The Freeport Club

Course lacks money for good equipment to keep course in good condition.

First time at the former Freeport CC now public for the past two years. Simply put a real old school gem and a lovely Bendelow parkland play with a nice routing. Absolutely no one was there - on a beautiful mid-May weekday. The Freeport area received a ton of rain recently so the grounds crew has had a difficult time getting the grasses to the right length. Once they get the entire course cut a few more times The Club at Freeport will be in spectacular shape for the rest of the season.

We were greeted very warmly. Nice clubhouse facilities and extremely clean. Locker room with showers. Bar/food area on the lower level. The banquet room upstairs has one of the best 18th green views I've ever seen.....a shame there's no outdoor deck. Elevated driving range routed almost in same direction as your first tee shot. A par 70 this old schooler has 6 over 400 yard par 4's....and makes this a really tough tree lined test - play the shorter silver tees and you'll have much more fun. Some holes have tree encroachment issues which is not a surprise given the age of the course. Nicely contoured old school greens....some small but generally they are the right size. There was nary a divot in the fairways and no ball marks on any of the greens. The greens were a tad slow but in wonderful shape with poa anna patches. That being said once they are cut a few more times and a tad quicker they'll be monsters. Not too many sand traps on the course but they could use some maintenance reno work and fresh sand in a few of them. A really nice routing and flow to the course as well - (to those other first timers complaining about direction signs there's a map of the course on the back of the scorecard). Paved cart paths are at the bare minimum here....just around the tee areas. The finishing hole of the examination is a downhill tee shot over a stream that's well in play with a dead uphill approach towards the clubhouse....top notch quality. The 8th hole was my favorite with a drive over a ridge featuring a downhill approach to a front to back sloped greensite with drop off behind it - old school at it's very best.

Course was worth the two hour drive for me to get there. Already want to return. When we were leaving I had to ask one of the few other people playing the course as a single why there weren't more golfers out on this course - Park Hills (36 holes) is nearby....and he said that's where everyone was because it was in better shape. Even it was in 5 star shape that's fine with me.....a 3 hour round on a really wonderful old school golf course with no one around....I won the lottery. The locals really really should support this place....afraid they are going to lose it. Highly recommend.

Chicagoland golfers - if you're heading out to Eagle Ridge/Galena area to play those courses this season definitely recommend this course as a venue to get in a quick most pleasant round on your way....especially if they continue to have a light tee sheet. And for the first one who wants a deal leave me your e-mail address in the comments section below. I'll contact you to get your addy and will gladly mail you a deal for for a 4-some only incl cart for $100 (must be a 4-some) - with no restrictions on when the tee time is. I have one I plan on using later this season. A steal!

they had a lot of rain the day before so grass was long that is why i think it played so tough. when the mowing gets caught up this will be great place to play and it dont get any better then this

Everything was great except...the holes need to be better marked! Unless you're really familiar with course it's easy to get lost between holes and trying to find where the next tee box is.
The trees make it a challenging course, but I'm ok with that :)

Our foursome which is from Rockford played on a beautiful day in late June, 2017. It was our first time at this course. It was not at all busy and was thinking we made a mistake coming here. We couldn't have been more wrong. This course was built in the late 1800's. A beautiful piece of property. Par is 70 with just two par 5's. One on the front and one on the back. Plenty of variety with lots of old trees, rolling hills and dog legs. The greens were a little smaller than average which you'd expect on an older course. The greens were in excellent shape. We had a great time and will probably play it again in the future. The one thing the course falls short on is signs.
This was a country club. Club members all new their way around the course. More signs directing the players are badly needed. Play this course. You'll be glad you did.

This course has the layout and features that could make it a 5 star golf course. They just went public last year, the course does needs some tlc but overall it is good, clubhouse and pro shop need a total remodel but the bar/grill area is not bad good food ans cold beer! Would like to see some money put into this place as it could be one of the best courses in the reigon!

We played 18 holes on November 6, 2016 which is a pleasure in its self. The greens and fairways represented the season and offered a challenging and rewarding experience. If you strayed far from the fairway then finding the ball was the challenge, but keep it straight. I would recommend this course.

Drove an hour and a half to play! Would do it again. They just took over the course and they will have it up par quickly!

The main highlight of this course would have to be the amount of elevation change, with the first hole dropping a good 100 feet, and climbing back up for the green. Good mix of straights and doglegs, throwing in challenges at just the right time. Only complaint would have to be the lack of par 3's, and overuse of par 4's. While the holes definitely deserved their pars, the repetition became old at times. The greens were typically on the slow side, but were very, very smooth and well kept.

Well kept, beautiful and very quick greens. Hardly a flat spot on the course

Wonderful course. Great fast greens. Good course condition. Highly recommend!

Great experience for the price. Greens were excellent. The rest of course was so-so

This course has been around a long time as private and first year going public. Had heard course was short but tight. Played the whites and length was around 6200 which is certainly not short. Quite a few 400+ par 4's which are challenging. Fairways and greens in good shape. Rough challenging but not unfair. Will play again.