Texas Children's Houston Open

Memorial Park Golf Course



Bob O'Link Golf Club

Highland Park, IL Private

Overview

Bob O’Link was originally designed by Donald Ross in 1916 on a tight 125-acre site. In 1923, the club acquired an extra 36 acres and hired C.H. Allison to redesign a layout that opened in 1925. The course long suffered issues with drainage as it was located on the floodplain of the Skokie River. In 2014 when all 18 greens were damaged in a cold winter, some up to 80 percent turf loss, the club hired Jim Urbina, who co-designed Old Macdonald with Tom Doak and had recently renovated both Pasatiempo and Yeamans Hall. Urbina removed 700 trees and transplanted 40, improved drainage and irrigation, and replaced the Poa grass with bent. What remains is a golf course more inline with Allison’s original intent and more strategic and enjoyable than ever before.

About

Holes 18
Length 6713
Slope 132
Facility Type Private
Year Opened 1916
Designer Colt & Alison/(R) Richard Jacobson/Jim Urbina

Awards

100 Greatest
Best Courses in Every State

Ranking history:

100 Greatest: Ranked for 23 years from 1966-'88.
Highest ranking: No. 78, 1985-'86.

Best in State: Ranked inside the top 5, 1977-'83. Ranked inside the top 10, 1985-'89, 1995-'97. Ranked inside the top 15, 1993. Ranked 16th, 2013-'14. Ranked 19th, 2011-'12, 2015-'16. Ranked inside the top 20, 1999-2003, 2009-'10. Ranked 21st, 2019-'20. Ranked 23rd, 2017-'18. Ranked inside the top 25, 2005-'07.
2023-'24 ranking: 17th.
Previous ranking: 27th.

Panelists

Ratings from our panel of 1,900 course-ranking panelists

4.4

100 GREATEST/BEST IN STATE SCORES

Shot Options
6.8488
Character
7.1091
Challenge
6.93
Layout Variety
6.6508
Fun
6.9803
Aesthetics
6.8555
Conditioning
7.5558

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