2012 Update: This course is now known as “Evanston-Wilmette Community Golf Course“.

It’s the start of a long holiday weekend, and I’m two days away from my first scramble of the season. So, to try to get a little more comfortable with my irons, I played an executive 18-hole course: Frank Govern Memorial Golf Course. Frank Govern Memorial, opened in 1916 and formerly known as Peter N. Jans Golf Course, is located in Evanston, Illinois, just 15 miles north of Chicago. The course snakes its way along the North Shore Channel, which cuts through the middle of Evanston, touching public parks, residential streets, the CTA Purple Line, and the backyards of neighboring houses. The course starts and finishes right next to the Central stop of the CTA Purple Line, which makes this course easily accessible for those who rely on public transportation.

The course features twelve par-3 and six par-4 holes for a total par of 60 and a length of 3,904 yards from the back tees. A lot of the par-3 holes are pretty long, with the longest being 230 yards from the back tees. Nearly all of the par-3 holes are between 150 and 200 yards. The par-4 holes are between 240 and 340 yards. The fairways are mostly straight, wide on some holes and narrow on others, but are pretty bumpy and hard to establish the beginning of the rough. Nearly all holes have large, thick trees on one side, thanks to the channel the course follows. The arranging of the holes takes you across neighborhood streets, on bridges over the channel, and through a tunnel under the CTA line. Tee boxes are not always fully marked, and the yardage to the pin from the tee box could be way off compared to what is stated on the scorecard. Don’t expect to find yardage markers on the fairways.

Water hazards only consists of the channel, which shouldn’t pose a problem on nearly all holes, with the exception of the 7th hole, a 150 yard par-3, and the 14th hole, a 148 par-3, where you must carry over the channel on both holes. In each case, you have a small area to hit though, as the trees have grown high that any ball hit left or right will surely be batted down. Sand traps are nearly non-existent, and where they do exist, they are poorly maintained. If you play after it rains, expect the sand traps to be water hazards. The greens are fairly large and flat, and are also poorly maintained. Obviously, this course is far from championship quality, but if you don’t mind the maintenance, you’ll find this is a nice course for a great price: less than $25 on weekends. The price for the motorized cart is another issue: it’s $25. Just walk the course.

My round started poorly. I was topping every ball, including my drives, but as I progressed along the front nine, things eventually got better. On the back nine, which includes four of the par-4 holes, my drives were pretty straight and long. I still had a lot of accuracy issues with my irons, but at least I was getting the distance I needed. I tried to focus more on my approach shots and my chip shots, which seemed to be working pretty well for me. Because of that, my putting was also pretty good. I 1-putted six times and only 3-putted once.

With my approach shots, chips, and putting working for me, I was able to mark a halfway decent score. I shot par four times (and set myself up for a birdie a couple times), bogey ten times, double bogey two times, and triple bogey two times (both on the front nine). I ended up shooting an 80 total (20 over par), which broke down to a 43 on the front nine (14 over par) and 37 on the back nine (6 over par).

If you’d like to read another, more journalistic, review on Frank Govern Memorial Golf Course, check out this article over at North by Northwestern, an independent site following news around the Evanston/Northwestern University area.

Frank Govern Memorial Golf Course – Scores & Stats
Course length: 3,567 (white tee boxes)
Course par: 60
Course rating/slope: 56.8/83 (white tee boxes)
My score: 80 (20 over par)

Frank Govern Memorial Golf Course
1031 Central Street
Evanston, IL 60201

Right after my round at Palos Hills Golf Club, I traveled down to White Mountain Executive Golf Course to play the second of the short 9-hole courses for the day. White Mountain is located in Tinley Park, Illinois, which is approximately 30 miles southwest of Chicago. The golf course is part of the White Mountain Recreation Center (also called White Mountain Golf Park), which includes a driving range (lighted, with both grass and artificial hitting stations), a miniature golf course, and batting cages (that seem to be closed down). The course is wrapped around the right and back side of the driving range.

The course consists of seven par-3 hole, ranging from 122 yards to 203 yards from the back tees, and two par-4 holes, one 304 yards and the other 340 yards from the back tees. The fairways are somewhat hilly and are surrounded by small trees. On the 5th hole, a 340 yard par-4, and the 8th hole, a 165 yard par-3, the greens sit up on top of a hill. The 5th hole is also a slight dogleg right, so you can’t see the pin when teeing off. Water touches five of the holes, including the 1st hole, a 127 yard par-3, where, if you play the back tees, you must carry over water. Sand traps touch seven of the holes, but are mostly placed on the back of the greens. The greens are pretty large and flat, and only contain a couple easy breaks.

I played a decent round. Since there was a lot of par-3 holes, I got a lot of practice with my irons. I was still pretty inaccurate with them, mostly hitting left, and I mishit a couple of my tee shots. My putting was mediocre. I 1-putted once and 3-putted three times.

One thing good did come out of this round: I made my first par-4 birdie! I got really lucky though. I made it on the 5th hole, the 340 yard uphill par-4 with the slight dogleg right. My tee shot with my driver sliced right into the small trees on the hill. My walk to go find my ball took me to the edge of the green. I must have gotten a lucky bounce and carried the ball all the way up the hill and then down a small hill to the edge of green. Prior to this, I didn’t even realize the hole was a slight dogleg. I chipped the ball perfectly, rolling the ball to within 2 feet of the hole, then the putt was pretty simple: straight and flat. The birdie also knocks off another item off of my 2010 goal list.

I shot a 39 for the round, which was 10 over par. I made one birdie, five bogeys, and three double bogeys. Obviously, I was pleased with the round, since I made the birdie, but my irons still need a bit of work so I can get comfortable with them.

White Mountain Executive Golf Course – Scores & Stats
Course length: 1,586 (white tee boxes)
Course par: 29
Course rating: 27.1 (white tee boxes)
My score: 29 (10 over par)

White Mountain Executive Golf Course
9901 W. 179th Street
Tinley Park, IL 60487

Coming off lessons that completely changed my game, I knew I had some practicing to do to get comfortable with my swing. Most of the practice I needed was with my irons, so I decided to play a couple of short 9-hole courses. The first course I played was Palos Hill Golf Club. The course is located in Palos Hills, Illinois, which is approximately 17 miles southwest of Chicago, and is run by the City of Palos Hills. Prior to the course opening in 1990, the land it sits on used to be a 45-acre landfill.

Palos Hills Golf Club is a 9-hole course consisting of three par-3 and two par-5 holes, with a total length of 2,838 yards from the back tees and a total par of 35. The fairways are pretty flat and straight, and are surrounded by large trees and high grass. Water touches five holes, but on three of the holes, the water is a very small pond that should not cause much harm. On the other two holes, you have to tee off over a medium-sized creek. Sand hazards touch every hole, mostly near the greens. The sand traps are placed very well; they gave me a lot of trouble. I think I hit must of hit the sand trap on five or six holes. The greens are pretty large with easy breaks.

The par-5 holes are pretty short, measuring in at 462 yards from the back tee on the 2nd hole, and 518 yards from the back tee on the 5th hole. Long hitters should have no problem making a birdie on those holes. The par-3 holes range from 147 yards to 167 yards from the back tees. The most menacing hole (but not the most difficult hole), in my opinion, is the 9th hole, a 367 yard par-4. On this hole, you tee off over the creek at an angle, and there’s a small area to hit though. The fairway goes slightly uphill, and you can’t see the pin. Hit too far left, and you’ll be in a tree then some high grass. Hit too far right, and you’ll lose your ball in the creek or trees. After your first shot, there’s a slight dogleg to the green that is surrounded by sand traps on all sides.

When I played, the course had just rearranged the hole numbers, so it was a little difficult to figure out where to go after each hole. The hole markers are not necessary in the best place on the tee boxes, and the pathway from one hole’s green to the next hole’s tee box may only be noted by the path of trampled grass. I’m sure this is something they will fix over time. There were some patches of grass on the fairways that were dried-out and sun-burnt, mainly due to the weather Chicago has been experiencing over the last month or so. I did read somewhere that, due to municipal watering ordinances, the course can not water the grass on the holes. So if you play the course in a dry part of the summer, expect the fairways to be dry also.

As for my game, I feel like I played OK. My drives were much, much straighter than my previous rounds. I wasn’t completely comfortable with my irons, and my shots were still a little inaccurate. I’m not completely convinced the new grip and stance works well for my chipping, so I’ll probably go back to my old habits for those shots. And I’m slowly getting used to my new putter. I definitely have to put less power into my putts. Aside from that, my putting was also OK. I 1-putted two times and 3-putted two times. Not too bad; much better than my last couple of rounds.

I shot a 51, which was 16 over par. I made par on only the 8th hole, a 165 yards par-3. I made bogey on one hole, double-bogey on six holes, and triple-bogey on one hole. So, not too bad of a round, and still on track with how I’ve been playing in the past. It was nice to see my drives go much straighter, and I think it’s only a matter of time until I start getting comfortable with my iron shots.

Palos Hills Golf Club – Scores & Stats
Course length: 2,610 (white tee boxes)
Course par: 35
Course rating/slope: 66.2/113 (white tee boxes)
My score: 51 (16 over par)

Palos Hills Golf Club
7301 West 105th Street
Palos Hills, IL 60465