Lake Bluff Golf Club
About
Situated on Chicago's scenic North Shore, Lake Bluff Golf Club has become a "must-play" destination in the area. First opened in 1968, the course has a classic layout with front and back nines that are very different. The front nine provides a gentle start. The terrain is mostly flat and the holes are straightforward. As you move onto Lake Bluff's back nine there is more up and down and consequently the challenges are greater. Don't get too comfortable on the first half of the golf course because you'll need your wits about you for the second. Trees line the narrow fairways and the tricky greens all slope in one direction or another. Accuracy is essential. Water doesn't come into play but the doglegs and strategically placed bunkers provide plenty of challenges.
Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
---|---|---|---|---|
Black | 72 | 6589 yards | 71.3 | 124 |
White (W) | 72 | 6195 yards | 75.4 | 126 |
White | 72 | 6195 yards | 69.5 | 120 |
Gold (W) | 72 | 5656 yards | 72.4 | 120 |
Gold | 72 | 5656 yards | 67.0 | 114 |
Red/Gold (W) | 72 | 5162 yards | 69.6 | 114 |
Red (W) | 72 | 4969 yards | 68.5 | 112 |
Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Black M: 71.3/124 | 393 | 522 | 330 | 183 | 538 | 200 | 338 | 360 | 419 | 3283 | 420 | 364 | 419 | 194 | 367 | 494 | 147 | 530 | 321 | 3256 | 6539 |
White M: 69.5/120 W: 75.4/126 | 380 | 472 | 315 | 158 | 506 | 190 | 327 | 344 | 402 | 3094 | 410 | 357 | 391 | 182 | 342 | 482 | 137 | 521 | 279 | 3101 | 6195 |
Gold M: 67.0/114 W: 72.4/120 | 299 | 469 | 285 | 149 | 406 | 168 | 312 | 331 | 399 | 2818 | 366 | 326 | 377 | 165 | 339 | 429 | 124 | 444 | 268 | 2838 | 5656 |
Red/Gold W: 69.6/114 | 296 | 400 | 276 | 140 | 404 | 168 | 312 | 331 | 340 | 2667 | 315 | 290 | 312 | 125 | 253 | 421 | 111 | 400 | 268 | 2495 | 5162 |
Red W: 68.5/112 | 296 | 400 | 276 | 140 | 404 | 140 | 248 | 274 | 340 | 2518 | 315 | 290 | 312 | 125 | 253 | 421 | 111 | 400 | 224 | 2451 | 4969 |
Handicap | 7 | 1 | 11 | 17 | 3 | 15 | 9 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 14 | 2 | 18 | 10 | 12 | |||
Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
Handicap (W) | 13 | 1 | 5 | 17 | 7 | 15 | 3 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 18 | 8 | 4 | 16 | 6 | 10 |
Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Policies
Accolades
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Golf Advisor: Top Courses in Illinois (2015 #21)
Reviews
Reviewer Photos
Just like most reviews said
Tee time was 20 minutes behind,no food was ready at turn,did have to wait for carts! Coarse was in great condition and had a great time otherwise.
Very Average
Very average course and amenities with below average pace of play. I struggled to get 9 homes in when I started at 5:30
good day
saw a deal on golf now, signed up and had a great day on the course.
Would like to see better directions/signage on the course to direct golfers to the next hole. Since it was our first time at the course, it was quite confusing at times.
Needs Improvement
I played on Sunday at 12:20 with my son. There were no carts available for the several people waiting at the tee box. We did finally tee off 30 minutes later. Strike one. The round was moving nicely, and we watched the cart girl drive by a few times with a friend in the cart and music playing. When she finally did stop, she had no ice tea, lemonade, no real food. We got water. At the turn, how about a golf club that actually has a couple of hot dogs premade, as to not make us stand there for 10 minutes while it is being cooked. Strike two. The range is a complete embarrassment, crap old balls, and a great for practicing area for hitting from out of bounds or maybe out of the rough. Strike three. I'm out.
Can be slow
Too many hackers and couples and retirees looking to bird watch or whatever they are doing that takes forever to get from shot to shot. Pace of Play is a great equalizer to lack of skill and something my group relies on to keep things moving WITHOUT HURRYING. Folks here are concerned about nothing including their pace. Course is fun but too many people have picked up the game without learning the game…
It's your typical mini - nothing special
No real surprises at Lake Bluff it's a mundane muni with a few quirky holes. The greens are a bit larger than most but they are seem to be similar...you have to have course knowledge to learn which side of the green to hit to so your ball so it may roll in the proper direction. And it's very rare that your putt doesn't have a decent size break....a straight putt is hard to come by on this course. The grounds crew wasn't in a good mood and a number of flags were placed in areas that definitely slowed play. .
They run out of carts frequently and you can get behind some very slow play. Conditions are fine.....course does drain extremely poorly after any rain. What cracks me up is that there's never a starter - if the first tee is empty recommend you just drive out to the tee box even if your tee time is much later. Prior to anyone else pulling up look at your watch and subtract 5 or 10 minutes if you're asked what time you have. Last two times we've played here we've teed off a 1/2 hour early (both times with packed/full tee sheet) and no one even questioned us.
Lake Bluff has been part of our GolfVisions players pass book for a few years now. For our group it's one and done each season - plenty of other courses with more interest. No real inkling to return again until next year if Lake Bluff continues with Golf Visions. Has a range usually off mats that doesn't allow woods. A solid 3 stars and but major downgrade as there are many holes including several dog leg holes where the trees dictate play - it's kind of like a better maintained White Pines but a tad less tree claustrophobic. In better than average shape recommend except you have to gird for slow play, a possible wait for a cart and the crap shoot of when you should tee off.
Wet Course
Course have a nice layout. Unfortunately it had rained a lot the night before so the fairways had lot of water. It was very crowded so the ace was a little slow. However, the round was still enjoyable.