Golf in Chicago: Some Worthy Public Plays in the Second City

Chicago is one of America’s greatest golf cities, and the Windy City will be on full display during this week (September 22-27, 2026) as the Presidents Cup takes to Medinah Country Club Course No. 3. The legendary club, which dates back to 1924, has hosted three U.S. Opens (1949, 1975, and 1990), two PGA Championships (1999 and 2006) and the fabled 2012 Ryder Cup.

Medinah No. 3 was originally laid out by prolific architect Tom Bendelow, but the course has evolved significantly since its original 1928 version. During its championship years, the course played long and tough, with a series of tight, tree-lined fairways.

In 2024, Medinah No. 3 was completely reimagined by the Australian golf design firm of OCM (Geoff Ogilvy, Mike Cocking, and Ashley Mead). The result is an absolutely breathtaking layout, featuring several holes that should stand out in a match play setting.

With many golfers and fans flocking to Medinah Country Club for this week’s festivities, there are plenty of golfing options available to those who wish to play during their visit. For Wisconsinites traveling south from Milwaukee or Madison, Chicago’s most northern suburbs are around 60-90 miles away. Even with the usual traffic, most of Chicago’s metro area can be reached in about two to three hours.

The Windy City is home to some of America’s greatest private clubs, including Chicago Golf Club, Butler National Golf Club and Shoreacres Golf Club, but it also features a multitude of excellent public tracks.

There are around 200 golf courses to choose from in the Chicago metropolitan area, but here is a list of some of my favorites that I’ve played.

*From up on a ridge, you have a spectacular view of Harborside International Golf Center’s clubhouse and the shared 18th greens on both courses*

My Five Favorite Chicago Area Public Courses

The Glen Club (Glenview)

Course Details: Par 72; 7,170/75.1/143; Architect: Tom Fazio (2001)

The Glen Club is one of Chicago’s premier public courses (it’s actually semi-private), as Tom Fazio built a 195-acre sanctuary on the historic grounds of the Glenview Naval Air Station. The front nine features a series of great risk/reward holes playing along the property’s outer edge. My favorite holes on this side include the 156-yard par 3 4th, the water-guarded 599-yard 5th and the beautiful 375-yard 8th.

The drama builds to the interior back nine that features two outstanding long par threes, holes 11 and 17, which are both guarded by the same lake. Finally, The Glen Club finishes on a thriller, a 589-yard serpentine par five that offers one last birdie chance. Built about 10 years after Fazio’s famously manufactured Shadow Creek, The Glen Club boasts similar features and style, and conditions that are second-to-none in the Windy City area.

*The 559-yard 1st at the Glen Club feels like it belongs more in Northern California than Chicago, with its beautiful rolling hills and distinctive vegetation*

ThunderHawk Golf Club (Beach Park)

Course Details: Par 72; 7,031/74.2/141; Architect: Robert Trent Jones, Jr. (1999)

ThunderHawk is another course that is always in outstanding condition, featuring a 7,031-yard layout that evokes feelings of SentryWorld. It’s no surprise, since Robert Trent Jones Jr. designed both layouts, and in the case of ThunderHawk he took advantage of the site’s wetlands and native grasses.

My favorite holes at ThunderHawk were the 8th and 16th, a pair of gambling holes (a 338-yard par 4 and 578-yard par 5, respectively), and the beautiful downhill par 3 17th. While there is plenty of challenge throughout the layout, the course’s sharpest sting is its 600-yard finisher. This brute of a par 5 concludes on a small green, fronted by a rock-strewn creek.

*The 178-yard 6th hole at Thunderhawk is a lovely short par 3, with wetlands guarding the left side of its angled green*

The Highlands of Elgin Golf Course (Elgin)

Course Details: Par 72; 7,000/73.7/139; Architect: Art Schaupeter (2010); Keith Foster (2003); Larry Packard (1971)

The Highlands of Elgin takes advantage of its unique location, built on the site of an old stone quarry. This makes the 7,000-yard municipal layout special, standing out among Chicago’s top courses thanks to its sharp cliff edges. The Highlands of Elgin features eight holes working their way around the quarry area, combined with ten excellent prairie holes.

The 4th is my favorite hole, an outstanding 155-yard par 3 that takes players to the quarry area for the first time. The monster 254-yard par 3 7th brings you back to the lake-filled hazard. It sets up the gambling 363-yard 8th, which bends sharply around the quarry. However, the most difficult challenge on site is the 471-yard 11th. This gorgeous par 4 is one of Chicago’s best holes, with the lake in play along the left for its entirety.

*The 440-yard 16th hole at the Highlands of Elgin represents the prairie holes on this impressive municipal course*

Prairie Landing Golf Club (West Chicago)

Course Details: Par 72; 7,042/74.0/137; Architect: Robert Trent Jones, Jr.

Prairie Landing shares the same architect as ThunderHawk, Robert Trent Jones Jr., but is a completely different type of layout. This is a 7,042-yard links course, set in mostly open terrain next to Dupage Airport. Prairie Landing’s front nine features some thrilling risk/reward holes like the double-option, 406-yard 5th, and the short par 4 8th.

The back nine changes things up with some tree-lined holes, highlighted by the all-carry 12th. This 218-yard par 3 is a beauty played over a pond. After the 14th, the course moves back out to open ground, concluding with three lengthy holes.

Both nines at Prairie Landing culminate on neighboring green complexes, playing to each side of a pond. The 9th plays up the left side as a tough 438-yard par 4. Meanwhile, the 570-yard 18th is a big par 5 swinging to the left around a lake.

*The 218-yard 12th hole at Prairie Landing is an all-carry par 3, and a distinctive change of pace on this mainly open links layout*

Stonewall Orchard Golf Club (Grayslake)

Course Details: Par 72; 7,131/75.0/150; Architect: Arthur Hills

Stonewall Orchard is arguably the most challenging course on this list, and one of the toughest layouts ever built by architect Arthur Hills. It stretches to 7,124 yards with all sorts of options, heroic shots and half-par holes.

While there are several stiff challenges on the back nine, including the 196-yard 13th played over wetlands and the 615-yard finisher, I prefer Stonewall Orchard’s front nine. The 4th is a drivable par 4 of 341 yards that is a gambler’s delight. It’s followed by the infamous 244-yard 5th, which might be Chicago’s toughest par 3. Two more punishing par 4s bring you to the wetland-lined 8th, a 501-yard thriller that crosses water and then plays along the hazard for the length of the short par 5. Finally, the picturesque par 3 9th with its peninsula green closes things out.

*Surviving the 244-yard 5th is one of the keys to scoring well at Stonewall Orchard*

Five more terrific Chicagoland tracks

Harborside International Golf Center Starboard & Port Courses (Chicago)

Course Details (Starboard): Par 72; 7,104/74.5/134; Architect: Dick Nugent (1996)

Course Details (Port): Par 72; 7,131/74.6/137; Architect: Dick Nugent (1995)

Harborside International features 36 spectacular Dick Nugent-designed holes, offering wonderful views of the Windy City skyline. Both the Starboard and Port Courses are excellent tests of golf.

The Starboard Course features a spectacular lakeside finish that includes two stunning par 3s (the 225-yard 13th and 174-yard 17th). The Port Course is highlighted by the famed “Anchor Hole” (the 216-yard 15th), which kicks off its entertaining closing stretch.

*A side view of the 174-yard 17th hole on the Starboard Course at Harborside International*

Pairing the back nines of Harborside’s Starboard and Port Courses would make for an amazing 18-hole composite layout, but each of the individual courses are well worth a play. Both layouts finish with short par 5s that share a double green, allowing for one last birdie chance to close things out.

*The famed 215-yard 15th on the Port Course at Harborside International is known as the “Anchor Hole,” as its bunkers, mounds and horseshoe green form the distinctive shape*

Makray Memorial Golf Club (Barrington)

Course Details: Par 71; 6,878/74.6/133; Architect: Harry Vignocchi (2004), Bob Lohmann (1962)

Makray Memorial tends to fly under the radar among great Chicago courses, but it would be a mistake to miss out on playing this excellent layout. The club began as Thunderbird Golf Course in 1962, but was later revamped to its current modern layout in 2004. Known for its lightning fast greens, Makray Memorial features an excellent stretch of holes 2-4 that highlight the front nine. The 2nd is a tough par 4 with a creek crossing in front of the green, while the 3rd and 4th are a short par 4 and a downhill par 3 on both sides of a small lake. The back nine culminates with some great holes that are protected by ponds and wetlands.

*The 430-yard 9th hole at Makray Memorial closes its difficult front side*

Ravisloe Country Club (Homewood)

Course Details: Par 70; 6,405/71.4/130; Architect: Donald Ross (1901)

While there are several terrific Donald Ross-designed golf courses in the Windy City vicinity, Ravisloe is the only option open to the public. Built in 1901, this south metro layout plays on the shorter side (tipping at 6,405 yards), but is loaded with the strategic bunkers that Ross was known for. I love Ravisloe’s opening seven holes, which includes back-to-back short par 5s (holes 2 & 3), and a stretch of three varied par 3s in four holes.

*The 181-yard 4th hole at Ravisloe is the first of three par 3s in a four-hole stretch*

Kankakee Elks Country Club (Saint Anne)

Course Details: Par 72; 6,596/71.5/121; Architect: William Langford & Theodore J. Moreau (1926)

Kankakee Elks is located a bit south of the Chicago metro, but it would be a mistake to exclude this classic William Langford and Theodore J. Moreau layout from a list of the best Windy City-area courses. Kankakee Elks is an excellent value, and a true hidden gem as a historic club that remains frozen in time. My favorite holes on this thought-provoking layout include the dramatic 488-yard 3rd, tough par 3 7th, and the tight 8th hole. Langford and Moreau’s famed work gets even more impressive on the 545-yard 14th and 203-yard 15th holes on the back nine.

*The 488-yard 3rd hole at Kankakee Elks is a great birdie opportunity, if you can avoid the trademark Langford/Moreau mounding that dominates the landscape*

Final Thoughts

This list features just 10 courses out of myriad of terrific golf options available in the Chicago vicinity. I could keep going on and on with many more stellar tracks such as Pine Meadow Golf Club, Foxford Hills Golf Club and Chalet Hills Golf Club, and even some fun shorter courses like South Shore Golf Course, Hickory Knoll Golf Course and Grayslake Golf Course.

*South Shore is a special urban 9-hole layout, complete with skyline views and a couple of holes right on Lake Michigan*

If you are visiting Chicago to watch Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Ryan Fox and Hideki Matsuyama in the Presidents Cup, you could easily stay in town for another week, play 36 holes a day and never get bored.

These are only 10 great public tracks in the Second City, but there many courses in Northern Illinois that I can’t wait to check out.

Here’s five more Windy City courses I still want to play:

Cantigny Golf Club (Wheaton, IL)

Cog Hill Golf & Country Club (Lemont)

Mistwood Golf Club (Romeoville)

Mount Prospect Golf Club (Mount Prospect)

The Preserve at Oak Meadows (Addison)

Have any other recs for Chicago-area golf? We’d love to hear all about them, so please drop us a comment!

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Golf in Chicago: Great Courses to Explore in the Windy City