Kankakee Elks Country Club

First time playing the course.. hour and half drive from my home. Staff was super friendly and very helpful. Course was is great shape. Great layout and challenging greens . I'll be back!

Clamshell greens with alot of breaks. Overall a beautiful course. Rough is deep, but it has been rainy. Many grass bunkers and small hills. Beat me up!

A 5 some in front of us and two different "singles" behind our foursome wanting to play through

Pin placement was pretty tough for just wanting to play a round to start the season. Club championship tough lol

After driving an hour to this course, I found out that I didn't have a reservation because it is no longer a Golf Now course. The next available tee time was three hours later. The gentleman in the pro shop was also quite rude about the whole fiasco. I won't be back.

This is a beautiful, old-school course. I am a history buff, and really appreciated playing a Langford and Moreau design, and seeing a course from the dawn of the giant mounded, undulating green complex era. As others have pointed out, hole #15 is something really special. 30 ft. uphill to the green, at about a 40 degree slope. Never played anything like it, and incredible to think they made that giant mound, back in the 1920's. They not only used mounds for many of the green complexes, but throughout the last halves of the fairways, and leading into the greens, as well. Bunkers are rare here, but the frequent mounds you encounter are a refreshingly different hazard to deal with.

The course has a deceptively low slope rating. Plays harder than a 121 with all the mounds.

Friendly staff.

My only cons for the course would be that roughs are a bit too long, and can make finding stray balls very difficult. There were also a lot of downed trees when I was there, but we had a lot of storms, so that's expected.

If there was a 4.5 star rating, that would be this course. Solid 5 stars, if they cut the rough a bit shorter.

Do yourself a favor and check out this historic course. Nothing else like it in the south Chicagoland area.

A wonderful early morning at K Elks. Old school Langford & Moreau design from the 20's virtually intact. Everything was in really good shape. A considerable amount tree damage from recent storms but that's a good thing as areas of K Elks is over planted with trees - some hiding design features. The grass of the original 5th hole was cut but it does not appear they are trying to resurrect it for actual play. They really should bring back the volcano 5th because the other Par 3's on this course are some of the best old school challenges you'll ever play. A top five golfing value near Chicago on any day of the week. Highly recommend K Elks.

$25 Mondays w/cart. Historic Golf Course with really tough pin positions from their Sunday club championship. Given the recent really dry weather excellent course conditioning. Had a mid morning tee time and played in under 3 hours. Friendly folks. Highly Highly Highly recommend this course. It's worth the drive even if you pay $40 to play it. Would be a $50 plus course if nearer to Chicago. Just do it. See my other reviews below.

See my review from 8/30/18 and others below for more info. 5 stars yesterday and the super/grounds crew are doing a great job. Greens and grasses close to impeccable right now. They've taken out a few trees here and there and are going to cut down more! So much fun navigating the punched up greens. You have to have well thought out shots to score here. Folks are incredibly friendly and K Elks absolutely deserves your play. This historic Langford & Moreau design (17 original L&M green sites) is one of the best values in nearby Chicago public golf. Totally worth the drive and your playing partners will thank you later. Old school design at it's very best. Highly recommend.

Short Review -

A great layout. Sand bunkers, hazards are minimal ,here.

This is why there is low slope rating. Depending on your game it may be on the easy side. But there are some stern test of your game here. The par 3 15 comes to mind, 200 yds up hill about 20'

Course was in good, shape except for one green, about 20% was a bit rough.

Staff was minimal, no bev carts or ranger, but friendly and accommodating

Great value at $40 w/ cart on a weekend for a Langford and Moreau design

Look for an up coming feature on this course on TV and in print.

Definitely one of the best places you can play in Northern IL

.

Long Review -

it has been a while since I last played here. When I played this previously, I was somewhat disappointed by the conditions here. Having played many top notch courses, I was comparing aesthetics of $100 courses and totally missing the point of playing here.

Other than the obvious reasons, you play here to enjoy the

architectural brilliance of Langford and Moreau.

The Green complexes are amazing. While this isn't Lawsonia, you still enjoy the old school design, elevated and undulating greens. Several times I wondered where the dirt came from to build the mounds and greens here.

No 7 at Lawsonia has nothing on No 15 Par 3.

200 yd Par 3 up hill about 20 ft. A combination of No 15 at Harrison Hills and No 7 at Lawsonia. Look them up and play both of those courses !!

This wonderful Langford/Moreau track almost intact is a great play if you love old school. They've cleared many trees however still several holes that have tree encroachment issues hiding outstanding bunkers never filled with sand. Also a couple of areas where if you're 5 yards off the fairway you have no reasonable approach shot to the green.

Usually this is a 4 star plus play. This year however conditions have really deteriorated....fairways are really inconsistent with lots of non grass items growing and the greens especially the 12th have some issues. They were mowing the day we played but one of these mowers sounded absolutely horrible pretty much destroying the course....not cutting properly or at a proper length. Some blade sharpening and cutting a lower height is definitely in order.......All grasses extremely long in all areas. Greens were okay but was surprised in general of the deterioration of playing conditions.. Not hard and fast at all.

3.5 stars at this time. This is a course I highly recommend playing....the green sites of some of Langford's best. Refer to my previous reviews for more info/comments.

Went to the The Elks Golf Club today just to get out and enjoy some sunshine despite the recent flooding around the course itself. While some spots were a little spongy, the course was already in very playable shape. There was no charge to play today.

This course is a good test of golf as it requires well positioned tee shots and even more importantly, accurate approach shots. The undulating greens here separate the men rom the boys.

Very walkable and pace of play has never been a problem here for me over the years. Season membership is a great bargain at $800. If you want to play a course that will test your skills or improve your overall game, this is about as good a course you'll find in the Kankakee county area without breaking the bank.

Go get you some!

And tell them "Tall Paul" sent you...

Elks is in fine shape mid season. Well maintained friendly staff and they hosted a very nice outing for a friend of mine....they couldn't have been more gracious and welcoming! Elks awesome old school greens are running very nicely and everything was in proper order. This course is a great value, vastly under rated and always provides a challenge with the added bonus you get around in 430 or less. Course always plays longer than the scorecard indicates and the final four finishing holes are some of the toughest you'll encounter. Well done Elks!!! Highly recommend...make the drive down there - 4.5 stars.

The Elks is always a joy to play....several times. Wonderful shot making course that always keeps you thinking. Well maintained and the staff is extremely friendly. Pretty dry - surprised the course held up well due to the recent rains. Greens are in tremendous shape for this early in the season ....smooth and really quick....and green contours are some of the best you'll find anywhere.....you can find yourself in positions you'll never see on a modern course. Elks has a small grass range to warm up, very good practice green and decent beverage prices. First timers - appreciate the roller coaster greens, old school grass trap mounding, drop offs on sides and behind greens and take mental notes to avoid short siding yourself next time. If you've played the Elks it was interesting to note that the grounds keeping staff have removed several trees - more so on the back nine which improves play....however there are still some areas where trees "hide" the Langford grass fairway bunker mounding especially left of the 11th fairway. This course never gets old and always schools me at least once or twice. Already planning my next trip to the Elks. Well done!! P.S. take advantage of their outstanding $25 rate w/cart on Mondays and Fridays all season!

We had a birthday golf outing of 6 people. The staff let us all stay together as long as we didn't slow things down. The course was in the best shape I've ever seen it, from the rough to the greens. I highly recommend this beautiful course for a challenging round. Plus they have deals on Mondays and Fridays $25 18 holes cart included! You'll love this course.

A beautiful mid-morning Sunday round in under 4 hours. I've been venturing down to the Elks for a few years now and yesterday (dare I say) the course was in the best shape I've ever experienced. Well maintained and the firm fast conditions made this awesome old school track a thinking mans challenge. I rarely if ever give a 5 star rating and my kudos to the grounds crew. Folks in the clubhouse are always extremely nice and welcoming.

The greens are just a joy with roller coaster undulations - firm, quick, smooth with nary a ball mark and your short game better be up to snuff or you'll post some high numbers. Elks simply put is just a gem and a if you've never played it I highly recommend it. It may not be for some but if you love the game of golf/golf design/golf history this is an experience that should be on your bucket list.