Makray Memorial Golf Club

Divots, divots, divots. Makray Memorial had divots EVERYWHERE. This course was in shockingly poor condition. We played twilight @ 4:15pm for $46 and was very disappointed. We had heard great things about the course but that was not the case when we played. We expected a well manicured course for July but greens were patchy and full of unrepaired ball marks. We really wanted to like this course but simply not worth the rates they are charging.

This course was redesigned and reopened back in the mid 2000's. With a few years of maturity, this course has grown into one of the best conditioned, most challenging and visually enjoyable courses to play in the Chicago area. I regularly play several of the 100+ Chicago area public courses and I would rank this easily in the top 5. It's like playing at a private club.

When you arrive, you are welcomed by a beautiful stone and brick clubhouse, reminiscent of the old east coast private clubs. There is a sizeable range, which is currently under minor construction, so the condition of the grass is not optimal. There is also a large putting and chipping green as well as an approach and bunker practice area.

Now the course: First off, the tee times are staggered every 10 minutes, which generally creates a nice pace of play. There are several tee options to play from. The par fours and par fives provide generous fairway landing zones. The fairways are in exceptional shape and are sculpted with a nice mix of undulation and elevation change. Many of the tee boxes are surrounded by newly planted fescue which provides a nice visual contrast to the lush fairways and greens. Your approach shots require a fair bit of accuracy as many of the greens are elevated and/or well bunkered. The greens are also in exceptional shape. While many of the area courses had green damage over the winter of '13/'14, Makray maintained tour quality in its greens. The majority of the greens slope back to front, so hitting below the hole is a must, especially when they amp up the speed to 11 or more on the stump meter. Yes, the run very fast but they are also very smooth resulting in a pure putting experience.

This is truly a players course, but the player at all levels will enjoy the course for its country club feel that includes a top notch professional staff that always makes you feel welcome. If you are going to play public golf in the Chicago area, you have to play at Makray

Makray Memorial is fun, well maintained and very tough around the greens, which are protected by deep bunkers full of soft sand. Clubhouse and bar are very nice. I would definitely play here again for $60, the GolfNow discount price booked the night before playing.

This course is a very nice one situated alongside US14 in Barrington Il. The facilities and staff were nice. The range was grass and could use some better attention. The practice greens did not allow for chipping and there is a pitching area. However, the pitching green is in need of much attention. I would suggest you spend more time on the putting greens as they are representative of the undulation and speed of the course greens. That said.....accuracy into greens is a must and even after three straight days of rain there is no grab to the greens. A light tap on a down/side hill putt will send your ball 20+ feet past the hole. You always have to land short on the greens. This course will always provide a challenge and the greens teeter on being nearly unplayable for those who've never qualified and competed in a US Open. Which by my estimation is the vast majority of golfers. The grounds crew needs to reevaluate the greens because of the difficulty. I cannot recommend this course to anyone because this course is extremely difficult for these facts. I watched scratch golfers post rediculous scores because chips would roll too far or three putts were a norm.

This is a great course in the western suburbs. the greens are always super fast (like 12 on the stimp) and the course plays longer than its 6800 yards on the card. It's a course for shot makers, and I consider it target golf. maintained very well and great value (if you get the 60 dollar price. Either way, you'll have an excellent experience regardless of the price you pay.

Very nice course , every holes are different , challenging, specially green was fast and difficult to read. But enjoyed very much.
All the staffs are very friendly and the food was excellent ( I had Grilled Salmon) Like to go back again soon..

Nice layout, but really overpriced for what it is. They did a fair amount of re-design from it's days at Thunderbird, but IMO they're still thinking we're in the golf boom of the late '90's. $92 on weekends (including cart) it about $20 too high. One other note: one of the worst maintained grass ranges I've seen at a course in this price range. You're constantly hunting around for a piece of turf to sit your ball on. They should take a ride up to Pine Meadow in Libertyville to see what a quality range looks like. And Pine Meadow is a lot cheaper.

The course is in excellent condition and it is very challenging.

Thoroughly enjoyed my round of play. I was paired up with someone but only made it better. Good pace of play only waited on the last 4 holes. 3 hours to play. Tough fast greens.

Still early in the season but good conditions. Greens were quick and have a lot of slope- need to bring your A game putting. the layout is very nice and challenging. Definitely one of the better courses in this area.

The course was in great condition especially after a tough winter. I played in a cloudy lite rain cart part only due to the rain the day before however I would do it again. The traps were the best I ve seen this early in the season, there was no standing water and they had been racked by the outside staff. The green were above average, didn't roll true due to the soggy weather conditions.

Nobody was out there...nice set up, fast greens, good challenge

Difficult, challenging course. Plenty of elevation changes. Fairly treeless. Played on a cool windy day, which added to the challenge. Very fast greens, most of which are long, narrow, elevated and sloped. Mostly wide landing areas for drives. Few forced driving carries. Most greens cannot be reached with a run up shot - you have to fly it on. A number of greens can't be seen from the tee. Cart included in fee - walking 18 holes here would be a real trek. Excellent conditioning, especially for Spring. Very friendly staff. Starter really knew the game and cared about golfers, unlike the robotic clipboard starters at many courses. Big grass range and short game practice areas. Two suggested improvements: [1] Scorecard does not show course layout or drawings of individual holes; [2] cart GPS likewise does not show individual holes; it only shows a few yardages from small, hard to decipher icons on a white background. A great course like this should have informative scorecards and full color, full graphics GPS, especially for first-timers and non-regulars. Definitely want to return this Summer with my "A" game for a rematch with this tough course.

Great course . Have to play it again in better weather.

Course was in surprising good condition for this time of the year. Greens were fast.

It was an ideal Sunday to play at this beautiful course. The staff was so friendly in helping me choose which umbrella to buy since I told them I cancelled the day before because of rain.

The tee boxes are scenic and fairways are well manicured. The group movement was average. The carts GPS is not so bad. But for the price maybe they could upgrade with electronic scoresheet. The marshall just passed our group just once in front and once in back.

I rate this as one of my top 5 courses in Chicago land area. Definitely a winner. When my brother from Canada comes over, I'll put this as one of possible to show off.

Ilove the course too bad they charge too much to play it, otherwise i would play it more often, 46 dollars on 12/3/2013 is a little steep to play at that date it should be more around 25 dollars, course was in good shape for that time of year. I shot a 93 that day from the gold tees so that was great for me.
I think the course would get a lot more play if it was cheaper to play!

Well maintenance golf course and very challenge especially the greens very nature we enjoy so much

One tough GC! Played here several times and it still finds a way to chew me up and spit me out. You better have you A game if playing from the Black/Back tee's.
The first 4 holes can make or break you score. Your shots into the greens are a premium. You better hit it to the correct side of the pin or else you'll be looking at a 3 putt or worse.
Summer rates are steep but the late fall rates are very reasonable.
Course was in very good shape and the maintenance staff kept the leaves out of play, which is a project in itself.

This course is a jewel in the midst of the Chicago NW Suburbs. The fairways undulate like no other courses in the area. Who knew that Barrington could resemble Galina?