Chicago Golf: Six Months of Heaven

CHICAGO - For the daily fee golfer, heaven is located in and around Chicago from April 15 through October 15.

Chicago is so loaded with "Yeah Man!" courses - maintained in tournament-perfect condition - it seems impossible that it hasn't become the most renowned golf destination in the world.

The rich, black soil and weather conditions that make Chicago the buckle of the corn belt also produce the lushest tees, fairways and greens you will ever see.

Because the land is so malleable, it invites imaginative course design and sculpting like no other area in the world. As Ron Whitten, course critic for Golf Digest says, "Every architect worth his salt has passed through Chicago."

The roster runs from Donald Ross, Robert Bruce Harris, Seth Raymor, Charles Blair McDonald, Dick Wilson and Tom Bendelow to Robert Trent Jones, Jr., Pete Dye, Jack Nicklaus, Dick Nugent, Roger Packard, Bob Lohmann, Tom Fazio and Keith Foster.

As Bradley Klein, course critic for Golfweek, says, "(Chicago has) the best collection of public courses. No other city is even close."

And since Chicago is the country's leading convention city, there's no shortage of great places to stay, lively night life and the widest variety of restaurants-to-remember whether your thing is burgers, brauts and beer or Chardonney, Shrimp De Jonge and Chataubreand.

Some Of The Best

Five Great Days along the North Shore

1. Steeple Chase Golf Club
200 N. La Vista
Mundelein, IL 60060
(847) 949-8900

Designed by Ken Killian; built in 1993;18 holes

Quick Take: A hill and dale of a course with water in play seven times; pretty and lush, very challenging with large undulating greens,

The particulars: Tee time accepted seven days in advance with a credit card. Carts Available, Walking Allowed.
Weekday Green Fees: $36.00
Weekend Green Fees: $44.00

The extras: Putting green; Restaurant and full bar

Comments: great risk-reward course; grooming is thoroughly delightful; a park district course that just makes you want to move into town.

2. Pine Meadow Golf Club
1 Pine Meadow Lane
Mundelein, IL 60060
(847) 566-4653

18 holes designed by Joe Lee and Rocky Roquemore; built in 1985 (rebuilt over an old 9-hole Catholic Monastery course which accounts for the mature landscape).

Quick take: Wide, sweeping fairways surrounded by tons of lumber; almost always seems to make somebody's top 100 list, year in and year out; a lovely stroll in the park with no houses visible after the second hole and often the trees mask things so well you feel like you're the only foursome in play; another Joe Jemsic Jewel, not as well known as Cog Hills, but every bit as challenging and enjoyable..

The particulars: Pine Meadow accepts tee times: 120 Days in Advance -- Starting at 530 Carts and caddies available, walking allowed.

Weekday Green Fees: $68.00
Weekend Green Fees: $68.00

The extras: Lighted Driving Range: (both grass and mats); Putting Green; Chipping Area: Practice Bunker: Teaching Pro; Snack Type Restaurant and Full Bar

Comments: The kind of course that delivers a full day of rare pleasures while testing every club in your bag to the max. It has a charming way of reminding you why you took up the game.

3. Midlane Country Club
4555 W Yorkhouse Rd
Wadsworth, IL 60083
(847) 623-4653

27 holes designed by Robert B. Harris; built in 1964 (the last 9 built and opened in 1997).

Quick take: three 9-holers that give you the possibility of 3 different 18 hole games; a traditional course in the best tradition; as wide open as it looks, thinking wins out over thumping; huge subtly sculpted greens make three puts a constant possibility unless you bring your ball into the green with the pin in mind.

The particulars: Tee Times: accepted 60 Days in Advance -- Starting at 7:00 a.m., carts available, walking allowed

Weekday Green Fees: $51.00
Weekend Green Fees: $65.00

The extras: Lighted Turf Driving Range; Putting Green; Chipping Area: Practice Bunker; Teaching Pro; full restaurant and banquet facilities; snack counter; full bar.

Comments: The "official name" has been changed to "Hawthorn Suites at Midlane Golf Resort." A real mouthful. But, if you're going to take a golfing tour of the North Shore, this might be a great bet for accommodations. Nothing fancy.

But the restaurant turns into a lively night club in the evening and none of the courses listed here are more than twenty minutes away. It's only minutes away from the well-known Great America amusement park and the super large discount mall, Gurnee Mills, if you want a break day.

4. Shepherd's Crook Golf Course
43125 Greenbay Rd
Zion, IL 60099
(847) 872-2080

Spanking new 18 hole course (the "pro shop" is still working out of construction trailer at least through June, 2000); possibly one of Keith Foster's best design efforts; built in 1999 with surprisingly mature bent grass turf and landscaping.

Quick Take: Foster has created a unique combination of links, wetlands and traditional styles that works. Literally across the road from Wisconsin, it has great elevations and the sculpted fairways are as pleasing to the eye as they are challenging to your game.

The particulars: Accepts Tee Times: 7 Days in Advance -- Starting at 7:00 . Carts available on paths only this year, walking allowed.

Weekday Green Fees: $35.00
Weekend Green Fees: $35.00

The extras: Little to none until the clubhouse opens then beer and wine; If you like apples, it winds around a great little orchard that will sell 'em to you. At least it's only a few clicks away from some of the most famous beer-and-brauts spots in Wisconsin.

Comments: The shame of it is that Foster will probably never get quite the credit he deserves for this daring design so successfully done. It is a small-town park district course and it's tucked up in the corner of Illinois where golf gurus seldom get. Nevertheless, it is a top flight course. Besides, don't you get a little thrill when you play a course so new the parking lot is still gravel and it's still a secret to most of the world?

5. Thunderhawk Golf Club
39700 N Lewis Ave
Beach Park, IL 60099
(847) 872-4295

Robert Trent Jones, Jr., has done it again; 15 holes of sheer delight; finished building in 1999, the turf is still a little thin in places, but still plays and takes a divot like the championship course it will be for years to come.

Quick takes: Built in a forest preserve; one of twelve Audubon Society "Signature Courses" in the United States; stray from the wide fairways and you're suddenly up-close-and-personal with all kinds of thick native wild flowers and tangles designed with no golfer in mind. Where there aren't thickets, there is water. But, the risk-reward ratios are fair and, like so many new courses, control of direction beats out distance for scoring.

The particulars: Accepts Tee Times: 14 Days in Advance -- Starting at 6:00 a. Carts restricted to paths this year, walking allowed.

Weekday Green Fees: $75.00
Weekend Green Fees: $80.00

The extras: Free bucket of balls at the Driving Range: (Both grass and mats): putting Green: Chipping Area; Practice Bunker; Teaching Pro: Beverage Cart, Snack Bar, Restaurant and full bar.

Comments: The Lake County Forest Preserve Board showed they know how to put on a show with the best of them, here. The clubhouse is imposing, the staff extremely attentive, the bar and restaurant delightful and, oh, almost forgot ... it's a great playing course, as well.

Five Great Days in the Northwestern Burbs

1. Chalet Hills
2. Kemper Lakes
3. Cantigny Golf
4. Golf Club of Illinois
5. Stonewall Orchard

Five Great Days West of O'Hare

1. Cog Hill
2. Gleneagles
3. Village Links of Glen Ellyn
4. George Dunne National
5. Ruffled Feathers

Five Great Days Down South of The Loop

1. Glenwoodie
2. Harborside International
3. Balmoral Woods
4. Heritage Bluffs
5. Seven Bridges

If you can't get on any of these courses in your time frame, don't fret. As critic Whitten quite accurately says, "Chicago area golf is just like buses. If you can't get on one course, just go up the street and try another one." The level of design and conditioning around Chicago really is that good