Chicago Golf Club is one of America's most private and revered clubs.
It was founded in 1892 and initially located in Belmont.
The club moved to it's present location in Wheaton in 1894 where it became the first 18 hole course in America
That course was designed by the legendary C.B.MacDonald.
In 1922 MacDonald's partner Seth Raynor completely remodelled the course- and it is the Raynor course that has endured throughout the years, remaining one of the better courses on the planet.
Chicago GC has hosted a number of championships including The Walker Cup, The U.S. Amateur, and The U.S. Open.
A couple of things strike me immediately when playing Chicago GC:
The wide expanse of the ’playing fields’ does not have significant elevation change, nor is it heavily treed.
Yet the course remains one of the most cherished layouts in the world..
Being one of the more famed template courses from C.B. MacDonald and Seth Raynor, we were very keen to experience Chicago ourselves.
We were not disappointed.
Whilst the bunkering and hole variety were excellent the standout feature for me was all eighteen greens!
As a general statement the greens are large, regularly shaped (as many template greens are), and with lovely subtle movement throughout.
This allows for lots of pin positions, which can completely change the playing of the hole.
Notable holes include:
- Hole 3 (Biarritz)-a long Biarritz, and perhaps my favourite Biarritz anywhere..
- Hole 7 (Redan)- a very impressive and long Redan
- Hole 9 (Pond)- a solid par that demands a longish carry over water for the approach
- Hole 10 (Short)- a mid distance par 3 to a challenging green
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Hole 12 (Punchbowl)- a longer par 4 with a magnificent punchbowl green. Great fun!
To play Chicago is to step back in time.
But it still stacks up as one of the great courses!
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