Just across the Wisconsin/Illinois border, and about five minutes off of I-94 South, Shepherd’s Crook is very accessible for both Milwaukee and Chicago area golfers.

 

 

Shepherd’s Crook is a fun, wide-open course that plays as long as 6,827 yards. I played these silver tees today, and found it very playable. A few of their holes, in particular, make this 6,827 quite challenging, though: The 245-yards par three fourth, 654-yard par five 14^th, and two other 570-plus yard par fives.

 

The Crook played much shorter than that today, as the month-long drought in the Midwest has firmed up the fairways and rough noticeably. The drought has also made photography of the course less impressive than I’m sure it normally is, but it finds a way to be picturesque, nonetheless.

 

Designed in 1999 by Keith Foster, the primary defense at Shepherd’s Crook is the green areas. Most are risen and relatively small, are well bunkered, roll quickly, and feature significant slope. A lot of the course actually feels similar to the National at Fox Hills, which is another links-style course that I really enjoyed.

 

One of the great things about Shepherd’s Crook is the price – at $60 including cart as their peak-season weekend rate, this course is really a wonderful value.

 

The first hole is pretty straight forward. A par four of 350 yards, the wind was directly at my back and carried the drive nicely. With a short chip on, I thought to myself that this was a pretty easy starting hole.

 

 

The second hole runs parallel to the first, but in the opposite direction. While my first drive was heavily wind-assisted, the second was straight in to the teeth of it. The fairway runs uphill, and is deeply bunkered on the left side.

 

 

The third had the wind at my back again, and was just as fun to drive as the first. I actually ended up just left of the green, which means my drive was about 345 yards. Not bad! This was not an ideal location to pitch from, though, as a steep hill fronts the left side of the green and the front-side pin location left almost no room to work with.

 

 

The fourth is an interesting par three, to say the least! At 245 yards from the silver tees (220 from the blacks), and back in to the wind, this was the first time I can ever remember hitting driver on a par three. The sand traps to the left were brutal to hit out of (although well-maintained), and the green has three huge slopes that create a multi-tiered nightmare.

 

 

The fifth is the number one handicapped hole on the course, and is my favorite of the Crook’s par fours. The tee shot is fairly straight forward, but trees line the right side of a subtle dogleg right and another multi-tiered green. This is a gorgeous golf hole.

 

 

Six is another nice par four. At 415 yards, the tee shot flies over a marsh to a narrow (for Shepherd’s Crook) fairway. The entrance of the green area is very tight and falls off to the left side. I made a disaster of this hole, losing a ball off the tee and then flying the green left.

 

 

Seven is a wonderful driving hole. The fairway is mostly straight away, but also meanders slightly right creating a huge landing zone. Avoid the sand traps and you should be fine.

 

 

Eight is the second of Shepherd’s Crook’s four par threes, and is one of my favorites. A huge break in the front of the green runs uphill from front to back, with a steppe half-way through. At 166 yards, it is one of the most playable par threes on the course, and plays over a large marsh.

 

 

Nine is a great par five. At 576 yards, the green is highly elevated and has a litany of sand traps in front. The fairway runs right and uphill. A good aiming point for your second shot is the clubhouse in the distance.

 

 

Ten has a fairly intimidating tee shot, and a challenging approach with heavy mounding around the green area. Like a true links course, Shepherd’s Crook does this often with big hills around their putting surfaces.

 

 

Eleven is a very deceptive par three. The scorecard says 201 yards from the back tees, but the tees were up slightly and the wind was at my back. I ended up going with the eye test, opting to avoid all the trouble left and long and instead put an eight iron on the front of the green. This made for all but a routine three-putt up the hugely sloped green surface.

 

 

With the most blind tee shot on the course, twelve plays downhill over a crowned fairway. Aim for the 150-yard marker, which marks a stark drop-off in the fairway that slants left. This is another very tough approach shot, and is completely blind from the pre-crowned driving area.

 

 

The tee shot on thirteen is again blind, and wind in the face makes this hole very, very long. The left side starts out fairly open, but tightens around the green with trees and sand traps.

 

 

Speaking of long holes, fourteen plays to a length of 654 yards! The fairway is huge, and a big tee shot is necessary to leave yourself a chance of clearing the water that cuts this hole in half. For the second shot, the right side of the fairway looks fairly safe, with a pond left and creek running through the middle of it. The mounding on the right, though, hides another large pond that is used for the driving area of the next hole. I cheated right on my second shot, and bounced over these hills in to the hazard.

I have heard that if the landfill next door is going to be an issue, fourteen and fifteen are where it can be a little smelly (depending on the wind). I had no issues with this during my round today, but that part of the location would be the only complaint I have about Shepherd’s Crook.

 

 

Fifteen is a very demanding par four. At 419 yards, the hole runs steeply uphill and makes for a challenging green in regulation.

 

 

At 151 yards downhill from the silver tees, and the wind at my back, the tee shot on sixteen made for an interesting club selection. The pin was in the middle of the huge green, just in front of a big hill that separates the front from the back. Marshland surrounds the green, as do two sand traps on the left side. I actually ended up hitting a 52-degree wedge off of this tee, which got me to the front-side fringe.

 

 

Seventeen is a tough uphill par four with a severe dogleg left. The trees to the left will take anything hit there, and an over-drawn wood will leave an approach that is virtually locked out from a direct flight to the green. This is another very nice par four.

 

 

The finishing hole on the back nine plays very similarly to the finishing hole on the front. Both are long par fives – nine is 576 yards, and eighteen is 570 – and they run parallel to one another en route to the clubhouse. Eighteen requires a bit more strategy, though, as the second shot must be hit short of the marshland that resides about 100 yards out. The fairway sand traps on both sides of the fairway make for a lot of trouble off the tee, as the downhill fairway area runs slightly right on the second shot, and anything hit too far in either direction will lead to a lost ball. The green is highly elevated in front of the clubhouse, and drops off significantly on the front and right sides.

 

 

I really enjoyed my experience at Shepherd’s Crook, and am excited to know that it is so conveniently located off of I-94/41 South. This is definitely a course I plan on visiting again in the near future.

 

Course Wrap-up:

Location: Zion, IL

Yardage: Silver-6,827/6,769, Black-6,272, Gold-6,002, Green-4,901

Slope/Rating: Silver-128/72.1, Black-123/69.5, Gold-119/67.9, Green-115/67.7

Par: 71

Weekend Rates (with cart): $60