Glencoe GC - Glencoe

I was recently invited to play at the Glencoe Golf Club, so I hopped in the car and made the long trek from the southwest ‘burbs to the north shore.  This stately old course dates back to 1921, and has been owned and operated by the village since the beginning, as proudly stated on the front of the scorecard.  Glencoe plays to just over 6,500 yards and a par of 72, with 3 each par threes and fives, similar to another recently reviewed course at the opposite end of metro Chicago, Silver Lake North in Orland Park.

The course is mostly flat, with any significant elevation changes found on the first few holes, and features tree lined fairways with bunkers in play off the tee on several drives, water hazards on 5 holes, patches of wispy prairie grass and fast, sloping greens that were among the best I have played this year.  There are some tight spots in the course routing, as evidenced by the fencing/netting that protects the 3^rd and 14^th tees from errant shots from the 2^nd and 9^th holes (seeing that always makes me a little nervous…), but the maturity of the trees helps keep the ball where it’s supposed to be.

Be ready at the start as the round begins with the top 2 handicap holes on the front side, a tough uphill 400 yard par 4 that rises to a well bunkered green with the forest directly behind to swallow any overcooked approaches, and the par 5 2^nd hole which runs parallel down the hill with thick woods on the right the length of the hole and 3 bunkers surrounding the elevated green.  The rest of the front side features a monster par 3 (the 233 yard 7^th hole), and 6 par 4’s under 370, with the 3^rd and 6^th holes requiring approaches around and over ponds near the green, and the 8^th hole with a difficult high lipped fairway bunker to the left that needs to be avoided.

The back nine begins with the longest par 4 on the course, 436 yards and usually into the wind, which is followed by a short dogleg right with a back to front sloped green.  The 13^th is the best hole on the back in my opinion, a slight dogleg right par 4 with 3 bunkers staggered along the fairway and a very narrow, tiered green providing a difficult target to hit in regulation.  The 15^th hole is a good par 3 over water, and the 16^th is a straight away par 4 with a narrow landing area off the tee between a pond left and OB right that demands a precise drive.  The round finishes with 2 par 5’s, a near 90 degree dogleg left through the trees to a large, heavily trapped putting surface, and a straight away 536 yarder where large trees will block your way if you push your drive too far to the left.

The green fees at Glencoe top out at $65 w/cart on weekend mornings, but you can play for under $50 after 2:30 and under $40 after 4, plus this is a walker friendly course so you can save a few bucks and get some exercise at the same time, a win-win if I ever saw one.  Mature courses like this rarely disappoint in providing plenty of scenery, but nevertheless, there is not a lot of “wow” factor at  Glencoe.  But taking everything into consideration, this is a well-conditioned, historic course that provides a fair test and enough challenge to keep better players interested (although the 130 slope from the tips seems a bit high), and if I lived up this way (and the 16 oz Bud Light and Arnold Palmer for $9 off the beverage cart reminded me I wasn't on the south side), I would have Glencoe in my play rotation.

Mr Z Rating

Layout - 7

Playability -8

Conditioning - 7.5

Aesthetics - 7

Amenities - 7

Value -7.5

Total Score -74