Water's Edge GC - Worth

Water's Edge Golf Course occupies a narrow strip of land between Harlem and Ridgeland Avenues in Worth, just north of the Calumet Sag Channel. I used to live down the street, so I'm familiar with what this property was previously (basically an unofficial garbage dump), so putting a golf course there was a great improvement. The course is in the traditional parkland style of tree lined fairways, with elements of "prairie links" (thick grass and wetlands) present on several holes. Almost every hole runs east/west, with the exceptions of #'s 1 & 18, plus the 2 short par 3's on the back nine. The course is well bunkered with over 70 sand traps, and water comes into play to some degree on over half the holes, which accounts for the 131 slope from the 6,900 yd back tees.

The 1st hole starts the round with a challenging par 5, with a tee shot to a narrow fairway sandwiched between 2 thick stands of trees, and a creek crossing the fairway at about 150 yards from the green. The next 16 holes are on the east side of Harlem and are reached via an underground path (a good distance for walkers). The 2nd hole is another tough one, a long par 4 with a pond and wetlands on the right and woods on the left. After a short par 3 with water to the right and back of the green, the 4th hole is a scenic par 5 with prairie running the length of the left side, and wetlands and 3 bunkers running up the right side near the green. The 5th hole is my favorite on the front, a 420 yd par 4 with a slight dogleg left. Your drive needs to be far enough right to clear the huge trees on the left guarding the turn, and the approach is up to a well protected, undulating green with mounds surrounding the right and back sides. The next hole is a mirror image of #5, a slight dogleg right with trees in play at the bend. The 7th hole is the longest par 3 on the course, 200 yards with water on the right. The front finishes with 2 par 4's, with #8 featuring a tight drive through the trees and #9 running parallel to a secluded green tucked back in the woods.

The back 9 has the signature hole, the par 5 11th, which has thick trees and the Cal Sag on the left and a lake bordering the entire last half on the right side. The fairway takes a sharp right turn about 80 yards from the green, so if you do hit a long enough drive into the fairway, you can think about going for the green in two, as long as you can carry the water and the 3 sand traps that guard the front. A large swath of flowers sits on the side of the hill behind the green and provides a colorful view. The par 3 12th is a good hole, a short downhill shot to a large putting surface tilted back to front. #13 is near 420 yds and runs uphill into the wind (on most days) to a tough green. The par 5 15th also has trees and the Cal Sag bordering the left side, but (thankfully) the high grass that originally separated the 14th and 15th fairways has been removed, which helps the speed of play. The back nine finishes on the west side of Harlem with a par 4 with water and a slight turn on the right and trees left, with 6 bunkers scattered off the fairway and near the green.

There is a large driving range next to the 1st tee to warm up, and I've always found the staff to be very hospitable (the young lady driving the beverage cart was
particularly friendly).

However, I've found the course
conditioning to be marginal at times over the years.  On my latest round, the fairways were spongy and bare in spots, the greens were choppy, and most of the sand traps were hard.  I'd like to chalk this up to a rainy early summer, but it hadn't rained that much lately and this is not an unusual occurence.  Also, there are a couple of spots on the course were the holes are tight to one another and balls are often times flying into neighboring

fairways, especially on holes 8 to 10 and to a lesser extent, holes 13 to 15, which may help explain the near 5 hour rounds I normally encounter here. So although I love the woodsy scenery and several of the holes, I always come with high expectations and usually leave just a little disappointed. But if you can get a good deal (we paid $39 w/cart on a Friday afternoon with an online coupon), I would definitely give Water's Edge a try.

Mr Z Rating

Layout - 7

Playability - 7

Conditioning - 6

Aesthetics - 7.5

Amenities - 8

Value -7.5

Total Score - 71