EAST COURSE AT WHITE PINES A DECEPTIVE PAR 70 CHALLENGE

White Pines Golf Club tends to fly below the radar when discussing the top golf destinations in the Windy City, but on most any summer day it's bursting with activity.  Area golfers may best know White Pines for the Golf Dome, one of the first and largest in Chicagoland, but the two courses dating back to the 1920's are worth getting acquainted with, too. The 36 holes sit neatly on 240 acres of heavily wooded property in a quiet residential neighborhood off York Road in the west suburban town of Bensenville, about 10 minutes south of O'Hare airport.

The par 72 West course plays at a comfortable 6,600 yards, and the par 70 East is just short of 6,400, but both have identical 127 slopes and the six par 4's over 400 yards makes the East a bigger challenge for my 20 handicap game.  Three of them come at the start, not an ideal way to ease into your round.  The par 34 front nine also mixes in a trio of par 3's (holes 4, 6 & 8), with the 8th one of my favorite par 3's I played in 2015.  193 yards from the tips, a stand of hardwoods tight left severely narrows the opening from the tee, and catch a limb and the ball may drop directly into the creek that runs diagonally from left to right towards the green.

The back nine is the more traditional par 36 and a lengthy 3,400 yards, the longest (and arguably toughest) of the four nines at White Pines.  Water plays a prominent role as the creek at the south end of the course fronts the greens on the 513 yard par five 10th and the 405 yard par four 15th holes.  A pond creates a difficult all carry tee shot on the 192 yard 11th, and provides the left boundary on the short par four 12th before slicing across the fairway near the green.  The water continues to provide the hazard on the 13th, the last par 3 of the round. 

The three par 4's that follow includes the #3 handicap 14th, which features one of the narrowest fairways on the course.  The par five 17th (#5 handicap) & par four 18th (#1) holes are a difficult finish.  The 17th is the longest at 547 yards, a dogleg right with a number of the namesake pine trees pinching the fairway.  The 18th is a tournament length 463 yards and a par to complete the round will definitely be earned.

36 holes, a driving range and a good sized, well appointed clubhouse squeezed on to 240 acres is a design accomplishment, and it all seems to fit nicely together at White Pines.  There are certainly spots where the course feels a bit cramped, but only the most wayward shots will fly the trees into the wrong fairway.  That said, accuracy off the tee is goal #1 to score well and avoid wasting strokes chipping back into play.  Sand traps are used sparingly but strategically on the East course (about 2 per hole on average), yet the 71.1 rating and the 127 slope feels right, and the 5 sets of tees helps in finding the appropriate match for your skills.

The topography here is mostly airplane runway flat so you won't encounter the elevation changes that grabs your interest, but the mixture of decades old hardwoods and evergreens is visually appealing and a good choice if you prefer parkland style layouts.  Green fees at the Bensenville Park District facility top out at a very reasonable $49 w/cart weekdays and $59 weekends, and mid-afternoon twilight walking rates between $22 and $25 at a walker friendly layout makes White Pines one of the better bargains in the Windy City.  Plus the 9 minute tee time intervals is a welcome extra bonus. If you've overlooked White Pines in the past, 2016 would be a good time to get acquainted.

Mr Z Rating

Layout (20%) - 7.5
Playability (20%) - 8
Conditioning (15%) - 7.5
Aesthetics (15%) - 7
Amenities (10%) - 8
Value (20%) - 8.5

Total Score - 77.75

WHITE PINES GOLF CLUB

500 West Jefferson, Bensenville  630-766-0304
www.whitepinesgolf.com
EAST COURSE
5 tees - 6,371 - 5,150 yds par 70
71.1/127 - 65.6/114 slope/rating (men)
76.8/133 - 70.1/118 (women)
M-F $30 walk/$40 ride before 7 am, $39/49 w/cart to 2 pm, $25/35 to 5:30 pm, $12/22 after 5:30
SA-SU $59 w/c to 10 am, $45/55 to 1 pm, $33/43 to 3 pm, $22/32 to 5 pm, $10/20 after 5 
Juniors (17 & Under) and Seniors (62) rates available
9 Minute TeeTime Intervals
Driving Range on site