Prairie Isle GC - Prairie Grove

Golf course architect Gordon Cunningham has worked mainly in Iowa, but he has ventured into the Windy City area with three courses to his credit: Woodbine in Homer Glen, Hughes Creek in Elburn, and Prairie Isle in northwest suburban Prairie Grove.  Based on my thoughts on Woodbine and Hughes Creek ("don't care for" and "somewhat like", respectively), my expectations for Prairie Isle, which I played for the first time this April, were moderate, at best.  But I like surprises, and Prairie Isle was a big one, a definite step up in class from my other Gordon Cunningham golf experiences.

The par 72 course extends out to 6,600 yards, modest by today's standards, with two other tee sets at 6,255 and 5,438 yards.  But unlike his other area tracks, which have slopes in the 120 range, Prairie Isle plays to a stout 71.8 rating / 131 slope from the back tees.  The course sits on a relatively small footprint of 135 acres, but the design does a masterful job of maximizing space by tucking tees back into the trees (holes 4, 6 and 14 are good examples) and angling holes away from one another where I rarely felt in danger of playing from an adjacent fairway.  There's a nice diversity of holes, with water in play on all but four, 30 well placed sand traps, and some dramatic elevation change to add to the aesthetics.  (There are even 2 large boulders in a fairway trap on the 7th hole which could make for some unusual shot making dilemmas.)

The layout at Prairie Isle has the front nine occupying the inner part of the property while the back rings the perimeter, a golf architectural style that I'm sure has a name but of which I am not aware.  I prefer to ease into my rounds, but unfortunately Prairie Isle starts with the number 3 handicap, an uphill par 5 with wetlands to the left and 4 traps within 75 yards of the green.  The next 3 holes are par 4's around 350 yards, but all good ones requiring challenging shots:  #2 is a tight drive through trees framing the fairway about 100 yards out; #3's green is ringed by mature trees with a mound to the right; and #4 is a downhill dogleg left cut through the woods with a pond blocking the green.  All four par 3's have water in play in some form, with the 5th hole the longest at 190 yards with the hazard an extension of the pond from the previous hole that angles to within 60 yards of the green.  The other par three on the front, #8, is the signature hole at Prairie Isle, only 160 yards but all downhill with the green surrounded by three small ponds.

The par five 10th starts the back nine out with a bang, with wetlands bordering the left side the last 250 yards and water fronting the green with a beachside bunker to the right that will discourage longer players trying to reach the 518 yard hole in two.  But it is the next three holes (all par 4's) that lift Prairie Isle to another level. The 11th is a dogleg left with the wetlands from the previous hole extending along the left side, then a climb up to one of the largest greens.  The 12th and 13th holes branch out from the rest of the course and run up and over a sizable ridge through thick woods.  Drives on 12 will tend to fall off to the left and force some uncomfortable stances on the next shot, with any approaches left of the green a tricky chip up the slope, and the 13th hole has the ridge staring you down off the tee, with a strong drive imperative to seeing the green on the 2nd shot. Although the quadruple bogey I carded on #12 had my round on life support, a three on the 15th (all carry over water with large rocks artfully separating the green from the hazard) gave me some hope, but a sliced drive into the trees to the right on the dogleg left 16th and a fairway wood pulled OB on shot 3 threw the last shovels full of dirt on my round.  A par on the final hole, a par 5 that bends to the right twice on the way to the elevated green, helped this 20 handicapper salvage a decent round (96).

The top rate with cart on a weekend morning is $71, but if you're willing to play later in the day the price drops to $57 after 11 am and $47 after 2, plus additional coupons are regularly available online.  And if you play during the week, you'll pay $44 w/cart, and that's a bargain.  Except for the hills on 12 & 13 and the distance between the 13th green and 14th tee, this is a very walkable course if you want to pocket the $17 cart fee.  I've heard whispers that the 8 minute tee time interval can make for some long rounds on the weekends, but we finished in 4:20 on a fairly busy Saturday afternoon.  So although Prairie Isle may not have some of the high end flourishes of its neighbors to the south in Cary, Foxford Hills and Chalet Hills, this is a fine public course that holds its own against the competition and is well worth a visit.

Mr Z Rating

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

Total Score - 81.75 

Prairie Isle Golf Club

2216 Route 176, Prairie Grove

815-356-0202

3 tees, 6,601/ 5,438 yds, par 72

71.8/131 - 70.2/127 rating / slope

M-F $27/44 to 4 pm, $19/36 after 4

Sa-Su $71 w/c to 11 am, $40/57 to 2 pm, $30/47 to 4 pm, $22/39 after 4

Seniors (60) / Jrs (max 20) $20/37 M-F
Drivng Range Across Route 176

8 minute tee time intervals