When judging the best public-access golf courses in Illinois, it’s apropos that the top track was built with a singular focus on offering John Q. Public the same kinds of playing conditions and atmosphere found at many elite private clubs.
Joe Jemsek, a former caddie and PGA Tour player, had that mission when building Cog Hill No. 4, named Dubsdread (pictured atop this story), in Palos Park on the southwest outskirts of Chicago.
Golfweek ranks courses by compiling the average ratings – on a points basis of 1 to 10 – of its more than 750 raters to create several industry-leading lists of courses. That includes the popular Best Courses You Can Play list for courses that allow non-member tee times. These generally are defined as layouts accessible to resort guests or regular daily-fee players.
Cog Hill No. 4 Dubsdread is No. 1 in the Prairie State on that list. Designed by Dick Wilson – who died before the course could be completed – and Joe Lee to open in 1964, and renovated by Rees Jones in 2008, No. 4 has hosted several USGA amateur and PGA Tour championships. It is one of four courses at Cog Hill, the first two of which were open in 1951 when Jemsek bought the property with a dream of turning it into an elite destination for public-access players.
Cog Hill’s No. 4 Dubsdread in Illinois (Courtesy of Cog Hill/Charles Cherney)
The Dubsdread moniker was borrowed from a course of the same name in Orlando, with a dub being a poorly skilled golfer and Dubsdread chosen to indicate the difficulty of the course. The championship-quality layout features tight landing areas and severely bunkered greens, putting high demands on shotmaking. (Cog Hill formerly was located in Lemont, but a recent annexation has the official address now listed as Palos Park.)
The No. 2 public-access layout in Illinois also has a PGA Tour pedigree. TPC Deere Run in Silvis, designed by Tour pro D.A. Weibring on rolling hills alongside Rock River and opened in 2000, is the annual host site of the Tour’s John Deere Classic. As with Cog Hill No. 4, it was built with the intent to allow recreational golfers to sample the playing challenged faced by top professionals.
TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois (Brian Spurlock/USA TODAY Sports)
Stonewall Orchard, designed by Arthur Hills and opened in 1999 in Grayslake, is No. 3 on the public-access list for Illinois. No. 4. on the list is Highlands of Elgin, followed by No. 5 The Glen Club in Glenview.
Illinois is also home to a slew of elite private clubs, several of which have hosted major championships, with Chicago Golf Club, Shoreacres and Butler National leading the way on Golfweek’s Best list of private courses in the state.
Check out all the best of golf in Illinois below.
from Golfweek https://ift.tt/3jNDgnm