Destination: Springfield-Decatur
Destination: Springfield-Decatur
The Lincoln Home National Historic site is just blocks from the Illinois State Capitol, which is also well worth a visit. The home, the only one he ever owned, is run by the National Park Service. Tours are free, and include a collection of homes in a small section of town reconstructed to replicate life in the mid 1800s.
Lincoln's tomb, which is also the final resting place of Mary Todd Lincoln and three of their four sons, is located in Oak Ridge Cemetery and is open daily from March to October from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum could easily occupy history buffs for a full day and offers a historic experience for every visitor. Admission to the museum is also free.
Springfield lies on the early section of the famous Route 66, running over 2,000 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles. Today, you can drive along all but 11 miles of the original Route 66 from Chicago to Springfield, taking in many of the same landmarks and roadside stops as John Dillinger, Al Capone, and Bugs Moran.
Aside from Scovill Zoo in Decatur, however, your best bet might be to spend your off-course hours in Springfield.
Visitors dining out in Decatur would have the best luck at The Wagon for comfort food, and The Bakery for breakfast. In Springfield, Maldaner's has been downtown since 1884, and the funky Cafe Brio is probably the most exciting restaurant in town.
Golf courses in Springfield include the 1968 Robert Trent Jones, Sr. Rail Golf Club (former home of the LPGA State Farm Classic) and Piper Glen, along with four municipal tracks.
It is in Decatur, however, where golfers discover some of the finest municipal golf in the nation, including the Raymond Floyd-designed Red Tail Run Golf Club, the crown jewel of the city park courses. Also worth a visit are Hickory Point (a regular Future's Tour stop) and Scovill Golf Club.
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by David Bertsche ( Related Articles
With enjoyable golf and more, Oak Terrace Resort and Spa in Pana is a central Illinois rarity
Offering nearly every imaginable amenity, from fishing and boat rentals to a lakeside spa to 18 holes of golf, Oak Terrace deserves a vote for "Most Unexpected" golf resort in Illinois, Kiel Christianson writes. The vast difference between the resort's two nines gives the golf course a bit of a split-personality, but the medium-length track provides plenty of shot-making bang for a reasonable amount of buck.
... full article »Photo gallery: Oak Terrace Resort in Pana
Offering nearly every imaginable amenity, from fishing and boat rentals to a lakeside spa to 18 holes of golf, Oak Terrace Resort deserves a vote for "Most Unexpected" golf resort in the state.
... full article »Red Tail Run in Decatur: A Raymond Floyd Signature course at municipal prices
Designed by Raymond Floyd, the public Red Tail Run Golf Club in Decatur, Illinois is an immensely fun municipal golf course to play, with a good variety of both strategic and penal holes, and enough options from tee to green to cater to players of any level. Best of all, the green fees remain more "municipal" than "signature."
... full article »Red Tail Run Golf Club by Ray Floyd is crown jewel of Decatur Parks in Illinois
Raymond Floyd's gruff, arrogant personality is reflected in some of his recent golf course designs. A looming question, then, was how Floyd would lay out Red Tail Run, the exciting top-notch course he was contracted to design by the Decatur Park District. Would Floyd make it so difficult so as to alienate golfers used to playable public courses? Happily, the answer is, "no."
... full article »Eagle Creek Resort is perfect for the rugged, outdoorsy golfer in Findlay, Ill.
So let's say you like to golf, but you just feel like the perfectly manicured fairways and greens are, well, a little tame. You're the rugged, outdoorsy type, who would fight off a badger with your bare hands if it meant saving that ProV1 and a penalty stroke. Well, have we found the place for you: Eagle Creek Resort and Conference Center.
... full article »Angus Links serves up a tasty round of golf in Windsor, Illinois
You might think Angus Links sounds more like a gourmet breakfast sausage than it does a golf course. But let it be known that this remote, one-time cattle farm serves up a surprisingly tasty round of golf — complete with an extra portion of par 3s — for less than a steak dinner costs at many fancy restaurants.
... full article »Piper Glen G.C. in Springfield, Ill., deserves critical praise
More than 400 acres of hills and valley's in Springfield has been turned into one of the toughest daily-fee golf courses in the state of Illinois. Ranked by a publication as one of the best courses you can play for less than $50 in the United States, Piper Glenn's popularity is easy to explain. Still, the course does about half the business of other daily-fee courses in the area, helping it stay in top condition.
... full article »For $30 you can golf where the pros play: The Rail in Springfield
If you're up to the challenge to play a course that holds a pro tournament but your wallet isn't, The Rails in Springfield can get you on for just $30. Home to one of the oldest and best-attended tournaments in the LPGA, The Rails will test your game. And don't feel bad if some high scores pop up on this Robert Trent Jones course, which he designed with the theory of "hard par, easy bogey."
... full article »Decatur's Hickory Point G.C. home to Futures Tour event
How many munis do you know that could host a pro event? Hickory Point in Decatur can. In fact this track has been a Futures Tour venue for 21 years and with good reason. At 6,900 yards from the tips, it's no pushover - almost every hole presents one or more fairway bunkers in exactly the right places (or wrong, depending on your perspective). Your wallet gets off easy though, with weekend green fees at less than $25.
... full article »Decatur's Scovill Golf Club a shot-maker's muni
When you head out to your local municipal course, you don't expect the amenities and course design to compare to those at a high-priced, big-name track. You're in luck, though, if you live near Decatur. The Thomas Bendelow-designed Scovill Golf Club shares a pedigree with some of the most storied courses in the nation. A visit to Scovill - or any of the other Decatur munis - will make you reconsider your expectations of municipal golf.
... full article »- Springfield: A 'capital idea' for a family golf trip
- Lincoln Greens Golf Course in Springfield: Better than a night at the theater
- Eagle Creek Resort: For the golfer and the fisherman
- The Rail Golf Club: Bunkers Tell the Story
