Makray Memorial Golf Club

About
Makray Memorial Golf Club (formerly known as Thunderbird Country Club) is a public course that has been open since 1962. To commemorate 40 years of great golf, the course was remodeled and revamped in 2002. The renovations improved its playability and also made it more challenging. The championship-caliber layout features strategically placed bunkers, including some Scottish-style sod-faced ones, and tricky water hazards on several holes. The hilly terrain offers both challenging elevation changes and scenic views. The golf course finishes with a long par 5 that plays across a canyon of berms to a narrow fairway. Further accuracy is needed to reach the well guarded green surrounded by high berms, a pot bunker to the left, and a deep, steep bunker to the right. In addition to the course, Makray Memorial G.C. boasts an extensive practice facility with 1 1/2 acres of grass teeing ground, two putting greens, and a short-game area.
Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
---|---|---|---|---|
Black | 71 | 6903 yards | 74.5 | 139 |
Gold | 71 | 6573 yards | 73.0 | 135 |
Silver | 71 | 6215 yards | 71.4 | 131 |
Silver (W) | 71 | 6215 yards | 71.1 | 140 |
Green | 71 | 5716 yards | 69.1 | 126 |
Green (W) | 71 | 5716 yards | 74.3 | 134 |
Bronze | 71 | 5168 yards | 66.7 | 120 |
Bronze (W) | 71 | 5168 yards | 71.3 | 128 |
Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Black M: 74.2/138 | 436 | 425 | 342 | 175 | 452 | 556 | 201 | 302 | 430 | 3319 | 468 | 471 | 314 | 189 | 355 | 562 | 426 | 244 | 530 | 3559 | 6878 |
Gold M: 72.8/134 | 418 | 407 | 347 | 155 | 433 | 540 | 190 | 298 | 414 | 3202 | 431 | 450 | 304 | 173 | 337 | 552 | 389 | 215 | 520 | 3371 | 6573 |
Silver M: 70.8/130 W: 76.0/137 | 387 | 355 | 298 | 135 | 411 | 524 | 178 | 274 | 388 | 2950 | 408 | 429 | 294 | 158 | 322 | 533 | 351 | 197 | 498 | 3190 | 6140 |
Green M: 68.4/124 W: 73.2/131 | 285 | 355 | 298 | 130 | 366 | 439 | 148 | 254 | 385 | 2660 | 379 | 366 | 288 | 140 | 318 | 480 | 347 | 145 | 495 | 2958 | 5618 |
Bronze M: 65.8/118 W: 70.1/124 | 280 | 300 | 274 | 128 | 362 | 438 | 112 | 249 | 297 | 2440 | 312 | 365 | 284 | 101 | 258 | 439 | 322 | 141 | 392 | 2614 | 5054 |
Handicap | 13 | 3 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 15 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 18 | 10 | |||
Par | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 35 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 36 | 71 |
Handicap (W) | 15 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 7 | 11 | 17 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 18 | 12 |
Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Policies
Food & Beverage
Bar, GrillAvailable Facilities
Clubhouse, Banquet FacilitiesReviews
Reviewer Photos
-
Photo submitted by u445449310 on 06/02/2025
-
Photo submitted by schoi4u on 05/24/2023
-
Photo submitted by u6722019 on 06/03/2021
-
Photo submitted by u314159922990 on 09/09/2020
-
Photo submitted by u314159922990 on 09/09/2020
-
#2 Par 4 Photo submitted by BryanTweed16 on 07/15/2015
-
#4 Par 3 Photo submitted by BryanTweed16 on 07/15/2015
-
#5 Par 4 Photo submitted by BryanTweed16 on 07/15/2015
-
#9 Par 4 Photo submitted by BryanTweed16 on 07/15/2015
-
#11 Par 4 Photo submitted by BryanTweed16 on 07/15/2015
-
#18 Par 5 Photo submitted by BryanTweed16 on 07/15/2015
-
Photo submitted by Fred1977382 on 07/06/2014
Challenging but fun
Loved this course. It was in beautiful condition, and it has a lot of elevation for a course in the Chicago area. The staff warned us about the greens being much faster than most public courses, and they were right. Very challenging, but this is probably my new favorite in the area!
One of the best
Makray has a great layout. Great variety of holes and the best greens yearly. Good practice facilities including practice trap and pitching area.
Beware of the downhill sidehill putt!!
Great layout, but green are sever for average golfer. slow play can hapen here. Very understandable with the green run offs and slopey greens. stay below the hole and its still not a guaranteed two putt!!
Always a challenge.
It's all about the greens. Fast fast greens.
Stay below the hole.
Course in very good shape. A little wet from all the rain the day before. But very playable.
Great Course - Sneaky difficult
The course was in great shape, and the pace of play was outstanding. Made a little bit more difficult due to cart path only designation because of rain. Greens were hard and fast - difficult to keep ball on greens with false fronts. A fun track to play!
Makray is fun and difficult
If u want to hit every club in the bag, Makray is the course. Great mix of short and long par 4’s. Fairways were in great shape as were the Greens. Tee boxes are a little scruffy and could use some leveling. The course is a real test as it is one of the tougher public tracks in Chicagoland. I always find it a challenge as it helps me access my game. Pace of play needs to improve although I don’t think most players realize how tough course is. I love the challenge and will be back
A real Gem
It was my first time playing Makray Memerial. I had heard and read a lot of comments about the conditions of the course and how fast the greens were, so going in I was excited to play a course of its caliber. The green were fairly quick if you were above the hole, so i highly recommend staying below it. Some of the greens were bumpy, but i was told this was not the usual condition of the greens, and i was also told they can get the greens even faster. Overall the course was fun and the layout was very interesting. Be prepared to use several different clubs off the tee on the par 4's, I used everything from a 5i to a driver, which kept the round interesting. I did not eat or drink in the club house, but I can tell you that the beer is $6 from the beer cart. If you get the chance, I highly recommend playing this course.
Fun challenging course
Makray is a fun yet challenging course. It really makes you work to get into those fairways. Was in incredible condition per usual.