Mill Creek Golf Club

The course should not have rushed open, tons of dandelions everywhere and the fairway’s as thick as a normal rough should be. Good luck finding your ball in the rough… even the greens were thick. Course maintenance just seems terrible, don’t waste your $ in my opinion.

After a 3 year absence from the Chicago golf scene Mill Creek has finally reopened. I recommend it for play as it needs the revenue and it has very good bones - deserves more life. It's a better routing and a more interesting design than nearby Tanna Farms. Mill Creek grounds were maintained just enough those 3 years and here's the full skinny on the reopening (my reviews are always unvarnished and tell it like it is).

Clubhouse - pro shop is open but mainly just to check in - pay and get your cart key...no merchandise. A couple of glass refrigerators with water, Gatorade and maybe soda but didn't remember seeing that. NO ORANGE WHIPS. Bar & Restaurant, events areas completely empty. No food service. Bathrooms are open in the clubhouse and please note currently these are the only open bathrooms on the entire property. Motor carts are very clean - have covering but do not have windshields. No GPS so bring your own.

Amenities - range was open off brand new mats only (drivers are not allowed and the mats do not have rubber tees). Practice putting green open and in good shape and the practice green across the street near the 10th tee appeared to be in good shape as well but did not have holes cut.. The short course across the street from the clubhouse (Par 3) is open however these greens were not maintained very well during the closure...and have weeds and problem areas. Unfortunately unless they pay tremendous attention to these short course greens this area is likely to close due to lack of revenue to support it.

The course itself -

Fairways - in great shape and need a few more cuts to not be spongy....hardly any divots and if properly mowed and maintained will be very good. Some holes were cart path only - the Par 5 17th hole fairway was surprisingly really really wet.

Rough - needs several more cuts and also is in dire need of weed killer dandelions everywhere.....several areas you will have difficulty finding your ball and/or never find it. But again the rough grasses were very lush (except for the weeds).

Fringe/Green Aprons all in good shape. Need a few more mows to even out but okay.

Greens - surprisingly very very good.....and you will not be disappointed. Not bumpy at all.....maybe a roll or two slower than other places - and this slower speed makes the course more playable and many of these greens have different levels/areas so above the hole putts when the greens are shaved close at this place it becomes unplayable. And no ball marks to deal with right now!!!

It was wet in several areas but that was to be expected with the wet cold spring we've had. What was surprising is that the numerous swamp areas on this course hardly had any water in them at all - better yet it was nice to see that all the tall grasses and other swamp plants had been cut completelychopped down. Trees were removed down the entire left side of the 12th completely changing the look and making the hole much more playable. But the 12th green has lost a lot of size on the back end and the back right corner....now all fringe and they've lost several really good pin positions.....this could be corrected very easily if course maintenance pays attention. Small trees mid-hole in the right rough were removed on the 14th. Overall they've opened up the course in many areas.....except the Par 4 5th hole tee shot is still "a chute" and there's a right side leaning tree that's an issue and should be chainsawed.

Right now the course is a $30 value given the lack of amenities and the current conditioning. Here's hoping several more mows of all areas will bring the course back enough so the tee sheet will fill up to earn the $40/$50/$60 they are charging. This is a fun place to play - the greens will keep your interest - several quirky holes especially the Par 5 ninth.....recommend and please support it.

Course was closed for 3 years and just reopened. Got a great Hot Deal price and gave it a try even though it's not one of my favorites as it's too tight for my skill level. It had rained over the weekend and the course was soaked which meant cart path only. This entailed some walks of 100 yds back and forth from the cart path to our ball. The course was empty, but it still took 5 1/2 hours to play. The range and restaurant were not open and there was no cart girl. And it was cooler and windier than forecast, so not great for golf. It was nice to get out after such a miserable spring, but next time I play it'll be dry, sunny and 70.

Course reopened after two years and nothing done to improve. Bathrooms were locked up on the course and it was so wet it was almost unplayable. Every shot buried in the fairways and some disappeared and were lost. They never should have opened that day and it’s also overpriced - used to be $25, which is about right if and when it dries out.

Pro shop was empty literally nothing inside. Restaurant/ bar closed. Course was in great shape after being closed for 2 seasons. Carts were running rough and no wind visor on any carts made a already chilly day worse. It is a great course but they need to spend the money to match the quality of the course in there club house to bring golfers in.

I played the first day it was open and the course was a big soggy and the wind was gusting at 50mph but it was one of the better courses that I’ve enjoyed in a while. Great layout with stunning topography. I played the blues and they were well placed with water in play over the par 3s. Favorites would be holes 2, 3, 9, 11, 16 and 18.

Today I noticed that the 2022 Golfvisions Players Pass Booklet has page and round w/cart at Mill Creek. Looks as though Mill Creek will be reopening after a 2 year hiatus!! Happy Thanksgiving all!

GolfVisions who manage nearby Tanna Farms have been maintaining the grasses at Mill Creek for at least the past two seasons. I sure hope this course reopens in 2022 - owner is still litigating with the former management company. Mill will be in spectacular shape if it reopens with no play but maintained for this long!

FINGERS CROSSED!!

Drove by the course on 8/30/20. It's still be cut, maintained and watered. It looked better than nearby Tanna Farms which is open. All the grass on the range has grown back....2 years of no use the greens looked pretty decent as well. Some bare patches but better than I thought they'd be. Talked with the starter at Tanna Farms and the rumor is that GolfVisions Management may take over the course for the 2021 season and reopen it. Let's hope so...it's a fun track and has a range and Par 3 course.

Website is down and the course Facebook Page has a notice from the owners of the course that they are accessing the situation/conditions and will re-open in 2020. The owners hired a bunch of course management firms over the years. Arcis Golf being the last who basically only marginally maintained the track and facilities the past few years. The owners did nothing blaming the operators...battled back and forth with Arcis and no one did anything for several years to stop deterioration (which really wasn't that much or that horrible...course was in 3.5 star shape plus last season). I would really like to think that the owners of this course will do what they say and rehabilitate this track for 2020 but I have my doubts it will ever reopen with Tanna Farms (same developer and owners I think) so close by. Selfishly I like Mill Creek more than Tanna...Tanna doesn't even have a practice range nor a decent practice putting green. And Mill Creek even has a Par 3 course and 3 extra full size practice holes. Keeping my fingers crossed because for the past few years Mill Creek was one of the best values in Chicagoland golf....interesting routing and had fun slopes/design on a number of their greens. If you're a Mill Creek homeowner/golfer stay on top of these guys and make certain they reopen in 2020. It would be a crying shame to lose Mill Creek. I'm thinking these owners are probably looking at ways to combine Tanna & Mill golf holes into just one 18 hole track just so they can build more homes/townhomes.

Bring some extra balls if your hitting it crooked. Enjoy pure greens and a challenging layout.

After my fall round last year at Mill Creek (see my review below) I was worried it might deteriorate further as I could not recommend playing it. A pleasant surprise....it's in very decent shape . A bit wet (they got a lot of rain overnight on Friday) but drying out nicely. Greens were smooth and had decent speed. Traps were ponds of water of course. Tee boxes hit and miss. The course has a fabulous routing which you have to play a few times to get the hang of. Really fun green sites with lots of tiers and breaks to them. Also a very good value......pace of play wasn't an issue for us on a Saturday late afternoon. Some muddy flooded tunnels between holes but whatever this is a track I will wholeheartedly recommend. If you desire a burly challenge play the blues - they are tough. The whites although very short on the card (still a 125 slope) allow the course to be pleasant and very playable. Lots of water hazards and tight areas. The bar/food area is closed. There was on course nurse service this day (probably only on weekends), water jugs and they were grilling dogs in the proshop with some beverage coolers. Range and a fun par 3 course to boot if you want to get in some short game work. A course dog who greets you when you check in (it doesn't get better than that!). I'll reiterate a really good bang for your buck and a course not be overlooked when considering play in the Western Suburbs. 3.5/3.75 stars. $30 value.

This was a nice course the play, and the pace was pretty quick. One thing I didn't notice until I had finished playing the course was that the scorecard actually gives a suggestion of which tee box to play based on your handicap. I played from the tips since total distance was 6400 yds. and I usually play 6300 yd. courses. In any rate I still shot fairly well. This course has some challenging water hazards and prairie brush to fly over and also some narrow fairways that require precise shots. The greens were in good shape, but were challenging, as some were pretty small and others had multi-levels that if you didn't place your approach shot in the right area then you were either putting up or down a ridge. From the tips on #16 the par 3 is 214 yds. and you have to clear prairie brush and a pond. Number 18 also requires a drive over a pond to clear to hit the fairway, however there are short par 4's that birdie is possible. The only drawback was the carts seemed a bit beat up, and although they had ball and club washer aboard, the one I had didn't hold water so I couldn't clean my clubs. I had booked this on GolfNow, but the attendant at the counter asked if I was a senior and gave me the lower senior rate instead of the rate I booked on GolfNow. That was exceptionally nice of him to do that, and much appreciated. I definitely will play this course again.

We teed off at 3PM, it was over 90 degrees, pretty hot. There were 3 water jugs on the course and they all were empty. Made for a parched round.