| by: Jason and Jerry Ferguson - 6/19/2005 6:51:46 AM |
| Golfing on Father’s Day weekend at White Pines Golf Club with my dad was a memorable experience.
A favorite among Chicagoland golfers since 1930, White Pines Golf Club, located in Bensenville, is a beautiful facility open year-round. The 36-hole golf course which expands over 240-acres is a great location for special events on the course, in The Club Room, or in the newly renovated banquet room. The course also features a decent sized driving range located near the first tees to get in a quick bucket before your round.
Both courses feature three sets of tee boxes: blue, white, and red. Our decision was to play the West 18 from the white tees at a yardage of 6,335.
The scorecard is pretty standard except for the helpful pin placement and green depth diagrams for each course.
After reaching in our bags for our Pro-V’s, we were ready for the first tee…
The first hole is very scenic with a tree-lined fairway and drivable bunkers on your left. Dad took a nice easy swing off the tee that placed him ideally on the right side of the fairway, or coined “The Garden Spot” by my late grandpa.
Holes #2 and #3 both challenge you with shooting over water guarding the greens. I was baffled by the pose that Dad showed with dealing with these water hazards. Both times he should have been wet, he managed to skip his ball out across the water back onto land. I guess that is only fair since it was Father’s Day weekend.
Hole 4 is the #2 handicap hole without much water to deal with. But don’t be fooled because at 415 yards this hole will require two accurate shots to get you home.
One thing we keep commenting on was the beauty of the West 18 and the great condition of the greens. We tried to get a picture of a Blue Heron but it flew away as we snapped a photo. Most of the water hazards were outlined with rocks that made for a very classy look for many of the holes.
In our opinion holes 5 thru 7 are scoring holes. Due to our early tee time most of the sand traps on the course still had moisture from the watering of the greens which made it a little tough for sand shots but under normal conditions we believe this is a non-issue.
Finishing the front with 8 and 9 we both scored well since these holes reward you with good shots. If you like big greens then you will like the West course. Paying close attention to pin locations will help you avoid 40-50 foot putts.
Heading to the back nine, we feel this course is a good test for any golfer when they are on top of their game. With the tight fairways you need accurate drives… and a little distance doesn’t hurt either.
Is a chainsaw a U.S.G.A. approved club?
You will be asking yourself this question if you can’t keep your drives in the fairway. If you are more accurate with a 3-wood, use it instead. You will be tested on your ability to keep the ball in play.
The two par 5’s, 11 and 15, are going to be your toughest challenge on the back. At 593 yards from the white tees, hole 11 is very difficult and you need to hit three solid shots to set you up on this hole. If you are on in 4 shots we believe that this is good for this hole. Don’t overshoot the green on 15 or you are going in the drink.
Hole #10 can be relatively easy if you keep you drive in play. You will have to shoot over water on your approach but have some from in front of the green in case you are short. Or in my dad’s case if you can skip the ball on the water like a wave runner.
Hole #12 gives you more room for error off the tee than most of the holes on the West 18. Stay to the left side of the fairway for a good approach angle.
#13 and #14 have no water but guarded by greenside bunkers that you want to avoid.
The easiest stretch of holes on the West course is 16-18. Hole 16 has water down the right side of the hole all the way to the back of the green. Try to avoid the two fairway bunkers on the left. 17 and 18 will give you a needed break from water and should be able to finish the round on a good note with these two holes.
Ending the round we enjoyed watching the 30 some kids on the practice green with the youth golf program at the course. Driving by in our cart we noticed that some of these young golfers had nicer sticks than we do. If you have young kids interested in summer youth golf I would inquire since it looks as though they do a great job instructing the youth.
What a great course! We had such a great time and I really have nothing critical to say about the course. I would say if you want a challenge play this course. You do need to hit a straight ball to score well but even if you don’t I would be amazed to find anyone that didn’t enjoy what this course has to offer. After only playing this once, we are ready to head back and play this course again…maybe on the East course.
White Pines Golf Club is the perfect place to have a golf outing located just minutes away from O’Hare airport in Bensenville, IL.
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