Best golf courses near Chicago, IL

Beverly Country Club is a classic Midwest championship golf course on the South Side of Chicago. Donald Ross expertly utilized a prehistoric glacial ridgeline on the front nine, where the ridge influences all but two holes (the fourth and ninth). The holes with the greatest impact are the second and sixth, with huge elevation changes moving from tee to green, and the fifth and seventh, which both march up the ridge, plus the greens at the first and eighth holes. To have utilized the ridge on almost the entirety of the front nine was genius. The rolling terrain on the back nine, across 87th Street, is also stunning—exemplified by a significant tree removal program by Tyler Rae—allowing the property’s landforms to shine like it was intended.

One of two links-style courses at Harborside International, the Starboard course is an open, rugged layout just south of Chicago. Given how exposed the property is, wind can often play a factor. The course has a strong finishing three-hole stretch that plays along Lake Calumet, highlighted by the signature par-3 17th, where water lurks short and right of the hourglass-shaped green.

A dozen years ago, Joe Hills, a son of architect Arthur Hills, had a desire to follow his dad into the business, so he was given responsibility for Chicago Highlands, a private club built on a garbage dump across the interstate from Butler National. Joe did the routing and grading plans, supervised its construction and even shaped some holes on a dozer. Because the entire landfill had to be covered with soil, Joe had some of it piled into a dome 40 feet high on which he would carve out the ninth, a hole brilliant in its simplicity and named by Golf Digest one of the 18 best holes built in the U.S. since 2000. A reachable par-4 from all six tee boxes, it’s basically a volcano with a flag at the top. The slopes surrounding the small hilltop green drop off in every direction and are mowed tight, so errant shots will often roll to the base of the slope some 50 yards or more away. From there, recoveries can be like ping-pong if one gets sloppy. A few years back, the slope beyond the green was filled in a bit, in an act of mercy for shots swept long by prevailing winds, but the other slopes, particularly the left one, are still long and steep.

Donald Ross built or remodeled over a dozen courses in the greater Chicago area between 1913 and 1921. Naturally, some of the brightest of them dim accolades that might have gone to others. But even those that haven’t commanded the most attention historically are often only a smart renovation away from reassessment. Ross's Chicago work came during a period of creative awakening, a middle career stage that includes some of his boldest and most artistic bunking like that found at Evanston Golf Club. Much of that artistry and strategy had been lost over the decades through modernizations, but Ron Prichard’s 2007 studied renovation brought back the full effect of Ross’s aggressive green contours and cross-bunkering including numerous centerline fairways hazards that must be contested. Prichard’s former associate, Tyler Rae, has spent the last few years fine tuning Evanston, expanding fairway lines and reconstructing bunkers, taking it to its greatest heights even as the design remains an underrated piece of Chicagoland architecture.

Westmoreland Country Club in Wilmette is ranked as one of the best golf courses in Illinois. Discover our experts' reviews and tee time information