Highland Woods - Hoffman Estates

The Cook County Forest Preserve District's roster of golf courses includes 10 sites and 162 holes, stretching from Calumet City to Hoffman Estates.  I recently visited the northern outpost, Highland Woods, on a typical sticky Chicago summer afternoon.  The course is advertised as "Forest Preserve Golf's northwest suburban championship course", and although I don't think anyone will confuse Highland Woods with another CCFP course, George Dunne, it does have a number of positive features that are attractive to north side public golfers.

The course stretches out to just shy of 7,000 yards, but the wide fairways and minimal water hazards (5 or 6 holes, depends on who's counting) keeps the rating / slope to a manageable 72.5 / 124 and will not overwhelm the average golfer.  (We played the 3rd set of 4 tees and the 6,500 yd / 70.4 / 119 layout was just right for a distance challenged golfer like myself.)  There are 52 (mostly) large bunkers to contend with, plus hundreds of mature trees and wide stretches of prairie that will certainly be penal if you stray off the short grass, and the large greens are moderately sloped but very playable for all but a few potential hole locations.

The 1st hole is a standard issue par 4, but the next hole is the first of many twists and turns, a dogleg right par 5 with 2 fairway traps and several more surrounding the green.  The other par 5 on the front side, #6, is arguably the best on the course, a downhill tee shot with a lake to the right jutting towards the fairway twice on the way to the well bunkered, large sloping green.  Although there may not be any great holes at Highland Woods, there's a bunch of really good ones, with the 10th (downhill par 4 with the trees tight to the green), 13th (par 3 over water), and 14th (long par 4 through the trees) a cut above the others.  The round finishes with a dogleg left with the green at the bottom of the hill with the course logo embedded behind, a nice hole and a nice touch.

The highest point in Cook County resides on Highland Woods (which I know isn't saying much), and the rolling hills and tree lined fairways make for some impressive vistas.  The course footprint is expansive, so there is much more space between holes than one would expect on a county course.  Highland Woods has the look, feel and flow of a much more expensive track (call me crazy, but Pine Meadow comes to mind), but unfortunately the similarities end there, as this is golf for the public masses, as tight tee times, heavy play and some rough patches will turn off some.  My first round at Highland Woods moved briskly (a rain shortened 9 holes in April), but the second was at twilight behind a large tournament, and 3 hours later we staggered off the 9th green (although the pace picked up on the back and we were able to finish).  But the lesson was learned, play can be

excruciatingly slow.

But taking both the good and the bad into consideration, I like Highland Woods.  The $56 weekend rate w/cart is affordable and the layout is top notch, but if course conditions is high on your priority list, then you may want to take a pass.  If you do decide to give Highland Woods a whirl (that's my recommendation), you may want to either go during a less crowded weekday, or at least ask if there are any outings or tournaments going on if the weekend is your only opportunity to play.

  Mr Z Rating

Layout (20%) - 9
Playability (20%) - 7.5
Conditioning (15%) - 6.5
Aesthetics (15%) - 8
Amenities (10%) - 7.5
Value (20%) - 7.5

Total Score - 77.25


   

Highland Woods

2775 N. Ela Road, Hoffman Estates (800) 460-0010
4 tees, 6,934 / 5,831 yds, par 72
72.5/124 - 70.4/119 rating / slope
M-F $36/51 to 3 pm, $25/40 after 3
Sa-Su $41/56 to 3 pm, $26/41 after 3
Srs (62)/Jrs (17 & Under) $18/33 M-F w/Forest Preserve Golf Card
7-1/2 minute tee time intervals
Driving Range on site