Hickory Hills Country Club

HHCC review

After nearly 15 years of considering Hickory Hills our “home course,” I never imagined I would be writing this review.

My brother and I have a tradition that means a great deal to both of us. Every Saturday of Memorial Day weekend is our sacred “brother golf day.” When the course we originally played closed more than a decade ago, we moved that tradition to Hickory Hills. Over the years, we came back again and again.

A big reason for that was Joe and his wife. They have always been wonderful people, and Hickory Hills felt like the kind of friendly, reasonably priced local golf course where ordinary golfers were welcome. I have a tremendous amount of respect for what they built.

Unfortunately, as Joe and his wife have stepped back and Sarah has taken a larger role in running the course, our experiences have changed dramatically.

This is particularly painful because my brother has developed serious health problems. His conditions have affected his strength, stamina, and golf game significantly. Golf, and especially our days golfing together, means enough to him that he recently spent well over $1,000 on specialized clubs just so he could continue playing.

He isn’t a terrible golfer. Neither are the rest of us. We’re average recreational golfers who understand pace of play. My brother has played alongside senior golfers and has had no problem maintaining their pace.

Yet lately, whenever my brother and I play together at Hickory Hills, we feel as though we’re treated like a problem before we even tee off.

Today was the final straw.

Before we started, Sarah privately told my brother-in-law to make sure we “keep up the pace.” She didn’t say it to the three of us. She said it to him separately, essentially putting him in the position of policing our group before we had even played a hole.

And then something interesting happened:

We DID keep pace.

In fact, we repeatedly had to WAIT to tee off because the group ahead of us was still playing. At several points they were searching the woods and surrounding areas for golf balls. That’s golf. We weren’t angry about it. We waited.

Despite that, at the 10th hole an employee came out and told us there were complaints that we were playing too slowly. We explained that we couldn’t play any faster because WE WERE WAITING FOR THE GROUP AHEAD OF US.

We had also spoken directly with the golfers behind us. They told us they weren’t upset. They said they were retired and enjoying their day.

We were then actually asked whether we could scramble or play best ball to speed things up.

Why?

How exactly would playing faster help when we’re already waiting for the next tee box to clear?

Then, around the 14th hole, Sarah herself drove out and told us she was checking to make sure we were keeping up.

For much of the remainder of our round, we continued seeing her driving around in a cart, apparently monitoring us.

Imagine trying to enjoy a recreational round of golf while feeling like someone is watching over your shoulder waiting for you to do something wrong—even though YOU ARE WAITING FOR THE GROUP IN FRONT OF YOU.

That’s not recreation. That’s miserable.

And knowing my brother’s health situation makes the experience considerably more upsetting to me. An illness doesn’t have to be visually obvious to be real. Someone can “look fine” and still struggle with stamina, strength, breathing, pain, or physical limitations that other people cannot see.

My brother continues playing because he LOVES golf and because these days together mean something to us.

Today, Hickory Hills managed to take something we’ve enjoyed there for nearly 15 years and make us feel unwelcome doing it.

And there is an incredible irony in being this obsessive about pace of play while rarely providing a beverage cart.

Want a drink during your round? In our experience, you’ll generally need to stop at the clubhouse yourself. Even during league play, according to a member of our group, a beverage cart isn’t normally available. Yet golfers are apparently expected to shave every possible minute from their round.

There is also a mailbox near hole #2 that is supposedly there to provide scorecards and pencils for golfers who forgot them at the clubhouse. I check it regularly.

It’s routinely empty.

These sound like little things, but little things tell you something about how a course is being managed.

One member of our group is currently a Hickory Hills member. I hope he selects a different course next year as I refuse to return to hickory hills. My wife and I had seriously considered memberships for next season.

That will not be happening.

And after almost 15 years, my brother and I will be finding another home for our golf tradition.

That genuinely hurts to say.

If you’re an experienced, fast golfer, particularly an established member, perhaps your experience will be completely different.

But if you’re a beginner, an older golfer, someone learning the game, or someone with a physical limitation that might occasionally affect your pace, I cannot recommend Hickory Hills based on what we’ve experienced.

Golf desperately needs new players. It needs young players, older players, beginners, people with disabilities and people who aren’t going to shoot 72.

Those people should be encouraged—not made to feel like they’re an inconvenience.

Joe and his wife built a course that we loved coming to for years. I sincerely hope Hickory Hills finds its way back to the welcoming atmosphere we remember.

Because today, three longtime customers didn’t leave talking about our good shots, our terrible shots, or laughing about the round.

We left feeling watched, embarrassed, angry and unwelcome.

After nearly 15 years, that’s a shame.

I asked if I could rent an extra cart so my grandkids could ride along and they gave me one at no cost.WOW