The Glen Club which is located in the Chicago suburb of Glenview, is a Tom Fazio designed golf course tucked away in the mix use residential and retail community called The Glen. The Glen Club which opened in 2001, was built on the former airfield of the Glenview Naval Air Station featuring a prairie-style 7,149 yard par 72 layout with its rolling terrain, dramatic elevation changes, tranquil lakes, meandering streams and stunning vistas, including the Chicago skyline in the distance.

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The minute you arrive at the Glen Club you’ll notice the 48,000 square foot clubhouse which features the golf pro shop, 21 room hotel, and restaurant. After you drop off your bag at the bag drop off, the attendant gives you a few tokens to be used at the all grass driving range, which can accommodate 25 golfers.  The driving range and short game area are not located in the same area, so to practice putting you need to head over to the first hole behind the bag drop off.

After I was done warming up, I headed over to the starter and checked in for my tee time, where the starter informed me that its cart path only today and the pin location was number three. I thought cart path only was due to the rain from the previous evening, but it turns out that the Glen Club likes to encourage its golfers to walk as much as possible. You don’t find a lot of golf courses encouraging walking in the Chicago area, which is not only good for the golf course, but for your health.

The Course
The first tee is a 559 yard par 5, one of the longest holes on the golf course with a wide open fairway, that can easily be reached in two by long hitters. The beauty of this hole is that its a great hole to warm up on, but what I liked the most is the elevated green, which is severely uphill if you decide to go for the green in three by laying it up like I did. This makes for a fun, yet challenging opening hole for any golfer.

The fourth of hole of the Glen Club is a deceivingly short 156 yard par 3, with its elevated tee, your tee shot is downhill to an undulating and well guarded green surrounded by native prairie grass and two green side bunkers. Don’t let this hole fool you, it’s not an easy 2 or 3 by any stretch of the imagination if its windy. On the day I played the wind was a big factor, but needless to say it was a great par 3.

The 375 yard par 4 eighth hole is very dramatic and requires precision to play because you have creek and lake that run up the entire left side and trees and fescue grass on the right. The wide fairway becomes very narrow the closer you get to the hole and its heavily guarded by a cluster of four bunkers. You don’t have a lot of room for error on this hole, and you should choose your approach shot wisely as you go for the small bowl shaped green.

My favorite hole of the Glen Club has to be the 218 yard par 3 eleventh hole, which also happens to be the most difficult to play because of the prevailing wind your playing into. To have a chance at scoring par you need to play this hole conservatively by aiming for the right side of the green, but that won’t guarantee you par, if you leave it short like I did. I had to content with a pin location on the tiered green that slopes towards the water and deep green side bunkers. You really have no room for error if your attempting an up and down, but I loved every minute of playing this hole, even if it meant only getting a bogey.

The 451 yard par 4 sixteenth hole can be very challenging if your playing towards the end of the day because it faces west, making it incredibly difficult to see where your tee shot went with the sun right in your eyes. What also makes this hole challenging is your playing into the wind which forces you to aim for at the turn to the left of the fairway bunker. Or if you really want to play aggressive you can attempt to hammer your tee shot over the tree and fairway bunker. I tried to blast my tee shot over the tree and fairway bunker and payed the price of losing my ball in some of the nastiest prairie grass and rough all along the right side of the hole. I recommend you play it conservative on windy days and aim for the slight dogleg instead. As you approach the elevated sloping green you want be careful you don’t hit into the three green side bunkers or leave your shot short or your ball will roll into a collection area, leaving you with a tricky lie.

The eighteenth hole is quite a dramatic long 589 yard par 5 hole as you have not one but two water hazards. Your elevated tee shot plays into a nice wide fairway where you can catch the downslope if you hit past the right fairway bunker. While its possible to go for the green in two, you’ll have to contend with hitting your shot over the pond on the right and green side bunker on the right to a very shallow green. I decided to play this hole conservatively, and chose to layup my shot. This is no cake walk, by any stretch of the imagination, because you still have to contend with pond, the bunkers,  and narrow fairway. This was quite picturesque way to close out an amazing 18 holes of golf.

While some people may think that the $177-$165 green fees are a little pricey, I found it to be worth every penny. I still find it hard to believe that this was the former site of the Glenview Naval Air Station. Tom Fazio did a remarkable job with developing a gem in the North Shore of Chicago, that offer golfers of varying skill a challenging yet enjoyable experience.

Fazio emphasizes the premise that “golf courses should reflect the natural beauty of their environments” and he clearly achieved this in designing the Glen Club and capturing the true essence of a prairie-style golf course.

There’s a reason the Glen Club is consistently rated as one of the top public golf courses in Illinois and you should definitely put it on your list of courses to play.

Amenities

Golf Pro Shop, Driving Range, Practice Putting area

Electric Golf Carts with ProLink GPS

The Grill by Chef Clay Rasley offers American fare at reasonable prices with the outdoor terrace that overlooks the picturesque 18th hole.

21 Room Hotel offer well appointed rooms and stay and play packages, with rates starting at $175 – $250. The rooms are named after famous golf clubs in the Chicago area like, Cog Hill, Kemper Lakes, Olympia Fields, Butler National, etc.

Green Fees: $177 -$165 (does not include cart $22)

For more information and to book your tee time http://www.theglenclub.com