course is not long but it is lush. So the challenge is not finding your ball in the rough, the challenge is hitting out of the rough.

This course also has plenty of water. So you need to be aware of this since the water is not there solely for its scenic value.

And stay out of the sand traps since many of them them are very deep.

If you've never played a links style course, try The Highlands. You might get hooked.