George Dunne National (http://www.forestpreservegolf.com/) is one of the crown jewels of municipal golf in the Chicago area. Think Kemper Lakes without the attitude or gimmicky holes. No golf course community to deal with, just pure golf. A brief history...when this course was built back in the late 70's/early 80's (can't remember exactly) people (myself included) would line up overnight outside the gate for the chance to play that day. But neglect in the 90's drove people away. The last 5 years, however, has seen the course return to it's original grandeur, and at a reasonable $65 w/cart (including GPS), it is a must play.
The course is a monster from the back tees, but is very playable for the higher handicap from the 3rd (of 4) tees. The layout winds through groves of trees and around several lakes, and is heavily bunkered. And you will likely see a number of deer wandering around the edge of the forests. But for the most part, everything is right in front of you, no blind shots. And almost every hole (except for maybe #'s 4 & 5) are separated, so the odds of hitting into another fairway are minimal.
It is hard to pick out the "best" holes because they are all good in their own right, but my favorites are #4 (a long par 4 dogleg left with the classic risk/reward drive over a pond), #6 (par 5 with the chance of reaching in 2 for big hitters if you want to deal with all the bunkers by the green), #15 (uphill par 4 through the trees), #17 (beautiful par 3 over a lake) and #18 (a beast of a finishing hole with a tee shot over the lake to a narrow fairway protected by bunkers on the right). If you can par 18, you earned it.
Of the courses I have played in Chicago (and I've played a lot of them), this one rates in the top 5.
Mr Z Rating
Layout - 9
Playability -8.5
Conditioning - 8.5
Aesthetics - 8
Amenities - 7.5
Value - 9
Mr. Z-
ReplyDeleteReally agree with your review of George Dunne. A fine course which offers plenty of challenges for most players, usually with a place to play it "safe" if you choose to.