I’m a way behind on this post. Last month, Markus and I traveled out to Seven Bridges Golf Club in Woodridge, Illinois, approximately 30 miles southwest of downtown Chicago. The course, which opened in 1991, was designed by Richard P. Nugent, a well-known golf course architect who also designed many other top courses in Chicagoland, including Harborside International Golf Center and Klein Creek Golf Club, and remodeled even more courses in Chicagoland, including Course No. 3 at Medinah Country Club.

The course features four par-3 and four par-5 holes for a total par of 72 at a length of 7,111 yards from the back tees. There is a big difference between the front nine and the back nine, mostly because of the amount of water found on the back nine. The fairways throughout are mostly open and flat, surrounded by medium-sized trees. You’ll find a lot of water on this course. On the front nine, water touches five of the holes, four of which you’ll need to carry over. On the back nine, water touches every hole, and you’ll need to carry over water on every hole. Bunkers are found on nearly every hole, both near the fairways or the greens. The greens are challenging, with steady slopes and interesting breaks.

I think Seven Bridges is a great course. It’s a beautiful course with plenty of challenges for all levels. I think it’s one of the best courses I’ve played in the Chicago area, and I would recommend anyone to play this course.

I should note that one of the main reasons Markus and I decided to play this course was because of the fall season greens fees. During peak season, the greens fees for Seven Bridges can be around $100. During the fall season, they drop the greens fees to around $60, which is a much more affordable price for golfers around my level. And luckily, the weather in the fall season can be very nice for golf, so playing in the fall isn’t that big of a deal. But still, if you decide to play during the summer or during the fall, I think Seven Bridges is worth it. The starters and rangers are very nice, the carts have a much more advanced GPS system compared to other courses, and the layout of the course is beautiful.

I feel like I played a decent round. As you could imagine, I played much better on the front nine than the back nine. My drives on the front nine were straighter or pushed right, while my drives on the back nine were more random. Maybe the water was messing with my mental game, or maybe I was just getting tired. My irons shots were pretty random accuracy-wise throughout the round, but I was at least keeping consistent on distance. I noticed that my distances dropped a bit, and I think that was because I’m consistently taking divots (compare this with my game 1-2 years ago, where I was always topping the ball). I feel my wedge shots were good, but I still need to work on getting my distance a little more accurate. I’m fully set on researching and buying new wedges for next season. My putting was about average. I 1-putted once and 3-putted five times. The only 1-putt came on the 6th hole (a 183 yard par-3; 150 yards from the white tees), where I somehow sank putt from about 30′ away, giving me another birdie for the year.

I shot a 105 for the round (33 over par, 48 on the front nine, 57 on the back nine). This consisted of one birdie, six bogeys, five double bogeys, and six triple bogeys (mostly on the back nine). I’m perfectly fine walking away with a 105 on this course. With all the water, I’m surprised my score wasn’t higher.

Seven Bridges Golf Club – Scores & Stats
Course length: 6,306 yards (white tee boxes)
Course par: 72
Course rating/slope: 70.4/131 (white tee boxes)
My score: 105 (33 over par)

Seven Bridges Golf Club
One Mulligan Drive
Woodridge, IL 60517

Another weekend of golf takes me to St. Andrews Golf & Country Club in West Chicago, Illinois, approximately 33 miles west of downtown Chicago. St. Andrews features two 18-hole championship courses: the St. Andrews #1 course, a 6,920 yard par 71 course that was built in 1926, and the Joe Jemsek (Lakewood) course, a 6,770 yard par 72 course that was built in 1929. For this round, I played the Joe Jemsek (Lakewood) Course, which was formerly known as the Lakewood Course, and renamed later, after the PGA Pro that purchased the golf course in 1939. Joe Jemsek also purchased Chicago’s popular Cog Hill Golf & Country Club in 1951.

The Joe Jemsek (Lakewood) course features four par-3 and four par-5 holes for a total par of 72 at a length of 6,770 yards from the back tees. If you play from the back tees, all of the par-3 holes are 200 yards or more. The fairways are mostly open and straight, formed from rolling hills and surrounded by large trees. Water hazards touch six of the holes, two of which you’ll have to carry over, including the 17th hole (a 552 yard par-5) which features a small pond in front of the green. Bunkers are found on 17 of the 18 holes, both near the fairways and the greens. The greens are of average size, but have some consistent slopes and challenging breaks. I felt like I was putting uphill many times.

I played this round by myself, and somehow finished the round very quickly. Thanks to a little bit of rain and the cool weather, the course was nearly empty. Throughout the round, I only passed one twosome, and didn’t see many more people during the round. I ended finishing the round about 2 hours and 30 minutes.

And somehow, I played pretty well. My drives were pretty random and inconsistent, but I was getting some decent distance. I think my recovery shots helped me out the most during the round, usually setting my 3rd shot up for an easy wedge shot. Since the holes were longer than average, I got to hit with my fairway wood a lot, which was really nice. I’m slowly getting better with my fairway wood, and it’s definitely helping me lower my score. I felt my wedge shots were pretty good, but I still think I could use a bit of work on getting more accurate distance. My putting was good, though I should have practiced a bit beforehand. The greens were pretty slow due to the rain, and along with always putting uphill, I was leaving a lot of putts short. I 1-putted twice and 3-putted twice.

I shot a 96 for the round (24 over par, 47 on the front nine, 49 on the back nine). This consisted of two pars, eight bogeys, and eight double bogeys. Yup… another round without hitting any triple bogeys or worse, so I’m pretty happy with this round.

St. Andrews Golf & Country Club – Joe Jemsek (Lakewood) Course – Scores & Stats
Course length: 6,358 yards (white tee boxes)
Course par: 72
Course rating/slope: 70.1/118 (white tee boxes)
My score: 96 (24 over par)

St. Andrews Golf & Country Club
2241 Route 59
West Chicago, IL 60185

To conclude a weekend of golf, I headed down to Lincoln Oaks Golf Course in Crete, Illinois, approximately 32 miles south of downtown Chicago. The course was designed by Tom Bendelow, who also designed the three courses at Medinah Country Club, and was opened in 1927 as one of the original four courses at Lincolnshire Country Club.

The course features six par-3 and five par-5 holes for a total par of 71 at a length of 6,186 yards from the back tees. The layout of the course is different than what you’d normally see at most Chicagoland courses. Instead of the course sitting on a solid plot of land or weaving throughout a subdivision, the course flows around a scattering of roads and rural houses. As a result, finding your way from one green to the next tee box maybe a little difficult, and the correct way to the next hole maybe an unmarked path across one of the roads. Also, four of the par-5 holes are intermixed with the three of par-3 holes on the front nine… so enjoy that.

The fairways are mostly straight and open, formed from small rolling hills, with medium- and large-sized trees occasionally along the side of the fairways. Three of the holes, the 9th hole (a 550 yard par-5), the 10th hole (a 348 yard par-4), and the 11th hole (a 185 yard par-3), sit close to the course’s driving range, which is unprotected by netting. An errant tee shot on those holes could place your ball among the sea of range balls (in which case, you’re allowed a free drop). Water hazards are found only on two holes, nether of which you’ll need to carry over the water, as long as you keep your shots straight. Bunkers are found on 17 of the 18 holes, and mixed between near the fairway, near the green, and both. The bunkers could use some work. It seemed liked many of them were just filled with loose dirt instead of sand. Who knows… maybe it was a different type of sand. The greens seemed pretty standard, with nothing overly complicated.

I’ve actually been trying to play this course for over a year now, but it always seems like they have outings on the weekends that take up all the desirable tee times. The first time I tried to play, I actually went to the course as a single, thinking it would be no issue getting a round, but got turned away (I ended up driving up to Glenwoodie Golf Club). The second attempt, I called and got turned down again. I got lucky this time, because they had a couple openings before another outing. Tagging along for this round was a colleague of mine, Eddy.

Much like the weather, my game was struggling to improve throughout the round. I started the front nine pretty badly, then somehow got back into my normal game for the back nine. My drives were very random; I think I only hit four fairways. Luckily, I was able to recover for my second shot. My approach and chip shots were about average, and my putting was random. I 1-putted five times and 3-putted three times.

I ended up shooting a 102 for the round (31 over par, 56 on the front nine, 46 on the back nine). This consisted of one par, six bogeys, eight double bogeys, and all others worse. I guess a 102 doesn’t sound like that bad of a score, considering how I’ve been playing throughout the last couple of rounds. I wish I played the front nine a little better, but it was expected with all the par-5 holes. I think I just need to work more on getting better distance and accuracy with my fairway wood.

Lincoln Oaks Golf Course – Scores & Stats
Course length: 6,013 yards (white tee boxes)
Course par: 71
Course rating/slope: 68.4/121 (white tee boxes)
My score: 102 (31 over par)

Lincoln Oaks Golf Course
395 East Richton Road
Crete, IL 60417

It seems like a yearly thing now where I somehow play a course twice (or more) in one season, and if I felt my first round was bad, I’ll designate the second round as a “redemption” round. Two years ago, the “redemption” round was at Bonnie Dundee Golf Course (even though it was a field trip course), and last year it was the South Course at Silver Lake Country Club. Both years, I’ve was successful at bettering my score. So another weekend of golf begins at Carriage Greens Country Club for my “redemption” round.

I previously played this course at the beginning of the season (when it was still pretty cold and windy). As I stated in the post for the previous round, Carriage Greens is located in Darien, Illinois, approximately 24 miles southwest from downtown Chicago. The course features four par-3 and two par-5 holes for a total par of 70 at a length of 6,395 yards from the back tees. The fairways are mostly flat and open, and are surrounded by medium- to large-sized trees. Water hazards touch 11 of the holes, six of which you’ll need to carry over. Sand traps are found on nearly every hole, either near the fairway or the green, and typically not both. The greens are a decent size, and contain just slight breaks.

I played this round again with Susie. I’ll note that we had difficulty finding the tee box for the 1st hole. When you come out of the “cart corral”, there are no signs directing you to the 1st hole. Common golf course navigation skills will probably take you to the tee box for the 10th hole. The 1st hole is actually across the parking lot next to the “cart corral”, and across the street. Anyway, when we got to the first tee, we got paired up with another twosome, Joe and Daniel, two friends that play around our same level.

I played a much better round this time. My drives were not always straight, but mostly pushed right and landed not too far from the fairway. My iron shots saw somewhat of an improvement. I tried to focus on making a nice smooth shot and following through without overpowering my shot. My wedge shots were decent also. I think I need to start focusing on distance with my wedge shots, which is something I sometimes go in blindly when making my shots. I usually have a good idea about which wedge to use for a 50 yard shot vs a 90 yard shot, but aside from that, I usually just hit and hope I’m on the green. I think next season I might look into getting new wedges, where I can be a little more accurate. My putting was about average. I 1-putted five times and 3-putted twice.

I shot a 99 for the round (29 over par, 47 on the front nine, 52 on the back nine). This consisted of one par, eight bogeys, six double bogeys, and all others triple bogeys. I’m pretty happy I didn’t shoot any worse than a triple bogey. On the last round here, I shot a 114, so this round is a far better improvement, and keeps with the trend of me getting my yearly redemption.

Carriage Greens Country Club – Scores & Stats
Course length: 6,011 yards (white tee boxes)
Course par: 70
Course rating/slope: 69.7/122 (white tee boxes)
My score: 99 (29 over par)

Carriage Greens Country Club
8700 Carriage Greens Drive
Darien, IL 60561

After a couple weeks off for my wedding and honeymoon, I’m getting back on the course for another round of golf. So over the weekend, I headed to Prairie Bluff Golf Course in Crest Hill, Illinois, approximately 32 miles southwest of downtown Chicago. Prairie Bluff opened in 1998, and is the only golf course that is part of the Lockport Township Parks District.

The course features the standard four par-3 and four par-5 holes for a total par of 72 at a length of 7,007 yards from the back tees. If you play from the white tees (the forward men’s tees), the course length gets cut down to 6,054 yards. As you can expect from the course’s name, the course design is “prairie-style”, where the fairways are formed from small rolling hills with tall grass and seldom trees along the sides. Any trees that you do find will be pretty small, except on the 14th hole (a 421 yard par-4), where a very large tree sits right next to the fairway, nearly blocking your path to the green. The fairways are mostly straight, though you’ll find a couple holes that dogleg left on the back nine. The ground of the fairways were pretty hard (not hard as in difficult) for the round, which helped the balls roll a couple extra yards. Water hazards touch eight of holes, most of which you do not need to carry over, unless you play from the back tees. Bunkers are found on almost all holes, and looked to be in good condition. The greens were of average size and difficulty, but were also hard and bumpy (I think they recently aerated them). Aside from the bumpy greens, I really liked this course. Maybe it’s just the look of “prairie-style” courses, but I personally think Prairie Bluff is a beautiful course.

I played this round with Susie again, and we were put with another twosome: Cory and Louie. Cory was pretty good, and was trying to break 80 for the round (which I don’t think he did), and Louie seemed around my level, with an inconsistent drive but great iron shots.

I felt like I played a pretty good round. The hard fairways definitely helped, giving me extra yards on my tee shots, and allowing me to play a couple bump-and-runs to the greens. My drives were not consistently straight, but also didn’t consistently slice. As usual, my drives tended to push right, and usually ended up a couple yards from the fairway in the rough. My iron shots were about average. I had some great iron shots and I had some horrible iron shots. I know I’m overpowering my iron shots, and that’s just something I need to work on a little more (making my swings like my practice swings). My approach and chip shots were good, and actually, I got lucky once. On the 10th hole (a 387 yard par-4), I overshot the green on my third shot, and landed the ball a couple feet from the green. I ended up hitting my fourth shot too hard, but it bounced once on the green and then into the hole, giving me my first chip-in par. My putting started off pretty bad, but quickly got better. I 1-putted four times and 3-putted twice (on the first two holes).

I shot a 102 for the round (30 over par, 51 on the front nine, 51 on the back nine). This consisted of three pars, seven bogeys, two double bogeys, and all others worse. If it wasn’t for a couple of penalty shots, a four-over par (on the first hole), and a couple mishits, I could have easily broke 100. So… not a bad round at a nice course. I’d definitely play this course again if I had the opportunity.

Prairie Bluff Golf Course – Scores & Stats
Course length: 6,054 yards (white tee boxes)
Course par: 72
Course rating/slope: 68.9/116 (white tee boxes)
My score: 102 (30 over par)

Prairie Bluff Golf Course
19433 Renwick Road
Crest Hill, IL 60435