Chicagoland Golf Scene

Our playing editors recently played the newly renovated Makray Memorial Golf Club. Formerly Thunderbird Country Club, Makray Memorial has been closed for about 2 years and is now open to give you an excellent golfing experience.

Measuring 7015 yard to 5251 yards from the four sets of tees, Makray Memorial gives golfers of various skill levels a challenge. Even though the course has only been open a little over a month, you better play as many rounds as you can because as this course matures it will be harder and harder to find a tee time. Strategically placed bunkers and multiple water hazards make Makray Memorial a tough one!

Our playing editors have been hard at “work” bringing you reviews for some of Chicagoland’s best golf courses. Poplar Creek Country Club has now joined the list. Built in 1972, the course was designed by Killian and Nugent. Poplar Creek is located in Hoffman Estates and can accommodate your every golfing need. Poplar Creek offers three sets of tees measuring from 6311 yards to 5402 yards. Mature trees and strategically placed sand bunkers make this course a challenge for golfers of all skill levels.

One of our favorite holes at Poplar Creek would have to of been the par 3 #8. A picturesque but frightening downhill tee shot leads to a well-bunkered L-shaped green. Playing for the pin is bold, but rewardable on this multi-tiered green. A wise choice is to play for the center of the green and run away with a solid par.

You’ve been to that really spectacular, but out-of-the-way restaurant where the food is fabulous, the service personal, there are no noisy distractions, and the prices are far less than you expected?

You know how good it is, and how to get there, and you’re in no hurry to let anyone else know about it. It’s time to share the news about Oak Grove Golf Course in Harvard which has quietly grown into one of only 12 Illinois courses given 4-1/2 stars by Golf Digest’s Places to Play. Located about 90 minutes northwest of Chicago, near the Wisconsin border between Woodstock and Lake Geneva, it is a little out of the way.

But the trip is worth it. With no on-course residences or resorts, and no plans for any, it’ll be just your group and the native wildlife enjoying this Audubon Signature Sanctuary golf course. “Enjoyment” being the key word under the experienced management of the Miles family of Golf Visions, a leading golf management firm in Chicagoland. An unpretentious, family-style atmosphere pervades the wonderful Steven Halberg layout that opened in 1999.

Our playing editors have been at it again. This time we got to experience Prairie Bluff Golf Club in Crest Hill, IL. Prairie Bluff is an 18 hole championship golf course that can accommodate golfers of any skill level. The course was built in 1998 and was designed by Packard & North.

Prairie Bluff offers a 10 acre driving range, and 6,000 square foot putting green with sand bunker, to make sure you are warmed up before your round. Water plays in 7 of the 18 holes, and strategically placed sand bunkers and wetlands offer a challenge on all the holes.The signature hole would have to be the par 4 # 14. A water hazard lines almost the entire left hand side of the hole, so make sure you stay right on this one.

Hitting a nice drive off the tees to the right side of the fairway, should leave you with a solid 8 or 9 iron on your approach. Be careful, if you miss to the left on your drive you will find the water hazard, but even landing on the left side of the fairway leaves you with an approach shot over the water. None of our playing editors enjoy approach shots over the water!

Trappers Turn Golf Club is a challenging, yet very playable golf course located in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. This region of Wisconsin is very beautiful, and we really enjoyed the scenery during our round. We were also fortunate to play this wonderful course in Mid-October, just before the winters freeze.

Trappers Turn has 27 holes with varying levels of topography. There are three nine hole sections, the Lake, Canyon and Arbor. Course designers Andy North (two-time U.S. Open Champion) and Roger Packard, combined to masterfully design the course within the scenic landscape of the area.

Our playing editors recently made the trip over to Peoria, Illinois to play WeaverRidge Golf Club. WeaverRidge opened in 1997, and in 1998 Golf Digest named it the 2nd Best New Course in the Country, and in 2003 Golf Week ranked it the #3 Best Course in Illinois. Golf Architects Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry designed this public course, and couldn't have done a better job.

This public course features a spacious clubhouse and banquet facility which you would normally see in a private club. But more importantly a unique golfing experience for the Midwest. There are 5 sets of tee boxes for all different levels of golfer. The longest set measuring at 7,030 yards. We of course played the second longest set, because we are no professionals.