| by: Dan Rusnak - 6/29/2005 9:20:01 AM |
| We first reviewed Bolingbrook Golf Club in August of 2002. At that time, it was well known that Bolingbrook was going to be one of the finest Chicagoland golf courses.
My first visit to Bolingbrook Golf Club solidified what I had heard about this Arthur Hills design.
The massive clubhouse is now complete and the course has grown in nicely.
Bolingbrook is a premium golf course – complimentary water bottles are located in the cooler on your cart, lemonade is available for all at the first tee and garbage cans are located underground so as to not intrude on the beauty of the golf course.
When you turn off of Weber Road onto Rodeo Drive, just north of the Weber – I-55 Interchange, you can see the 76,000 square-foot clubhouse in the distance. I have been in most of the fine clubhouses of the Chicagoland area, both public and private, and this one ranks as one of the tops.
The staff greeted myself and my partners at the bag drop and had us set up immediately so we could head off to the complimentary practice facility.
I know a lot of golfers do not feel that any golf course, or golf experience, is worth $95, but of all the courses in the $75 and up range in the Chicagoland area, I feel that Bolingbrook is really giving you your moneys worth.
The Hills designed links-style course was described in our first review as ‘sneaky tough’ and I learned that first-hand. Hills is one of the finest golf course architects of his time and he was able to take this once flat farmland and turn it into a great challenge.
The course, which measures 7,104 yards from the back tees, offers elevated tees, rolling fairways and seven lakes. The par 72 course has a rating/slope of 73.7/130.
Hazards are well placed but fair, and the course offers risk/reward choices on most holes. The par five 12th hole, for example, is a dogleg right that tempts big-hitters with a 225-yard forced-carry off the tee over a pond. Successful risk-takers cut the corner, stay dry, and go for the green in two. Conservative players place their tee shot in the left side of fairway, get on the carpet in three, and hope for a birdie putt.
Water comes into play on 12 of the final 13 holes, typically hugging the fairway in the direction of the dogleg. Players can easily avoid water off the tee, but they leave themselves with longer approach shots than those who successfully challenge the water. The signature hole is the 15th, a short par three to a true island green. The 18th is a challenging finishing hole: A long par 4 with water running the entire length of the hole up the right side.
Owned by the town of Bolingbrook and managed by Kemper Golf, Bolingbrook Golf Club does not skimp on amenities or service.
Greens fees include complimentary range balls and GPS-equipped carts. The well-conditioned practice green is conveniently adjacent to the first tee box.
The snack shop at the turn is located just far enough from the elevated 10th tee so that boisterous golfers don’t disturb the group in front of them, yet close enough that groups can see when they are next up.
Bolingbrook Golf Club is a premium course that should appeal to golfers seeking a challenging round with full amenities and will continue to improve with age.
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