Chicago Golf Club
Wheaton, IL, United States • Private
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
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Aesthetics
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Reviews
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
Review
“Chicago is perhaps the best golf course I have ever played on what is otherwise a featureless piece of farmland. It is surprising to me that a course that is so devilishly challenging around the greens can also seem so "fun". But what I think creates that phenomenon is the requirement to think about virtually every shot on every hole before you hit it. While some of the hazards have faded from relevance with advances in technology (including most of the "discovered" features from the recent renovation), this is what makes Chicago so distinct: it is truly a trip back in time to way Raynor intended it."
Read More2021
Review
“Words are hard to come by when describing CGC. It has all the makings of what creates a golf club and institution. The course itself is simply perfect. Perfect lines, perfect fairways, some of the best green complexes I have ever putted on. The entire place is as good as it gets. "
Read More2021
Review
“A visit to Chicago Golf Club is a walk back in time. For those that love golf architecture and history, spending a day at CGC is like spending a day in a golf museum. Playing the course resembles the way golf was originally meant to be played."
Read More2020
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