Makray Memorial Golf Club

I have played this course since the Thunderbird days and it has been greatly improved over the years. I believe it is one of the better courses in the area with a fun and challenging layout. Really like the distances from the gold tees.

The conditions were below their standard from previous years - perhaps this is due to COVID. The greens were just silly. There are undulations in these greens that make it hard to avoid a 3 putt on many holes unless you are below the hole and within 20 feet. The green on 12 is so bad they they cannot even mow over the hills without burning out the green (which is it's current state). If they are going to have greens with undulations like this, they either need to find a flat spot for the pin (which they haven't done) or grow them longer. We watched golfers play 9 after our round and you could hear the moans from just about everyone with how ridiculous the test was.

I will play here again and probably complain about the greens again. The rest of the course makes it worth it. The staff in the clubhouse and restaurant were A+ and the food was excellent - though the servings could have been a little bigger for my taste.

US OPEN conditions. Greens could be slowed down a bit.

I booked this course via a hot deal on golf now for a 9/8 tee time. Unfortunately my tee time was washed out by rain all day so I called the course to rebook. When calling I had told them I booked through GolfNow with a hot deal, they said no problem since it was a weather rebook and set me up for the same time on 9/22.

Fast forward to 9/22 and when I get to the course I check in and am asked to pay the full greens fees. I said I paid in advance through golfnow and was told "100% you didn't". At this point it had been a couple weeks since booking and thought maybe I just remembered wrong so I paid the tab. While waiting for a beer at the bar I searched my email and found the receipt from golfnow that said paid in full. I took this back to the person at the pro shop and his response was that was my and golfnow's problem. I need to call them.

The entire time no offer to help, no looking into it just very snarky short responses. Now golfnow is telling me that I also can't get a refund from them as the course is telling them they never closed on the rainout day yet when I rebooked they told me there was no issue and the rain was not going to let up for the entire day.

The course itself was nice as were the rangers but I will 100% never go to this course again. I would be very careful booking this course through a hotdeal as any issue you may have will have little chance of being resolved.

In short, the fastest greens I have ever played. I five putted..yes FIVE putted the second par 3 before I adapted. As a 15 handicap I had 27 putts on the front nine. Yes, you read that correctly, 27 of my front nine 55 strokes were putts! On the back nine? 11 putts and a score of 41.It can be done. Chip close. Stay below the hole.

Is it tough? Heck yes. Is it also fun as can be? Absolutely.

Loved everything about this course and really look forward to playing here again..

Don’t play here if you aren’t prepared to play a true test of golf. The layout and design are for those who appreciate the game. The greens are so true and incredibly fast each time I play here. Love this track.

The greens really do make this course almost unplayable. The ball simply doesn’t stop. We played in the rain after several days of rain, the course was wet but playable. Even with the wet conditions, you could putt 10 feet uphill only to have the ball come rolling back down and leaving a 20-25 foot putt. Other than that, the course is great. Beautiful layout and very challenging.

There's nothing that can redeem a course that sets it's greens up the way this course did the day I played. It was possible on virtually every hole to just miss a 10 foot putt and be left with a 30 footer on your next putt. In fact, it was not only possible but down right likely that if you missed a putt on hole number 4 from left of the hole to not only see the ball roll off the green into the rough, but into the water too and don't tell me well hit your tee shot right of the hole. Yeah sure, anything right of the hole went from near the pin to into the water. I don't have a problem with tough courses but I don't want to pay to be made a fool of.

Makray Memorial has always been known as a tougher course in the Cook/Lake County areas. This being my third time here (first playing the whole 18) I was eager to play. Got out at 6 am. Course is beautiful, greens roll fast, bunkers are very well manicured as well as the fairways and rough. Staff was great, range and short game area are perfect for getting in pre or post round practice. The course has a mix of long and short holes, all challenging in their own way. Loved this course and will be back soon!

Nice course, layout is very good. Greens are hard and extremely fast- don't hold approach shots very well. Some of the fairways could use water....a little brown and dry in some areas. Overall, we enjoyed the course but it could be fantastic with a little attention.

The staff was great, everyone was friendly especially the starter and the bartender.

I never got to play the round of golf that I had booked for Labor Day 2020. I booked a 4-some 10-12 days before Labor Day, through GolfNow, at $69 per person, Four days before my reservation, I received a phone call from the course. I was told that if I wanted to keep the tee-time, we would need to pay $94 per person. I was told that GolfNow did not have the correct price listed.

I argued that this was not my fault and that I bought at the published rate. I was told that I either needed to give up the tee-time, or pay the $94/person. Notifying me 4 days before my reservation did not give me any opportunity to find a tee time, at a different course, at the time that I needed.

We were so mad that we ended up cancelling our 4some. When I emailed the Head Pro about this, he eventually offered to let us play later in the day at the $69 price. The timing was too late for us and it wasn't going to work.

I was amazed that they were coming back to me a week later and wanting us to pay $25 more, per person! I'm guessing that they don't value me as a customer, but it if happened to them, they would be just as upset as we are. HORRIBLE CUSTOMER RELATIONS!

If the pricing was wrong and it was not the courses fault, they should be taking that up with GolfNow, not demanding more from a customer who just wanted to play golf with friends, that get together once a year.

VERY DISAPPOINTED!

This was my 1st time at Makray. Honestly I was feeling intimidated before the start. For the $ this course did not meet any of my expectations...yes it’s difficult & challenging. However, I’ve played 3 other courses ( that I can think of) for less money in much better conditions. The tee boxes and greens are in horrible shape, with many dry, bare spots in the fairways. Glad I can say I played it but definitely will not go back. Too many other courses out there at a better price in better condition.

Layout is not bad, everything is in decent shape and well kept, EXCEPT the greens. They’re literally nearly as hard as concrete, on one hole my ball bounced off the green and went into the water!! You won’t find a ball mark anywhere because the green is too hard to leave one. It makes this course unplayable, fix the greens and this could be a great course. Until then, save your money.

I don’t think I’ve played on faster greens. No approach shots would stick lots of 3 putts. If you’re looking for a challenge give it a try