DHaab

I play Seven Bridges a handful of times a year because it's a very challenging course that is usually in good condition. However, this season I've noticed FAR more geese living on the course and their droppings are all over some of the greens. Another annoying thing is the amount of un-repaired ball marks on the greens, which can lead to missed putts. Also, the amount of sand in the traps is pretty inconsistent from hole to hole, which can be annoying. For a high end golf course that is charging $70+ for a round, these things are unacceptable to me. Getting rid of geese and maintaining smooth greens shouldn't be this big of an issue for a higher end course.

I live a mile from Klein Creek and used to play it at least a handful of times every year, but the course changed ownership a few years ago, and the cost to play ($65) wasn't worth it for me. Fortunately, they finally decided to offer some Hot Deals on GolfNow, so I booked a round for $45.

I've always enjoyed the layout of this course, even though it is surrounded by homes & condos. The conditions have varied over the years, with the worst being the state of the sand bunkers. There are a ton of bunkers on this course, so they just couldn't maintain all of them over the years. Well, they're now in the process of eliminating a bunch of the bigger ones by making them grass bunkers. Unfortunately, this has created a lot of areas which are under construction still. However, the greens are the best I've ever seen them and the new bunkers have irrigation and very good quality sand. I think in a few years, this course will be first rate once again.

This was my 1st time playing Chalet Hills and it was on a windy but sunny day. My biggest issue with higher end courses like this is them not having a driving range so I can warm up before the round. Apparently, they used to have one here, but they don't use it anymore. Why?? The clubhouse is sort of strange in that it sits on a hill with no obvious entry. Also, the people working at this course were not very nice and really didn't seem to care about their customers, which is sad. As for the course itself, it's a very unique and somewhat shorter course with some tight, tree-lined holes and beautiful rolling hills, with a decent amount of ponds and lakes. The fairways were in good shape for the most part and the greens were consistent, but not as quick as I would have liked. There are 3 pretty short par 3 holes, which is a big reason why the course isn't over 7000 yards long from the tips. If you hit your drives straight off the tee, you can score on this course.

Overall, I would play this course again because it is in solid condition and it has 4 or 5 very unique holes, but they really need to hire people in the clubhouse who care more.

I've been wanting to play Ruffled Feathers for a while now, but have also heard how the course has really gone down hill over the past 6 to 8 years, so I kept staying away. A buddy of mine got a Hot Deal on GolfNow and I finally played it on July 21st. It rained a lot over the front 9, and we almost stopped and got a rain check. However, the clouds finally parted and we stayed and finished the round. Needless to say, I am quite glad that we did. This course is in much better shape than I've heard, so please know that a single digit handicapper (who is also very picky on where he plays golf) was quite happy with the course. This Pete Dye designed layout is very interesting with numerous beautiful golf holes. The course has a good mix of shorter par 4's that make you think and long par 4's that require 2 GREAT shots to make the green in regulation. If anything can be criticized about this course it is that a few of the greens were littered with un-repaired pitch marks, which made them tough to putt. I think this has a lot to do with a clientele which is lazy about this sort of thing, which leads to some poor green conditions. Overall, though, this was a very fun golf course that I will be returning to very soon!

Sanctuary has a decent layout, but the greens are WAY too slow to be considered a top-tier course. Also, I play from the tips and the back tee from the 9th hole is literally 50 yards directly behind a tree. I've never seen anything like it in 40+ years of playing golf. On the positive side, there are 4 or 5 holes which really test your game. The back 9 is definitely a lot tougher than the front 9.

Piper Glen is an interesting layout, but is very difficult to play for first timers, with lots of blind shots. The greens and fairways were in decent shape, but most of the bunkers have no sand in them, so you have to drop your ball and play no closer to the hole. LAME! The people working here were very friendly, but I just can't recommend a course that doesn't have sand in over half the bunkers.

I played in the pro-am event for the Web.com tour event at Panther Creek. Course is in wonderful condition! The layout is fairly pedestrian, but there are 4 or 5 interesting holes that will make you want to play it again.

I haven't played Orchard Valley in 5 years because I had heard other golfers saying the course had gone downhill since opening really well and being a top-rated course 20 years ago. Well, I'm certainly glad I gave them another chance and played the course again! Got a Hot Deal and played at 2:30pm on a Sunday for only $35! I was unfortunately sandwiched between numerous foursomes, so I had to wait in between shots, but the course was in excellent condition throughout and the players in front were playing at a decent clip. Greens could have been cut a tad quicker, but still ran out well. I've played OV a handful of times now, and there are 7 or 8 really interesting holes on this course. Definitely worth the drive a few times a year.

I've been playing Big Run a few times per year over the past 10 years, and I've developed quite the love-hate relationship with it over that time. I love the hilly layout with elevated tees, plus there are 5 or 6 memorable holes on this course. However, the greens have extreme slopes and the pins are positioned right on the edge of these slopes on many of the holes. All of which makes it very difficult to make putts or even not 3 putt. Now, if this course wasn't over 7,000 yards long, with hills and trees everywhere, I could understand having tougher greens. But the course is already quite difficult as it is, with the slope on the greens and where they put the pins, it makes the course almost too difficult at times. Also, the sand traps on this course have barely any sand in them, which for a course that is asking $50 to play is unacceptable. The other big issue I have with Big Run is the first hole. It's a very confusing downhill short par 4 with no clear place to aim your tee shot. All you see from the tee box is a bunch of trees. It's pretty much the worse starting golf hole in all of Chicago-land. I played the tips at Big Run this past week and hit the ball from tee to green almost as well as I possibly can, but still came away shooting an 82. I 3-putted 4 different holes, and I consider myself to be a pretty solid putter. Overall, I give Big Run a 3 star rating, but that could easily be a 4 if a few key improvements were made there.

I played Hickory Ridge in Carbondale on the morning of the total eclipse on Aug. 21st. It was quite literally the hottest day of the year. The course is very well designed, but there are a few criticisms that I have overall. This was my first time playing it, so I hit some drivers on a few tees that I should have hit 3 wood or even a hybrid. There are numerous blind tee shots on this course, so try to play with someone who knows the layout. Also, the greens were extremely SLOW on the day I played the course. On a nice course like this, faster greens are ALWAYS preferred and the slowness of these greens was quite annoying. Also, the fairways were not cleanly mowed on the morning that we played. It didn't ruin the round, but it was annoying. Overall, this course has 7 or 8 very memorable holes that really make you think and hit well played golf shots. I recommend playing it, but wish the course was a little better maintained than it was.

I played the re-designed Oak Meadows course last week and was impressed with some of the holes, but think it's a golf course that is not worth paying $75 to play. I play to a 5 handicap, so I usually play the back tees. This course was somewhat challenging from the tips and some tees weren't even open yet, so it will play even more difficult when all of the tee boxes are grown in. However, I do have a few critiques of this course. There are a few holes where the tee box is located right next to the previous hole and stray shots could easily hit you, especially if you're playing the tips. Also, there are a bit too many easy par 4's and 5's that are very short and can be birdied. I like that the designers made some holes where you can make lower scores, but they almost went overboard in that regard. There are 4 or 5 extremely difficult holes on this course (a few of the par 3's from the tips are quite tough), but 6 or 7 fairly easy holes as well. Overall, I don't mean this as a swipe at the course design, but it's simply not as an appealing or challenging of a course as Prairie Landing, Bowes Creek or Highlands of Elgin. And all of those courses charge less $ for greens fees.

I've played Broken Arrow about 10 times over the past 5 years and even reviewed it positively a few years ago, but it's gone downhill lately. We played on a Sunday afternoon and the pace of play was decent for a weekend. However, very few people who play this course repair their pitch marks on the greens, which makes putting much harder. Also, the sand traps basically have no sand in them anymore and that is a shame on a good track like this. I landed in 5 different bunkers in this round and basically was hitting off solid dirt in order to get out. I know some golf courses are having a tough time keeping their greens and bunkers in good shape because of $$, but to not have any sand in bunkers just ruins the experience for an avid golfer like me. Sadly, I'm taking Broken Arrow off my rotation of courses after this negative experience.

I've played Heritage Bluffs about 8 times over the past 4 or 5 years and it never disappoints. It's one of the best designed courses in the area and is always in pristine condition. The other great part of playing this course is it's far enough out that you many times will see a deer walking thru the course or a hawk flying over head, which is always a treat for me. Also, the people working at the course are always very nice and helpful. I highly recommend this course!

This Donald Ross design is so unique and I'm very pleased to have the opportunity to play it a few times every year, living in the Chicago area. I played the course on May 22nd and it was in absolutely perfect condition. The greens were fast and consistent, the sand traps were well manicured with the right amount of sand, and the fairways were in wonderful shape as well. Also, the staff is very courteous and go out of their way to make sure you have a great golfing experience. I highly recommend playing this course!

I've lived in the Chicago area for 20+ years, but I had never heard of this gem of a course in Cary until I saw a Hot Deal on Golf Now. It takes a while to get there, but this is a wonderful layout with some of the fastest greens I've played in a while. The course is set in a housing community, but they are set far enough away from the course that they aren't too intrusive. The greens are very undulating and fast, so even if you do get on the green in regulation, you still can bogey the hole very easily. The only issue I had was the slow play. I played as a single and was stuck behind a few extremely slow groups, who had no intention of letting anyone play through them. There was a starter on the 1st tee, but no ranger on the course to make sure people were playing at a decent pace or to encourage them to let others play through. This is something that is becoming FAR too common these days and it makes rounds last much longer than they need to. Love the course, but not sure I'll go back if the rounds last over 5 hours even on a week day.

Played Lakeside/Woodside and it was definitely worth the $58 I paid for the Hot Deal on GolfNow. The entire course was in excellent condition with semi-fast greens that were trickier than they looked. I played in a twosome on a Saturday afternoon and we were in a cart. We completed the round in just over 4 hours. There were 6 or 7 holes that I would play completely differently if I had known the course better. We played the tips and it was definitely a tough test. There are many trees on this course and many times the branches stick out and make the holes quite a challenge. I highly recommend this course for better golfers. Can't wait to play it again!

I live close by to Klein Creek GC and have played it over 25 times during the past 10 years. The greens and overall quality of the course has really gone down over the past 3 or 4 years. When I played on Sunday (7/26), almost every single green was littered with pitch marks which hadn't been tended to and it was nearly impossible to land the ball on them because they were so hard. It almost seems like they aren't being watered at night. I will say the bunkers are finally better this year, but in the past 3 yrs, they were always inconsistent with very little sand. Now the greens are almost unplayable. It's really a shame too because this golf course is a very nice layout. The other big issue I had was at the end of our round, we asked a young girl at the clubhouse if we could play the first few holes again. It was late in the day and nobody was on that part of the course. She said it would be fine, so we went out to play a few more holes before it got dark. As we were hitting our approach shots on the 2nd hole, a younger boy comes flying down the fairway on his golf cart to tell us we need to stop playing. Why?? Who were we hurting by playing a couple of extra holes? Very annoying.

I love the Port Course at Harborside. It's an extremely challenging course with wonderful greens that role quick and true. However, I have to criticize this course for the amount of sand in the bunkers. For a place that charges a premium to play, one should expect great conditions, but the amount of sand in the bunkers was literally all over the map. In some bunkers, there was little to no sand and in one I hit hard pan and almost injured myself. In a couple of other bunkers, there was almost a foot of sand, which is ridiculous. Overall, I love this course, but can't give it 5 stars with bunkers that are this inconsistent.

I've played Oak Brook GC 8-10 times over the years and it's usually in decent shape, but it's very flat and the holes are not that different from each other. The front 9 is a little better than the back because water comes into play on more holes, but for the kind of green fees this place is charging, the course should be excellent and it simply isn't even close to that.

Very nicely maintained course with interesting holes throughout. I liked the front 9 a little more than the back. The greens were beautiful and that alone made this course stand out. It's a pretty short course, but it's tree-lined holes can be difficult if you're not hitting it straight. Also, you'll have plenty of non-flat lies which is also something that makes the course play more difficult than most midwestern courses. The only big criticism I have was it's pretty tough to find the entrance to the golf course. For some reason, they have a big sign on Rt. 59 that makes it look like the entrance to the golf course. I can attest that it is not.