5 Best Chicago Golf Courses

If you consider cities with top-tier golf programs, Scottsdale or Orlando could be the primary that come to thoughts. However Chicago? It usually will get missed – and it’s time to offer it the eye it deserves. Amidst the Windy Metropolis’s city sprawl lie golf programs wealthy in custom and memorable structure, together with venues which have hosted main championships. So, in case you haven’t but thought of Chicago as a first-rate {golfing} vacation spot, we ask that you simply rethink. Listed here are 5 of one of the best Chicago golf programs that you might want to take a look at.

Finest Chicago Golf Programs

1. Medinah Nation Membership: Course Three

If “Medinah” sounds acquainted, it’s in all probability due to the dramatic 2012 Ryder Cup, famously referred to as the “Miracle at Medinah.” And in case you had been cheering for Crew USA, properly, let’s simply say the reminiscences could be a bit bittersweet.

However Medinah Country Club is excess of only a match venue. Based throughout the Roaring Twenties, the membership shortly made a reputation for itself. Course No. 3, which opened in 1928, was initially designed with the women of Medinah in thoughts. Through the years, it’s remodeled right into a formidable check of golf, because of a sequence of renovations by prime architects like Roger Packard, Roger Rulewich, Rees Jones, and the Australian agency OCM Golf.

Trying forward, Medinah No. 3 is gearing as much as host the sixteenth version of the Presidents Cup in 2026, promising extra thrilling moments and including to its wealthy legacy.

2. Chicago Golf Membership

They are saying much less is extra, and nowhere does that ring more true than at Chicago Golf Membership. This course continues the custom of city-named programs being completely distinctive, however not by way of flashy options or extra. It’s the understated class and that intangible buzz within the air that make it really feel actually particular.

Based in 1892, Chicago Golf Membership is the oldest 18-hole course in North America. Initially designed by the legendary Charles Blair Macdonald, it was skillfully reworked in 1922 by one other iconic architect, Seth Raynor. The result’s a course that seamlessly blends historic allure with timeless design.

This unique membership stays extremely personal, however those that have had the privilege to play it rave about its sensible routing. In a nod, whether or not intentional or not, to Chicago’s Windy Metropolis nickname, the wind by no means dominates in a single route for various holes at a time.

3. Shoreacres Golf

Talking of Seth Raynor, subsequent on our listing is a design of his personal. And it’s among the finest Chicago golf programs. Nestled on the shores of Lake Michigan, which surprisingly by no means comes into play, Raynor’s design skillfully navigates the pure undulations and ravines of the terrain. 

The tight, tree-lined fairways demand precision, and whereas the course might play a bit shorter for at the moment’s long-hitters, the true check lies on the greens. Regardless of their dimension, these greens are agency and quick, so ensure your placing and wedge expertise are as much as par.

4. Olympia Fields Nation Membership: North Course

Olympia Fields’ North Course is famend properly past Chicago’s metropolis limits, persistently incomes a spot on Golf Digest’s listing of the nation’s prime programs. Initially named Course No. 4, it was designed in 1923 by Willie Park Jr., a two-time Open Champion.

Park’s spectacular portfolio contains over 100 programs worldwide, together with celebrated layouts like Sunningdale and Maidstone. Nonetheless, the North Course is usually hailed as his crowning achievement, a sentiment shared by each critics and Park himself.

Now, this parkland format is not any stroll within the park. Difficult bunkering and a thick tough be certain that each single par is earned. Watch out for the Butterfield Creek, too, that comes into play on seven totally different holes, typically greater than as soon as. 

5. Butler Nationwide Golf Membership

When George Fazio and his nephew Tom got down to design Butler Nationwide, their mission was clear: create a format that may problem even one of the best gamers. They actually succeeded.

Butler Nationwide is a non-public membership recognized for its formidable problem. Tree-lined fairways require accuracy off the tee, whereas a number of water hazards add to the problem. The greens are intricately contoured, guaranteeing that each a part of your recreation have to be on level. Course administration is essential right here – execute your photographs properly and make sensible misses, and also you’ll discover success. Miss your photographs or make poor selections, and chances are you’ll be drawing some squares in your scorecard. 

Nevertheless it’s not all powerful going! The course’s problem is matched by its distinctive conditioning. From tee to inexperienced and past, all the pieces at Butler Nationwide is maintained in immaculate form.

As you intend your journey to one of the best Chicago golf programs, do not forget that the journey begins properly earlier than you permit dwelling. It begins with Ship Sticks. Ship your golf golf equipment and baggage forward of time and arrive at your vacation spot to search out your luggage already there. In any case, each nice golf journey begins with clean, hassle-free journey. Uncover the distinction at the moment.