A quick note on the order: think of this less as a strict 1-to-9 ranking and more as a tour, roughly from the most storied down to the most underrated. Every course here is open to the public — though tee-time access, conditioning, and green fees change year to year, so call ahead and check the latest before you load the clubs.
The headliner. Cog Hill is a 72-hole public facility, and its No. 4 course — “Dubsdread,” a 1964 Dick Wilson and Joe Lee design — hosted the PGA TOUR's Western Open for years and the BMW Championship from 2007 through 2011. You're playing the same long, tree-lined, deeply bunkered test the best in the world have walked. Bring your A-game and a few extra balls.
A Tom Fazio design that opened in 2001 on the former Glenview Naval Air Station. Fazio used the old concrete runways to build the mounding and elevation change that's so rare for flat northern Illinois, and the result drew acclaim on multiple “best new course” lists at its debut. Expect a polished, semi-private feel with public tee times.
Twenty-seven holes — the Woodside, Lakeside, and Hillside nines — winding through the former estate of Chicago Tribune publisher Col. Robert R. McCormick, now part of Cantigny Park. Immaculate conditioning and mix-and-match nines make it one of the best-kept public layouts in the western suburbs.
A Robert Trent Jones Jr. design and the first public course in Illinois to earn Audubon certification. Owned by the Lake County Forest Preserve, it plays like a private club — secluded, beautifully conditioned, and a genuine value for the quality. Worth the drive north.
A late-1990s Arthur Hills design that stretches past 7,000 yards and regularly hosts USGA and Korn Ferry Tour qualifiers. Demanding, well-routed, and a favorite of locals who want a serious test — this is one of the toughest public courses in the area when the tees go back.
Two Scottish links-style courses on reclaimed land near Lake Calumet — treeless, windswept, and full of deep bunkers (the Port Course's par-3 15th hides a bunker shaped like an anchor). A completely different flavor of golf inside the city limits, and the Starboard course has ranked among the state's best public tracks.
A Joe Lee parkland design spread over 240 rolling acres, opened in 1985 and named Best New Public Course by Golf Magazine the following year. It has stayed a perennial top-10 public-access course in Illinois — fair, scenic, and a reliably enjoyable round.
One of the best values in Chicago golf. This Cook County forest-preserve course opened in 1982 (originally Forest Preserve National), plays to championship length, and brings water into play on eleven of its holes. It has long appeared on lists of the top public courses you can play in the country for a modest fee.
A short, friendly Cook County forest-preserve course — and a fitting place to finish. It's named for Chick Evans, the amateur who won both the U.S. Open and the U.S. Amateur in 1916 and then used his winnings to start the Evans Scholarship, which still puts caddies through college on full rides today. Walk eighteen here for a few dollars and you're standing on the legacy of the man who turned carrying a bag into a college education.
Play it forward
That last entry isn't a coincidence. The Evans Scholarship that Chick Evans founded is alive and growing right here in the Chicago area, sending caddies with the grades and the need to college on full tuition-and-housing scholarships. If these courses give you a great season, it's a fine way to pay the game back — you can read the story on our Evans Scholars page.
DRAFT: course details fact-checked June 2026, but green fees, public-access windows, and conditions change — confirm specifics with each course before you go. Jake: adjust the order, add your own favorites, or cut to taste.