HIDDEN GEM Public Golf Courses in Illinois

Illinois is one of the midwest's best for great golf. It boasts some of America's best courses like Medinah Country Club, Shoreacres, Butler National, Rich Harvest Farms, Olympia Fields, Chicago Golf and more. With such a strong collection of tournament level courses, it is easy to over look the great public offerings across the state! Courses like Cog Hill's Dubsdread, Cantigny, and Thunderhawk get much of the attention and this video highlights some of the more hidden gems across the state. Over the course of the last year, I traveled hundred of miles looking for some of the best courses in the nation and this video narrows it down my favorites. Which ones are your favorite?

[@GregPace]

Appreciate these videos. I gotta make my way out to a few of these courses!

[@chrissass7303]

Prairie Landing in West Chicago is amazing as well.

[@colinjohnson4747]

great video. love MT Prospect and the Preserve. will check out some of these others!

[@swapnakhair2889]

Good list, the 2 Chicago courses I recommend is Harborside and Ravisloe, best of links & golden age design. I would add Bonnie Brook as a great value, plus Balmoral Woods, Whisper Creek, village links of Glen Ellyn and Heritage Bluffs.

[@Dustbrother1099]

Subbed! Keep up the great content! Yes, Shepherds Crook is awesome but not sure if it’s a hidden gem. The course was pretty packed when I was there a few weeks ago.

[@sundoesgolf]

I'm hoping to hit up some of these courses this year. I play around the chicagoland area and document my golf. Thanks for the list. I played Mt prospect this year and it was in great shape.

[@ariasfit]

Stumbled upon this video and loved it. Definitely added a bunch of course to my bucket list. Recently played Sunset and I agree they did a terrific job renovating. I'd recommend Bonnie Brook Golf Course, Canal Shores Golf Course and Glenview Park Golf Club

[@jdawg999]

Great vid! Nailed the gems!

[@Soundofthetimes]

Just played George Dunn this weekend. It is a tough course, with a crap load of sandtraps. It is one of the most challenging public courses I've played. Big Run in Lockport is tougher but only because the rough is so long that you can't find your ball even when its only 2 feet off the fairway. Downers is on my list to play soon as is Ravines.

[@adamczamanske7227]

Agree with your list. So many great courses in Chicagoland. Highlands of Elgin & Blackstone are my favorite out of those you listed…Looking forward to knocking out Preserve at Oak Meadow and DG this year. Hidden Gems I would add are Village Links of Glen Ellyn and Arrowhead in Wheaton. Pottawatomie in St Charles is a fun RTJ course right on the Fox river

[@pipelinerusa6605]

i love blackstone. oak grove a bit west of there is a fun layout but it isn't in quite as good of shape as it was around 2010ish

[@williamfix2]

balmoral woods country club is low key fun- and has a lot of gorgeous holes.

[@GMike22]

Earned a sub, almost nailed my favorites

[@denniscallaghan9702]

Oak Grove, Stonewall Orchard, You are right about one thing....as you can see with everyone adding a lot more courses Chicago has one of the best golf markets in the country..... The ssd thing about Chicago golf is no home PGA tournament , :( I would love to see the PGA play Butler GC

[@tigerwoods232000]

Good list. Bowes creek and Stonewall Orchard are a couple more id say belong in this category.

[@Karstenhultgren]

Yes! Love Stonewall, I feel the word is out on that one but maybe just my experience

[@alanmartins6349]

Damn where was this list when I was living in Illinois. You missed Thunderhawk, Chalet Hills, Steeple Chase.

[@Kade_Hult1]

Great list. Gotta get out there to THE Highlands of Elgin sometime!

[@sheepshead17]

My home course. It’s fantastic. I’d highly recommend making a day of it and play Bowes too. It’s about 10 minutes from the Highlands.

[@mikeslechta6607]

Dude , I was like, is he really not gonna put cog hill on here, and it has one of the best ranges ive been to. Going tm morning will prob be there three more times before Monday lol. Amazing course, tucked away, great views. Amazing up keep. Great staff

[@Karstenhultgren]

Yeah Cog has it down! I don’t consider Dubsdread a “hidden gem” but the Ravines certainly is!

[@danielkwak4769]

Great video man! I actually got my first birdie at highlands in elgin

[@Karstenhultgren]

YESSS makes me so happy bro. What hole? That course is truly one of the best in Chicagoland and so affordable

[@treyshaw7235]

Cinder ridge in Wilmington is a state of the art course

[@MrMasonHernandez]

If you’re ever in the Rockford area check out aldeen golf course and the ledges. Also silver ridge out in Oregon

[@xavierhubbell4562]

One of the absolute best in the Northwest is Deer Valley Golf Club in Deer Grove. Small town country club. Less than $40. Beautiful course on a huge amount of land. A couple super cool elevated tee boxes. Hole 13 is one of the best par 3s I’ve ever seen

[@Growinggolfing]

If you’re ever near the St Louis area, play Annbriar. Immaculate course with a great layout.

[@25pcleary]

Come to annbriar. It’s an amazing course. A bunch of great courses around this area.

[@RingoFreakingStarr]

The Highlands of Elgin, full stop, would be my favorite public course in Illinois if Cog Hill #4 wasn't a public course. The layout, conditions, and price to play of the course is unmatched. I want to really like The Preserve at Oak Meadows but it's simply way too short. They NEVER have the Tournament Tees out when I play there which means you have a Par 72 course at 6300 yards which is just way too short for a longer hitter, better player golfer. It relies too much on gimicy-styled short Par 4s that dogleg. You mentioned Shepherd's Crook at the end of your video; it's a FANTASTIC course with a lot of character. I'd say it's pretty close to the quality-to-price value of The Highlands of Elgin. It is though, for a lot of people, too far of a drive if you live in Downtown Chicago seeing how it's literally on the northern border. If you live near O'hare though, it's pretty much an equal drive to Shepherd's Crook and The Highlands of Elgin at about 40 minutes each way on the toll roads.

[@mackenziehultgren9813]

Love it!

[@Karstenhultgren]

Thanks!

[@mitchstanton4841]

I like the list and also like the suggestions in the Comments section. Living in the far Northern Suburbs I can confirm Stonewall Orchard and Steeple Chase and Thunderhawk. The back 9 at Thunderhawk has 3 Par 3's, 3 Par Fours and 3 Par 5's. I'll just add Veterans Memorial or F/K/A Willow Glen GC part of Great Lakes Navy Base. Affordable, electric carts, practice range, nice club house and open to the public. It'll test you and all the clubs in your bag. Completely under rated.

[@Karstenhultgren]

Awesome recs here Mitch! I love Stonewall and ThunderHawk, though I feel like the secret is out on them so I didn’t categorize as a hidden gem

[@abuchanan821]

Shepherds Crook and Thunderhawk!

[@Karstenhultgren]

I love ThunderHawk! Wouldn’t count it as a hidden gem though, pretty popular. Shepard’s Crook is a must for me though!

[@lt.spears1889]

You left out Annbriar, Gateway, Stonewolf, and Far Oaks all in Southern Illinois

[@michaelforrest4783]

Not bad at all. Stonewall Orchard, Village Links of Glen Ellen, Foxford Hills, are all solid and stand up to those ya mentioned. Great call on MP btw. But, mentioning Shepherds Crook, and not playing Thunderhawk first is a miss. A solid RtJ jr. track that's public, and will test every player.

[@Dustbrother1099]

Great point. Thunderhawk is about double the green fees compared to Shepherds Crook and it’s a solid choice. I don’t know if either are hidden gems as I was there a few weeks ago on a Friday and both were packed.

[@jonathanstewart9838]

Stonewall is incredible

[@KG-47]

Stonewall is a dump

[@Golf101inc]

I missed Ann Briar this past year on a golf trip bc it was hosting a college event I believe…still wanting to it up. Thanks for the list, I’ll have to check these out next time I’m up in Chicago. I live down near Peoria👍

[@TailblockProductions314]

annbriar is nice but not worth that drive from peoria imo lol

[@Golf101inc]

@@TailblockProductions314 thanks for the info! This year we are going to lake of the ozarks, hear there are some great courses there.

[@TailblockProductions314]

@@Golf101inc I've played a few courses now in Illinois. Was not a fan of Mistwood or cog hill. Loved Schaumburg golf club. Absolutely love "The Rail", the best-hidden gem in the state and it is right between stl/chicago. Wasn't a fan of big run or heritage bluffs. The course was fun but pricing does not match those courses.

[@Golf101inc]

@@TailblockProductions314 the price thing is what I run into. A middle of the road course or even a nice course can leave a bad taste of the cost does not equal the experience.

[@williamhormann3122]

There are some great courses in the Central and southern part of the state also!

[@Karstenhultgren]

Absolutely! Much more affordable too lol

[@carneios08]

Beat me to it. Pinnacle in the QC area, where TPC Deere Run is, is beautiful!

[@joecarlino7870]

The Ravines Course at Cog Hill is tough on the body to walk.

[@keeganmartin5200]

Your camera didn’t do Justice for prairieview😂it’s always in great shape

[@theseanie9958]

best part of the highlands of elgin is sitting on the patio upstairs watching golfers come in on the 18th

[@mp_skills]

Hey man! Absolute beauties you mentioned. 2 that you missed that are must- play hidden gems are bowes creek and Schaumburg golf club! Have fun lmk what ya think

[@Karstenhultgren]

Great recs! I keep hearing awesome things about Schaumburg and their restoration so will definitely be checking out next time.

[@mp_skills]

Brotha, just played prairie view. Holy smokes what a hidden gem . You have great taste in golf courses. Just checked it out today. Worth the hour drive!!

[@Karstenhultgren]

@@mp_skills So glad to hear it man, it is such a gem out there and an unreal value. Thanks for reporting back and glad to hear it!

[@EdwardTeach312]

Please take the preserve off this list, it would be great if people didn't know about it!! But seriously, I agree that the Ravines is better than Dubs. Great list!

[@Karstenhultgren]

Haha! I was conflicted as well, such a great hidden gem

[@zacharyallen1905]

Randall Oaks never misses for me

[@dnovelle1]

Oak Grove in Harvard is definitely a "Hidden Gem"!!

[@mikeslechta6607]

Cog baby.

[@patio87]

I'm too poor for these courses, lol. But for cheaper spots Big Run and Settlers hill are fantastic. Big Run feels like you're not even in Illinois.

[@colinjohnson4747]

Bro make more Chicago videos lol

[@dantrav1927]

PLAY BIG RUN BEFORE ITS GONE!!!!

[@taminthesafarizone238]

salt creek

[@leemccarthy129]

Hit me up if you want to come down and play annbriar. We own a VRBO we can set you up in and I’d love to show you a few courses in our area.

[@koda4247]

If you're looking for a cheap round in northern illinois you have to check out silver ridge. That course is a hidden gem for sure. Only psychopaths walk it though, cart only!

[@aarongoldstein8472]

The glen??? Mount prospect has to be the best course ever for 40 bucks

[@davidwebb9752]

Don’t leave out another hidden gem Weaver Ridge near Peoria

[@airforceretired5094]

No way i would ever go to Chicago.

[@bedhedted]

More for us ☺️

[@airforceretired5094]

@@bedhedted you can have it all

[@KG-47]

I leauge shepereds. Its pretty nice, dont go there.

[@joecarlino7870]

The Forest Preserve absorbed Maple Meadows 9-hole course and imo ruined Oak Meadows 18-hole course to make The Preserves and to build much a needed storm water basin. I really miss the old Oak Meadows and Maple Meadows 9-hole, which were my most played by far. I don't play the new course. It is overpriced. I still play Maple Meadows next door.

[@Gman737e]

The highlands in Elgin is no hidden gem, it's known as one of the best in Illinois, if I'm not mistaken it's ranked number 2 in Illinois this year. The Preserve is also amazing and well known.

[@Karstenhultgren]

It wasn’t when I made the video so maybe the video gave it the publicity it deserves 😂