2008 Click on underlined courses to view their website
Annbriar GC, Waterloo Balmoral Woods CC, Crete Big Run GC, Lockport Blackthorn GC, South Bend, IN Blackwolf Run – Meadow Valleys, Kohler, WI Blackwolf Run – River, Kohler, WI The Bog, Saukville, WI Bolingbrook GC, Bolingbrook Cantigny GC, Wheaton Chalet Hills GC, Cary Cog Hill G & CC – No. 4, Lemont Coyote Creek GC, Peoria Coyote Crossing, West LaFayette, IN Eagle Ridge Resort – General, Galena Erin Hills GC, Erin, WI Fox Bend GC, Oswego Glen Club, Glenview Glen Erin GC, Janesville WI Harborside International GC – Starboard, Chicago Harborside International GC – Port, Chicago Hawk’s View GC, Lake Geneva, WI Heritage Bluffs GC, Channahon Island Hills GC, Centreville, MI Makray Memorial GC, Barrington Mistwood GC, Romeoville Morningstar GC, Mukwonago, WI Orchard Valley GC , Aurora Pine Meadow GC, Mundelein Prairie Landing GC, West Chicago Seven Bridges GC, Woodridge Shepherd’s Crook GC, Zion Spencer T. Olin GC, Alton Steeple Chase GC, Mundelein Stone Creek GC, Urbana Stonewall Orchard GC, Grayslake The Course at Aberdeen, Valparaiso, IN The Irish Course, Haven, WI The Tradition at Chevy Chase, Wheeling ThunderHawk GC, Beach Park TPC at Deere Run, Silvis Trappers Turn GC, Wisconsin Dells, WI University Ridge GC, Madison, WI Village Links of Glen Ellyn, Glen Ellyn Warren Course, Notre Dame, IN WeaverRidge GC, Peoria Whisper Creek GC, Huntley Whistling Straits GC, Haven, WI White Deer Run GC, Vernon Hills
Aldeen GC, Rockford Arrowhead GC, Wheaton Bartlett Hills GC, Bartlett Blackberry Oaks GC, Bristol Brown Deer GC, Milwaukee The Links at Carillon, Plainfield Cog Hill G&CC – No. 2, Lemont Eagle Ridge Resort – North, Galena Eagle Ridge Resort – South, Galena Foxford Hills, Cary Geneva National GC – Trevino, Lake Geneva, WI Geneva National GC – Palmer, Lake Geneva, WI Golf Club of Illinois, Algonquin Grand Geneva Resort – Brute, Lake Geneva, WI Grand Geneva Resort – Highlands, Lake Geneva, WI Lick Creek GC, Pekin Oak Grove GC, Alden Plum Tree National GC, Harvard Prairieview GC, Byron RedTail GC, Lakewood Ruffled Feathers GC, Lemont St. Andrews CC – No. 2, West Chicago Silver Lake CC – South, Orland Park Water’s Edge GC, Worth Wedgewood CC, Joliet White Hawk GC, Crown Point, IN Whittaker Woods GC, New Buffalo, MI
Abbey Springs GC, Fontana, WI Arboretum GC, Buffalo Grove Bonnie Brook CC, Waukegan The Bourne, Norway The Brassie GC, Chesterton, IN Broken Arrow GC, Lockport Cog Hill G&CC – No. 3, Lemont Eaglewood Resort & Spa, Itasca Edgebrook GC, Sandwish Fox Lake CC, Fox Lake Geneva National GC – Player, Lake Geneva, WI George Dunne National GC, Oak Forest Gibson Woods GC, Monmouth Glencoe GC, Glencoe Gleneagles CC – Red, Lemont Gleneagles CC – White, Lemont Green Garden CC, Frankfort Harry Mussatto GC (WIU), Macomb Highland Park CC, Highland Park Hughes Creek GC, Elburn Indian Lakes Resort – Blackhawk Trace, Bloomingdale Inn at Eagle Creek, Findlay Jackson Park GC, Chicago Klein Creek GC, Winfield Lake Bluff GC, Lake Bluff Lake Lawn Resort, Delavan, WI Lake Michigan Hills GC. Benton Harbor, MI Lost Nation GC, Dixon Marengo Ridge GC, Marengo Midlane CC, Wadsworth Mount Prospect GC, Mount Prospect Oak Club of Genoa, Genoa Old Orchard GC, Mount Prospect Phillips Park GC, Aurora Pontiac Elks GC, Pontiac Prairie Isle GC, Prairie Grove Randall Oaks GC, West Dundee St. Andrews CC – No. 1, West Chicago Sanctuary GC, New Lenox Sandy Hollow GC, Rockford Schaumburg GC, Schaumburg Silver Lake CC – North, Orland Park Silver Ridge GC, Oregon Sportsman’s CC, Northbrook Sunset Valley GC, Highland Park Timber Point GC, Poplar Grove White Pines CC – West, Bensenville Willowcrest GC, Oak Brook Wilmette GC, Wilmette Winnetka GC, Winnetka
How it works This rating system incorporates a “Five Star” rating structure. In 2002 it replaced our biennial "Top 50 Public Courses in Chicagoland'' list. This because we felt the old “Top 50" ranking system no longer could provide an honest reflection of the relative quality of a course when compared to others on the list.
That was the biggest problem with the old ranking system, and we think with most other course ranking systems employed today. For example, nearly any course listed in the middle to the end of these numeric lists might have been rated only a few hundredths of a rating point apart. Not exactly a true indicator of relative quality.
Our new five-star system allows us to more accurately (and fairly) group courses of equal quality, based upon our ratings. It also allows us to include courses on the periphery of the Chicago market that pull a significant amount of their revenue from Chicago-area golfers -- courses like The General at Eagle Ridge, The TPC at Deere Run, Blackthorn in South Bend, Whistling Straits in Haven, Wis., and WeaverRidge in Peoria. We didn’t previously include courses like those under the Top 50 system — because 20 years ago when we began with a Top 20 list, very few courses were worth a two- or three-hour drive to play. Today, all that has changed. The playing options are better, and therefore today’s golfers are more mobile.
Panelists remain anonymous when they rate a course. They pay their own green fee and upon completing their round, assign values in ten areas (listed below) — experiencing each course as any paying customer would. We required a minimum of 20 panelists to visit and rate each course for it to be considered. That, we feel, gives a reasonably fair consensus.
We constantly update this list, so ratings will be more “fluid” than “static”. Ratings are based both on opinion and observation — within the framework of a point evaluation process kept as tightly objective as possible. Panelists can assign from zero to ten points in each of the rating categories. They are:
