This was course number six on the trip (09/05/12). I played from the black/gold combo tees at 72.9/134/6786 on a dreary and damp morning after it had rained the night before. Before I get into the review let me say how much I love combo tees. They give so many options to a golfer and while I normally would have played the black tees, it would have just been too much for me considering the wet conditions. The course currently holds a couple rankings from GolfWeek and it was pretty close to the O’Hare Airport which factored into the decision to play here. A lot of the course is visible from the parking lot and when my friend and I were told that it would be cart path only we opted to walk. It turned out to be a pretty easy walk as most tees were reasonably close together and it did not have any big hills to climb. Plus, we got to save some money too as it was only $39 to walk on a weekday morning. This seemed like a good deal considering what I would assume is a high cost of living in the area. The course had an open layout that was not surrounded by any homes, but it was built in the middle of a developed area so there was some outside noise (it reminded me a bit of Metropolitan in the Bay Area). The course had a links feel as there were not many trees on the course and the main defense was the fescue off the rough line. Other times hazards or fairway bunkers came into play off the tee. Overall it was a pretty easy driving course with plenty of room except for #11 which was a long uphill par 4 that penalized any shot left off the tee. After playing the hole it turns out there was more room right than it looks like off the tee. Considering that the piece of property where the course is built is pretty boring with just a basin and some rolling terrain, the designer did a great job and created some wonderful holes. I think the 4^th hole (a shorter par 3 across part of that basin) would be the signature hole and it was a good test with the flag tucked on the right side of the green. The 7^th and 8^th holes were fun to play too as those hugged the basin, but were not overly penal because they provided room to miss in the correct spots. The 13^th is a short par 4 that could have been drivable because it was downwind when I played and offered a good chance at a birdie. The course had a couple blind shots and some tough lines to pick but I did not think that it had any tricks. The course looked like it gets a lot of play and considering that it is a municipal course I suppose that is the case. However, the conditions were very good and it drained well with all the rain from the night before. The greens were good, a little slow from the rain, and had some challenging slopes. Like some of the GolfWeek comments indicate, this is not only a great course, it is one of the best municipal courses that I have played.

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