Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round 3)

[TheBear95]

2 hours ago, mci711 said:

I used to walk Ruffled Feathers all the time. The front is quick. 3 to 4 somewhat of a walk and 8-9. The back is a little longer. 11 to 12, 14 to 15 depending on the tee, and then the longest is 16 to 17. 

 

 

 

Yep. The only walk I would describe as long is from the 16 green to the 17 tee box. Sure, you have to cross a few streets during the round, but it's Feathers. I mean the tee boxes are basically in people's back yards, lol.

[ldchristopher]

Yeah, Feathers isn’t a hard walk by any means. It’s well under 7 miles from the tips with very little elevation. It’s weird. It should be the same topography as Cog since the course is two blocks away, but it feels much flatter. I don’t recall many ravines or pushing my cart up any steep hills. The walk from 5 to 6 and 8 to 9 is equal to less than half a block. 11-12 and 16-17 are the only longish walks. And they’re not bad. Plus, if you play the blue tees the back 9 is less than 3000 yards. That’s just walking only on principle. 

[thedunedain]

Will be down in Urbana/Champaign this week for work, any recs for an afternoon round?  Right now I'm between Illinois Orange and Atkins.  Also anything along the route back to Chicago would work too

[sittonsideways]

Moving to Chicago in about a month and will be living fairly centrally (West Loop or Lincoln Park). What’s your shortlist of go-to public courses? I know the big names, but what would be a good “home” while I’m living in Chicago? It sounds like I need to prepare for a lengthy drive no matter where I choose, but would love to be told otherwise. 

[TheBear95]

24 minutes ago, thedunedain said:

Will be down in Urbana/Champaign this week for work, any recs for an afternoon round?  Right now I'm between Illinois Orange and Atkins.  Also anything along the route back to Chicago would work too

 

I would play Kankakee Elks on the way back to Chicago.

[ldchristopher]

3 hours ago, sittonsideways said:

Moving to Chicago in about a month and will be living fairly centrally (West Loop or Lincoln Park). What’s your shortlist of go-to public courses? I know the big names, but what would be a good “home” while I’m living in Chicago? It sounds like I need to prepare for a lengthy drive no matter where I choose, but would love to be told otherwise. 

There are some variables to consider. How far are you willing to drive? Are you willing to play at 6:00 AM? Will you live closer to DLSD or 90/94? 
I live in Uptown/Sheridan Park and play all over the place. I find myself in the South Suburbs a fair amount (George Dunne, White Hawk, Aberdeen, Harborside once or twice a year, Odyssey when there’s nothing else, Palmira or Deer Creek when I want a cheap round, Sanctuary in the Winter, Lost Marsh when I’m feeling dumb). Can also play off 55 and 355 (Cog, Heritage Bluffs, Big Run, Ruffled Feathers, Mistwood, Wedgewood, Broken Arrow, Old Oak, Prairie Bluff). With no traffic in the morning, all of these except White Hawk, Aberdeen and Heritage Bluffs are an hour or less. The drive home will be longer, but not brutally long unless DLSD is closed or has an event. Add 20-35 minutes. If you live closer to 90/94, you’re bringing in all the North Shore courses off 41 (Winnetka, Wilmette, Glencoe, Deerfield, Glenview Park, Sunset Valley, Heritage Oaks). They tend to blend into one flood plain course but they’re well-maintained if a touch overpriced. Courses off of 90 are the worst simply because the drive home is so bad. It’s easy to get to all of them but the junction adds an extra 45 minutes to your drive home at a minimum. Which sucks because those courses probably offer the most variety. 

Edited July 30, 2024 by ldchristopher

[ldchristopher]

Broken Arrow today. I was out with the dew, grounds crew and pesticides. Round number 18 in July. Man, why do I have to go back to work soon? I’ve made summer count though. BA was fine. Greens were smooth but slow, pace was great as the first person out. I waited on one group that went off the East course but passed them after one hole (my 10th). After Whittaker Woods, every course looks like Augusta National in comparison, but that’s heaping praise on a GolfVisions course so I’ll stop to stay in DP4’s good graces. Two birdies on 2 and 5 South. Two bogies on 7 South and 3 East (barf). Some tough pin locations today. Front were usually two paces on and back were two paces off and tucked in corners. My putter cooperated though. 72. 

[sittonsideways]

29 minutes ago, ldchristopher said:

There are some variables to consider. How far are you willing to drive? Are you willing to play at 6:00 AM? Will you live closer to DLSD or 90/94? 
I live in Uptown/Sheridan Park and play all over the place. I find myself in the South Suburbs a fair amount (George Dunne, White Hawk, Aberdeen, Harborside once or twice a year, Odyssey when there’s nothing else, Palmira or Deer Creek when I want a cheap round, Sanctuary in the Winter, Lost Marsh when I’m feeling dumb). Can also play off 55 and 355 (Cog, Heritage Bluffs, Big Run, Ruffled Feathers, Mistwood, Wedgewood, Broken Arrow, Old Oak, Prairie Bluff). With no traffic in the morning, all of these except White Hawk, Aberdeen and Heritage Bluffs are an hour or less. The drive home will be longer, but not brutally long unless DLSD is closed or has an event. Add 20-35 minutes. If you live closer to 90/94, you’re bringing in all the North Shore courses off 41 (Winnetka, Wilmette, Glencoe, Deerfield, Glenview Park, Sunset Valley, Heritage Oaks). They tend to blend into one flood plain course but they’re well-maintained if a touch overpriced. Courses off of 90 are the worst simply because the drive home is so bad. It’s easy to get to all of them but the junction adds an extra 45 minutes to your drive home at a minimum. Which sucks because those courses probably offer the most variety. 

I'm coming from Houston, so a little driving is normal, but would prefer to minimalize driving as much as possible. I have visited Chicago a handful of times over the years, but definitely do not know it very well: you're kinda speaking Greek to me with all of these highways haha. Is the southern side of town the most accessible more often than not? I didn't see Ravisloe listed. That's one I had on to radar as well.

[chisag]

4 minutes ago, sittonsideways said:

I'm coming from Houston, so a little driving is normal, but would prefer to minimalize driving as much as possible. I have visited Chicago a handful of times over the years, but definitely do not know it very well: you're kinda speaking Greek to me with all of these highways haha. Is the southern side of town the most accessible more often than not? I didn't see Ravisloe listed. That's one I had on to radar as well.

 

... After living in Lakeview and driving all over the burbs, I moved out to Bolingbrook (Southwest of Lincoln Park) to be near what I thought were the best public options and played about 75% of my rounds at Prairie Bluff and Naperbrook. I think idchristophers advice is excellent but I would add Naperbrook and Links of Carillon to the courses below while avoiding Big Run 🤪:

"Can also play off 55 and 355 (Cog, Heritage Bluffs, Big Run, Ruffled Feathers, Mistwood, Wedgewood, Broken Arrow, Old Oak, Prairie Bluff)" 

[mci711]

1 hour ago, sittonsideways said:

I'm coming from Houston, so a little driving is normal, but would prefer to minimalize driving as much as possible. I have visited Chicago a handful of times over the years, but definitely do not know it very well: you're kinda speaking Greek to me with all of these highways haha. Is the southern side of town the most accessible more often than not? I didn't see Ravisloe listed. That's one I had on to radar as well.

 

When I lived in the West Loop I'd just play Harbourside and the courses down highway 55 (mostly Ruffled Feathers and Cog Hill). Fairly easy to get to. For me, it was always easier to go west than north or south, but that might have just been what I was familiar with. 

 

That being said, I moved out of the city because I was over the effort it took to play golf. 😂

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ldchristopher]

51 minutes ago, sittonsideways said:

I'm coming from Houston, so a little driving is normal, but would prefer to minimalize driving as much as possible. I have visited Chicago a handful of times over the years, but definitely do not know it very well: you're kinda speaking Greek to me with all of these highways haha. Is the southern side of town the most accessible more often than not? I didn't see Ravisloe listed. That's one I had on to radar as well.

Got it. When you move here, the first thing you’ll probably learn is that the expressways all have names. Interstate 55 is The Stevenson (after Adlai), Interstate 90/94 South is The Dan Ryan, Interstate 90 West is The Kennedy (JFK), and 41/94 North is The Edens (William G. Edens was an old time advocate of paved roads). DLSD is DuSable Lake Shore Drive. John Baptiste Point DuSable was a Haitian who founded Chicago. My neighbor growing up moved here from Odessa. He now considers himself quite the Chicagoan, though with an unmistakable Texas accent. 
https://www.travelmidwest.com/lmiga/namesNumbers.jsp
 

I’m thinking we should probably make a spreadsheet for you. There are a lot of courses within an hour of the North Side. There are, however, very few within 30 minutes of the city. Ravisloe is off of I 57, which actually doesn’t have a name. It gets love because it’s a Donald Ross design but it’s kind of benign IMO, especially compared to the Ross private courses out here. We’re going to overwhelm you with courses. I guess it comes down to the type of course you prefer. Just remember, if you say parkland, our parkland courses are flatter than flat. The glaciers liked this area so much they came through here twice. Good luck! My guess is you’ll enjoy Chicago and hate the driving, but since you’re coming from Houston you’ll at least be used to it. 

 

[DavePelz4]

2 hours ago, ldchristopher said:

Broken Arrow today. I was out with the dew, grounds crew and pesticides. Round number 18 in July. Man, why do I have to go back to work soon? I’ve made summer count though. BA was fine. Greens were smooth but slow, pace was great as the first person out. I waited on one group that went off the East course but passed them after one hole (my 10th). After Whittaker Woods, every course looks like Augusta National in comparison, but that’s heaping praise on a GolfVisions course so I’ll stop to stay in DP4’s good graces. Two birdies on 2 and 5 South. Two bogies on 7 South and 3 East (barf). Some tough pin locations today. Front were usually two paces on and back were two paces off and tucked in corners. My putter cooperated though. 72. 

 

You should have stopped by after the round for breakfast! I make a mean skillet. Funny you should mention GV as I was out at Broken Arrow, literally 6 minutes from the house, and the course was in amazing conditions. Had to pinch myself that this was a GV run facility, but when I waited 7 minutes to get range balls from the person behind the counter whose head was obliviously down and he paid no attention, there was no doubt of the GV customer focus.

[sittonsideways]

7 minutes ago, ldchristopher said:

Got it. When you move here, the first thing you’ll probably learn is that the expressways all have names. Interstate 55 is The Stevenson (after Adlai), Interstate 90/94 South is The Dan Ryan, Interstate 90 West is The Kennedy (JFK), and 41/94 North is The Edens (William G. Edens was an old time advocate of paved roads). DLSD is DuSable Lake Shore Drive. John Baptiste Point DuSable was a Haitian who founded Chicago. My neighbor growing up moved here from Odessa. He now considers himself quite the Chicagoan, though with an unmistakable Texas accent. 
https://www.travelmidwest.com/lmiga/namesNumbers.jsp
 

I’m thinking we should probably make a spreadsheet for you. There are a lot of courses within an hour of the North Side. There are, however, very few within 30 minutes of the city. Ravisloe is off of I 57, which actually doesn’t have a name. It gets love because it’s a Donald Ross design but it’s kind of benign IMO, especially compared to the Ross private courses out here. We’re going to overwhelm you with courses. I guess it comes down to the type of course you prefer. Just remember, if you say parkland, our parkland courses are flatter than flat. The glaciers liked this area so much they came through here twice. Good luck! My guess is you’ll enjoy Chicago and hate the driving, but since you’re coming from Houston you’ll at least be used to it. 

 

We are going to find out once and for all who has the worse traffic (I am leaning Chicago lol). As bad of a public golf and commuter city Houston is, there are actually two great public courses within 15 minutes of downtown. Going to really miss that.

I would say generally I prefer links to parkland or woodland golf, but I am not picky. Houston is similarly flat to Chicago, with the only elevation changes occurring around the bayous and rivers. The main thing I will be looking for is a reasonably limited commute and a quality course: doesn't have to be the best course per se. It seems like people tend play all over Chicago whereas I have been sticking to 2-3 staples in Houston. I will be stoked for a good course within 30-40 minutes of wherever I end up living (which is TBD until the early fall). Once we get into the 45 minute to an hour time frame, the course becomes a lot less appealing unless there's a special occasion. 

 

[MountainKing]

6 hours ago, sittonsideways said:

Moving to Chicago in about a month and will be living fairly centrally (West Loop or Lincoln Park). What’s your shortlist of go-to public courses? I know the big names, but what would be a good “home” while I’m living in Chicago? It sounds like I need to prepare for a lengthy drive no matter where I choose, but would love to be told otherwise. 

 

Guessing you already have gotten your housing figured out, but if you like golfing and golfing a lot, my suggestion is not move into the city, look into Elmhurst/Oak Brook which will give you great access to the city area and cut off about 45 minutes of driving (each way).   One of our guys lives in the west loop area in he's pretty much cut back to every other week and only plays when we have a time in the 6am block.  Took him almost two hours to get home from our round at Prairie Landing a few weeks back.  It's festival, concert, sports season right now....

 

You'll probably find yourself paying $130 to play Harborside a lot, or trekking over to Lost Marsh and paying the $10 each way toll.

Edited July 30, 2024 by MountainKing

[sittonsideways]

1 minute ago, MountainKing said:

 

Guessing you already have gotten your housing figured out, but if you like golfing and golfing a lot, my suggestion is not move into the city, look into Elmhurst/Oak Brook which will give you great access to the city area and cut off about 45 minutes of driving (each way).   One of our guys lives in the west loop area in he's pretty much cut back to every other week and only plays when we have a time in the 6am block.  Took him almost two hours to get home from our round at Prairie Landing a few weeks back.  It's festival, concert, sports season right now....

This is kind of what I'm afraid of. We're going to be living in town at least at first for my wife's job. Come the 2026 golf season that might be a different story.

Funnily enough, I played Prairie Landing a few times back in like 2004. I was only a kid at the time, but remember it being nice.

[Argonne69]

3 hours ago, sittonsideways said:

This is kind of what I'm afraid of. We're going to be living in town at least at first for my wife's job. Come the 2026 golf season that might be a different story.

Funnily enough, I played Prairie Landing a few times back in like 2004. I was only a kid at the time, but remember it being nice.

 

Where specifically in town? There's a huge difference between being in Lakeview along the lake and the West Loop. 

 

I lived in River North for 10 years, and had fairly easy access to I-90/94 (Kennedy). My regular rotation of cheaper munis included everything from Coyote Run and Ravisloe in the south burbs, Oak Brook, The Preserve, and Maple Meadows in the near west, and Wilmette, Glencoe, and Heritage Oaks in the near north suburbs. 

 

[ldchristopher]

3 hours ago, MountainKing said:

 

trekking over to Lost Marsh and paying the $10 each way toll.

Don’t you put that kind of evil on this guy. He knows not what you speak of. I’ll be the first to inform him: Lost Marsh sucks. It’s the most poorly-designed golf course in the Midwest, maybe the US. Maybe the world. Welcome to Chicago! Here’s a course that opens with an island fairway. A par 5 with two forced landing areas. A zig-zag-zig par 5. A hole that requires you to play a blind draw over another fairway. Wait! Why are you leaving? You just got here! 

[ldchristopher]

5 hours ago, DavePelz4 said:

 

You should have stopped by after the round for breakfast! I make a mean skillet. Funny you should mention GV as I was out at Broken Arrow, literally 6 minutes from the house, and the course was in amazing conditions. Had to pinch myself that this was a GV run facility, but when I waited 7 minutes to get range balls from the person behind the counter whose head was obliviously down and he paid no attention, there was no doubt of the GV customer focus.

Right? I was shocked. I know we had a ton of July rain but…sand in the bunkers? Lush yet cut rough? Tee markers had been moved around? Greens cut (rolled is a bridge too far)? Since when? I found a few Titleist Professional 100 practice range balls. That’s circa 1994-96. So if anyone thinks you’re hyperbolizing when you say the range balls are 30 years old…nope. 

[MountainKing]

15 hours ago, ldchristopher said:

Don’t you put that kind of evil on this guy. He knows not what you speak of. I’ll be the first to inform him: Lost Marsh sucks. It’s the most poorly-designed golf course in the Midwest, maybe the US. Maybe the world. Welcome to Chicago! Here’s a course that opens with an island fairway. A par 5 with two forced landing areas. A zig-zag-zig par 5. A hole that requires you to play a blind draw over another fairway. Wait! Why are you leaving? You just got here! 

 

Just trying to help the guy out!    We play in the chili open there every year and that's about the extent I care to play that course anymore, it is a fun scramble course. 

 

A guy in the group we got paired up with last year showed us how to play that dumb zig zag hole - there's a field goal type gap in the trees, assuming you can carry it at least 250 if you fly it through there you end up about 150 out...but yeah dumb.

 

You also forgot the par 4 that should be a par 3 (hole 5)...and then the hole after the zig zag that requires you to lay up back to 180 or you risk the ball kicking either into the water or OB depending which side of the crowned fairway you hit. 

 

[sittonsideways]

16 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

 

Where specifically in town? There's a huge difference between being in Lakeview along the lake and the West Loop. 

 

I lived in River North for 10 years, and had fairly easy access to I-90/94 (Kennedy). My regular rotation of cheaper munis included everything from Coyote Run and Ravisloe in the south burbs, Oak Brook, The Preserve, and Maple Meadows in the near west, and Wilmette, Glencoe, and Heritage Oaks in the near north suburbs. 

 

Where specifically is still very much in the air. We're not going to decide on where until we spend some time in the city. We'll be in temp dwelling for a month or so. One thing I am picking up is that a few miles in Houston is very different than a few miles in Chicago. If you're talking about neighborhoods within 2-3 miles of one another, in Houston it likely would be a similar commute. 

You guys aren't my relocation agents, but it sounds like I have a lot to learn lol. Our search has been concentrated roughly in this area. Closer to 90 or DLSD than anything else.

 

Edited July 31, 2024 by sittonsideways

[mikes919]

That's a pretty big area, and each of the neighborhoods will have very different things to offer in terms of amenities, atmosphere, commute. That red area could really be split up into 3 or 4 smaller zones that will have a totally different feel from each other. If you can spend even a little bit of time hanging out in each area, you'll get a feel for which zone feels the most comfortable to you.

 

For golf: It's been 10 years since I lived in the city, but back then I used to play the forest preserve courses a lot for regular play/practice. I was on the North side (Lakeview/Uptown), so it was always easier to go up to Edgebrook or Billy Caldwell. They're dirt cheap munis with conditions to match, but they were usually pretty convenient. For just pure practice, I also used to play Jackson Park a lot and walk it. Everyone will tell you it's super rough and make fun of it. But it's cheap and super convenient, easy to walk, and you're right there in the city. Better than beating balls at the range IMO. Then, a couple times per month I would trek out wherever I felt like, try to play an early round, and just suck it up and deal with the traffic.

[DavePelz4]

40 minutes ago, sittonsideways said:

Where specifically is still very much in the air. We're not going to decide on where until we spend some time in the city. We'll be in temp dwelling for a month or so. One thing I am picking up is that a few miles in Houston is very different than a few miles in Chicago. If you're talking about neighborhoods within 2-3 miles of one another, in Houston it likely would be a similar commute. 

You guys aren't my relocation agents, but it sounds like I have a lot to learn lol. Our search has been concentrated roughly in this area. Closer to 90 or DLSD than anything else.

 

 

As part of your DD, it might be worthwhile to view the most recent crime stats for the areas you're considering.  This will help you with that https://gis.chicagopolice.org/

Edited July 31, 2024 by DavePelz4

[sittonsideways]

13 minutes ago, DavePelz4 said:

 

As part of your DD, it might be worthwhile to view the most recent crime stats for the areas you're considering.  This will help you with that https://gis.chicagopolice.org/

 

We're casting a wide net at this time and I know there have to be some undesirable areas in that red area. We're going to spend 30-45 days in a temporary living arrangement while we check out the different neighborhoods and narrow down where we want to live. Houston has plenty of crime itself, so I will be also wary of ending up in the wrong part of town in Chicago.

Would it be fair to say highway access is the main thing I need to consider for golf? And if I live closer to DLSD, leaving to golf in the AM will be okay, but coming back will be a pain? The afternoon return is likely to be bad anywhere, but especially if I live near the lake.

[ldchristopher]

13 minutes ago, sittonsideways said:

 

We're casting a wide net at this time and I know there have to be some undesirable areas in that red area. We're going to spend 30-45 days in a temporary living arrangement while we check out the different neighborhoods and narrow down where we want to live. Houston has plenty of crime itself, so I will be also wary of ending up in the wrong part of town in Chicago.

Would it be fair to say highway access is the main thing I need to consider for golf? And if I live closer to DLSD, leaving to golf in the AM will be okay, but coming back will be a pain? The afternoon return is likely to be bad anywhere, but especially if I live near the lake.

I play super early and add about 25-40 minutes for the return trip. It’s not awful, but I’ve lived here for a while and I’m pretty used to it. I also have an understanding wife. DLSD actually moves much smoother than going back through the city on 90/94. Current traffic at noon is below. It only gets worse as the day goes on. 

[mikes919]

16 minutes ago, sittonsideways said:

 

We're casting a wide net at this time and I know there have to be some undesirable areas in that red area. We're going to spend 30-45 days in a temporary living arrangement while we check out the different neighborhoods and narrow down where we want to live. Houston has plenty of crime itself, so I will be also wary of ending up in the wrong part of town in Chicago.

Would it be fair to say highway access is the main thing I need to consider for golf? And if I live closer to DLSD, leaving to golf in the AM will be okay, but coming back will be a pain? The afternoon return is likely to be bad anywhere, but especially if I live near the lake.

 

Proximity to highway will definitely help, especially if you're looking in the Lakeview / Lincoln Park area. I used to live over there and commute out to the NW suburbs for work. The traffic on 90 is pretty much always terrible. The worst is sitting on the highway for a long time, then finally getting off and realizing you still have a 30 minute slog East, to get near the lake.

 

But yes, leaving early will be fine (assuming we are talking about weekends) and then getting home will suck. From pretty much anywhere to anywhere, haha.

[mci711]

17 hours ago, ldchristopher said:

Don’t you put that kind of evil on this guy. He knows not what you speak of. I’ll be the first to inform him: Lost Marsh sucks. It’s the most poorly-designed golf course in the Midwest, maybe the US. Maybe the world. Welcome to Chicago! Here’s a course that opens with an island fairway. A par 5 with two forced landing areas. A zig-zag-zig par 5. A hole that requires you to play a blind draw over another fairway. Wait! Why are you leaving? You just got here! 

 

You recommended big run in your first reply! 😂

 

Big Run, Lost Marsh, If someone recommends Tanna Farms he'll move back to Texas. 

Edited July 31, 2024 by mci711

[mikes919]

Playing Heritage Oaks on Saturday morning. Haven't played there in years, since it was still Sportsman's. Course flyover looks pretty boring and repetitive, but I heard conditions were great last weekend.

[MountainKing]

3 hours ago, sittonsideways said:

Where specifically is still very much in the air. We're not going to decide on where until we spend some time in the city. We'll be in temp dwelling for a month or so. One thing I am picking up is that a few miles in Houston is very different than a few miles in Chicago. If you're talking about neighborhoods within 2-3 miles of one another, in Houston it likely would be a similar commute. 

You guys aren't my relocation agents, but it sounds like I have a lot to learn lol. Our search has been concentrated roughly in this area. Closer to 90 or DLSD than anything else.

 

 

That area alone could take 45 minutes to get from south to north or east to west at the wrong time of day!  You probably also don't want to consider much in the Humboldt, Garfield Park area.   If you're considering that far west you may want to just jump the bad area's and put Oak Park on your list as well.

[DavePelz4]

2 minutes ago, MountainKing said:

 

That area alone could take 45 minutes to get from south to north or east to west at the wrong time of day!  You probably also don't want to consider much in the Humboldt, Garfield Park area.   If you're considering that far west you may want to just jump the bad area's and put Oak Park on your list as well.

 

Good call on Oak Park. Highway access, some great restaurants, a bit safer. 

[chisag]

4 minutes ago, DavePelz4 said:

 

Good call on Oak Park. Highway access, some great restaurants, a bit safer. 

 

 

... Oak Park is the home of many actors that work and have to audition all over the city and burbs. As you said good access to highways, main streets and a pretty safe option.