Carbondale Illinois

[platgof]

I heard there are some really nice courses in this area. Anyone play here?

[exgolfpro]

Hickory Ridge is the best course in town. Fun/challenging and pace of play is good. Try 17th Street Bar/Grill in Murphysboro for lunch!

[SoILgolfer]

Hickory Ridge is really good. Keller’s Crossing at Stone Creek in Makanda (south of Carbondale) has come around really well under its new management. Crab Orchard in Carterville also very good. All three are good layouts and not overly difficult if you pick the right tees for you. Kokopelli in Marion is an interesting layout, but they were having some issues so I’m not sure about the current conditions.

[platgof]

Thanks a lot. I want to get out of town this year and try out some new courses.

[platgof]

It looks like Crab Orchard has water on nearly every hole, but a beautiful looking course.

[Bigarch]

I live in Herrin and am a member at Kokopelli. I play a lot at other places too and here are my opinion(s):

Hickory Ridge in Carbondale is good. A few goofy holes but the course is usually in good shape. Kellers Crossing south of Carbondale is a decent layout that was recently redone with Bermuda greens that get mixed reviews depending on the time of year and conditions. Kokopelli in Marion is the best course in the area. Layout is a real challenge and the greens are great. Crab Orchard is a nice course but it is not near as good a golf course as the other 3. Where are you from OP?

[platgof]

Clarksville Tn 2 1/2 hours away. Is Kokopelli a private course?

[Scroggins]

Another vote for Hickory Ridge!

[platgof]

Hows the Hideout Steakhouse??

[Bigarch]

The Hideout is very good but they had a fire just a couple weeks ago. Not sure when it will reopen.

[exgolfpro]

Kokopelli is public or semi-private. At least it was a few years back.

[platgof]

Noooo!

[platgof]

You guys should be ashamed of having so many great courses nearby. Hard packed clay here.

[Bigarch]

We are lucky. For this area, we have quite a few courses in different price ranges and quality. Rend Lake is just 30 minutes north of Marion, IL on I-57 and it is very good too. There's 27 holes there. A lot of players come south from Chicago and St. Louis to play there. The only 2 times in 100+ years that the Chicago District Golf Association has ever come south of Springfield IL (which is 3 hours north of here) for the Illinois State Amateur, they came to Rend Lake and Kokopelli. There really aren't any "Private" clubs in the area. Almost everything is open to the public. You could spend a week here and play a different golf course every day without driving any more than 30-45 minutes depending on where you are staying. And while none of the golf courses will make the Golf Digest Top 100, there's a lot of courses that are very challenging and very fun.

[platgof]

I will make it out there when this garbage(corona virus) moves on.

[platgof]

I think it is time to visit Carbondale. I hope the lockdown is over in Illinois? Hickory Ridge and  Kokopelli look like the best choices for now. Check with my playing partner and see about a schedule.

[exgolfpro]

I am playing Hickory Ridge this Saturday.  We usually make it over about 2x each summer (I live in southeast missouri).

[platgof]

I have a 9:50 tee time at Hickory Ridge for Memorial Day. The two of us want to  try it out. It is fun travelling and playing new courses. If you can, come join us. 

[platgof]

Hickory Ridge is one tough course! It is not to be played once. I just will have to pass on playing Carbondale golf courses in the future, at the prevailing gas prices. It is quite an add on for fuel. The back nine is brutal! If not for that I would have had a decent score. The trip was almost three hours each way. I was lucky to travel the way I did as 57 really locked up going west in the evening, horrible. Ate at 17th street for some BBQ, really good. We went to the one in Marion. The folks in Carbondale could not be nicer. Plus, the Orchard Lakes are gorgeous. 

[exgolfpro]

FYI, played Hickory Ridge two weeks ago.  had a good time, but just wanted to say conditions were not the best.  It was not terrible, but they seem to be struggling a bit with a lack of play and the effects of that.  We went on a warm Saturday morning (9:36am tee time).  We had noone for 30 minutes tee off in front of us and no one behind us for almost 30 minutes.  there were only about 6 cars in the parking lot when we got there.  The fairways seemed to be fine and much of the greens were fine, but the two things i noticed were both early in the round.  Hole #1 had a pretty big bare spot on the back of the green.  It was probably 4ftx6ft and was just bare sand.  It did not appear to be ground under repair as there were no stakes, no paint and a few clumps of weeds in the seam between the sand and the green.  They seemed to intentionally cut the cup away from this spot, but it looked bad.  The second spot was the bunker behind #2 green.  To be honest, I didn't remember that there was a bunker back there, but it had no sand in it and had weeds growing throughout.  At first, i assumed they were just filling it in and letting the grass take over, but there was really no grass in it....just weeds.  Looked bad.  The rest of the course was in decent shape, but just wanted to give everyone a heads up.