Fresh Meadow GC - Hillside

I started my Memorial Day weekend early by venturing over to Fresh Meadow Golf Club for a Friday afternoon round.  This Near West staple is centrally located on the northwest corner of Wolf Road and 22nd Street in Hillside, about 2 miles east of Oak Brook, and although I had driven by the course literally a thousand times, I had never made it past the  driving range/practice area to the 1st tee.  In all honesty, my preconception of Fresh Meadow was of a non-descript track, but after touring the 18 holes, I found that there is a lot more than meets the eye from the roadside. 

The par 70 layout stretches to just under 6,300 yards from the back tees (6,000 from the middle, 5,300 from the forward), with the longest hole on the course being the relatively short 475 yard 3rd (a sharp dog leg right), but 7 more 400 yard plus holes are here to provide plenty of length.  There are 34 sand traps (as stated on the web site, I didn't count them), and they're on the large side, but I don't recall any off the fairways, and the approaches to the green are open on most holes from the short grass.  Water comes into play on 4 holes, most prominently on the 14th, the shortest par 4 on the course (325 yards), but requiring a full carry over a pond to a well bunkered green, the most memorable hole on the course in my mind.

The back side is over 400 yards shorter (6 of the 8 400 yard holes are on the front) and is 2 shots less to par, but I always enjoy well crafted short holes, and besides the 14th, the 11th, 17th and 18th (all between 360 to 375 yards) have interest; the 11th is tight off the tee, and the 17th and 18th are both doglegs left, with the 18th providing a great view from the tee of Chicago's version of "mountains", the reflective glass of a high rise office building. 

Fresh Meadows is not what I would categorize as a difficult course (although they're all challenging for this 20 handicap), as the fairways are typically wide, water hazards are scarce and severe slopes are mostly absent on the medium sized greens. But there are plenty of large trees in play and a lot of subtle twists and bends to the fairways, as half the holes have some angle of dogleg present (we didn't see the green off the tee on the par 4's and 5's until the 8th hole), and the 1st, 4th & 7th holes are all par 4's in the 440 yard range, substantial by any measure. 

So will the single digit handicap find enough at Fresh Meadow to warrant repeat play?  Probably not.  But for the other 90% of the golfing public, you'll find a very playable, walker friendly course in a parkland setting with decent conditions and with more aesthetics than you might expect, and with a top rate of $55 and reduced rates beginning at Noon (plus senior rates at age 55), easy on the wallet.  Plus the onsite range is an added bonus (although the 2 dozen balls scattered near the 2nd green might be an indication that the range is a bit too close to the course...).  But if you are learning to play the game, or know how to play but have marginal skills, or maybe father time has taken a toll and you're looking for a little less challenge, you'll likely find a match at Fresh Meadow.

Mr Z Rating

Layout (20%) - 6.5
Playability (20%) - 8
Conditioning (15%) - 6
Aesthetics (15%) - 6.5
Amenities (10%) - 7.5
Value (20%) -7.5


Total Score - 70.25