
David Cannon
Overview
Chicago Golf Club opened the country’s first 18-hole course in 1893, built by C.B. Macdonald, the preeminent golf expert in the U.S. at the time. Two years later Macdonald built the club a different course after the membership moved to a new location in Wheaton, Ill.: “a really first-class 18-hole course of 6,200 yards,” he wrote. Members played that course until 1923 when Seth Raynor, who began his architectural career as Macdonald’s surveyor and engineer, redesigned it using the “ideal hole” concepts his old boss had developed 15 years earlier (he kept Macdonald’s routing, which placed all the O.B. on the left—C.B. sliced the ball). For reasons of history and practicality, no major remodels have occurred since then, allowing the club to merely burnish the architecture by occasionally upgrading worn parts, adjusting grassing lines and, recently, reestablishing a number of lost bunkers that had been filled in over time.
About
Awards


Ranking history:
100 Greatest: Ranked since 1971. (The course was also included on Golf Digest's original 200 Toughest Courses list from 1966-'68.)
2023-'24 ranking (and previous): 13th.
Highest ranking: No. 12, 2009-'10.
Best in State: Ranked first since 2011. Ranked inside the top 5 since 1983.
2023-'24 ranking (and previous): 1st.
Panelists
Ratings from our panel of 1,900 course-ranking panelists
100 GREATEST/BEST IN STATE SCORES
Shot Options
Character
Challenge
Layout Variety
Fun
Aesthetics
Conditioning
Reviews
Review
“Course is in your face as i counted as many as 14 pins that I could see from one hole. The opening 4 holes are no joke and they will test your game with greens that look unassuming but can eat you up!! Hard to say this course might be underrated but it is for sure a sleeper and a real gem!!!"
Read More2025
Review
“One of the great American template courses. A true treat to experience."
Read More2024
Review
“A great template course with many outstanding holes. A wonderful variety of lengths and it forces the player to think through their shots. You cannot be short sided and expect to get up and down. Wonderful green complexes The firmest fairways that I have encountered at a top US golf course. That allows many strategic elements into play as bunkers that seem out of reach can be reached with the bouncing and run out of tee shots. A real treat to play. Don't ever turn down an invite to play the course."
Read More2024
Review
“There are no perfect golf courses, and not flawless experiences in golf, but Chicago Golf Club is about as close as you can get to both. Especially remarkable when you consider it is the first 18-hole course in the US and in the 130 years since it was built, very, very few have surpassed it"
Read More2024
Review
“Chicago Golf Club is one of the best golf courses in the United States. Run, don't walk, if you are given the opportunity to play this course. A fabulous design and routing by Seth Raynor. The course if full of all of Raynor's signature template holes, with many of them being some of the best anywhere. A classic, fun, and excellent course and experience."
Read More2023
Review
“The quintessential Golden Age golf course of the Midwest, worthy of its spot in the upper reaches of the rankings. Perhaps the only layout away from the east coast that harkens to Shinnecock, NGLA, etc."
Read More2022
Review
“Golf the way it was meant to be played. Tough ticket, but one of the top 20 golf courses on the planet,"
Read More2022
Review
“A true gem. CB Macdonald's work continues to shine 100+ years later. Not long enough for today's elite amateurs and professionals, but certainly an enjoyable test for most recreational golfers."
Read More2022
Review
“The first 18 hole golf course in the USA and the original pride of CB Macdonald. This course however is the design of Seth Raynor. I have played a lot of great golf courses in the USA and I can honestly say CGC played the most like a Scottish Links course- the ground hard and fast with a ton of options to play to the pin."
Read More2022
Review
“This is one of the most historic clubs in the country. That alone makes it a must play. However it is also one of the best designs in the country."
Read More2021