Crane's Landing at the Lincolnshire Marriott Resort

The Good: George Fazio design is the flagship attraction at the Lincolnshire Marriott Resort hotel. Navigating the nearby Des Plaines River, the track has skinny fairways and small, tricky greens that require approach shot precision. Par 4 variety, particularly on the back nine, is good with several very tough holes. Greens are in good shape and have enough undulation to keep skilled golfers honest. Clubhouse, while modest, does have a small grill area and bar.

The Bad: Unfortunately, the nearby river has ravaged this course and it is constantly under water and under repair. The course has converted the eight hole into a Par 3 because they've completed lost the fairway. Fairways and sand traps consistently have standing water. Limited on-course amenities for a "resort" course (no restroom areas, no GPS, etc.) and practice area is lacking as driving range is just a few stations hitting into a net. Staff is fairly friendly but no on-course service whatsoever (on a Holiday weekend!). Fortunately used a Group Golfer voucher, otherwise I would have felt cheated paying full price.

The Verdict: I struggle to understand how Crane's Landing stays in business. There are dozens of other public courses in the northern suburbs that are far superior in conditioning, shot value, and cost for quality of experience. George Fazio didn't do them any favors with the design, but current management have driven this course to the brink of unplayable.

Best Hole: The closing hole is a brute of a Par 4. Drive must avoid water left and then long approach to uphill green.

Course was severely damaged by recent rains but other than telling us about hole #8 being moved to a par 3 we were caught off guard by all the GIR. No cups at any of the water stations on extremely hot day was troubling

This course should be closed. Flooding, unplayable fairways, 95 yd par 3s, standing water everywhere (don’t blame the rain, would have been cart path only if so) if you hit an approach shot and leave it 10 yards short of the green, you’re chipping off of mud, absolutely atrocious. Uneven tee boxes taken to a level I’ve never seen in my life. Avoid at all costs.

This course has fallen into disrepair and it's a shame. The 8th hole was closed... And I didn't realize I was paying for 17 holes. Either too wet, too dry-- this course was a mess. Do not play here till they figure out some serious improvements.

Played there a couple weeks ago. Due to a very slow outing/reunion ahead (with many non-golfers) our round was painfully slow and finally had to quit after 14 holes. The Manager (EJ) asked me to leave my info at the front desk as he wanted to invite me back to play again. I was never contacted though. I tried to reach out to him via his contact info on the website, but did not get a response to that either.

Shameful service. And as far as outings, I get it. They bring in revenue, but don't alienate the regular golfers. Lock the tee times after them or for the entire day. It's not that complicated.

As far as the course itself, the front-9 and back-9 are like completely different golf courses. Quite strange. The back-9 is significantly longer and harder. There is a small netted range for warmup, but its in bad shape with bad balls/mats and no tees.

Booked a tee time through golfnow at 11 P.M. For a 7:40 tee time at Crane's Landing. I drove 45 minutes to play this course because it looked nice. The course was closed due to weather conditions. It was 80 degrees and sunny outside.

Don't let someone book a tee time if you are going to be closed. Send an email to notify people who have tee times that the course is closed. I received a $10 promo code from golfnow and they are sending me golf balls in 4-6 weeks. Pretty weak in my opinion. I will say the lady that helped me on the phone from Golfnow was very nice and friendly.

It was a perfect day for a golf trip to this well maintained resort course. Mid-morning ladies league made the front 9 a bit slow, but seeing families out playing was really nice (a few fathers with 5 to 10 year olds.)

Tees, fairways, traps, and greens were all in very good shape. Some greens are very challenging but speed and line of putts very true. As always you need to play from the appropriate tees and they have 4 sets. Also nice mix of length of holes.

We have been trying to play here for a while, but they don't seem to have many good specials. We jumped on the one and only good hot deal and played on a perfect Saturday early afternoon. Pace wasn't bad, course was in good shape except for the greens being aerated a few days prior so there were holes and sand on the greens. I'd like to blame my poor drives on all the tee boxes being uneven, but it may have been psychological...

Difficult course, tight fairways and trees that get in the way. The back is way longer and tougher than the front 9 so beware. Water hazards also come into play on a lot of tee shots. Overall the course is very nice and worth about 45$ if the weather is nice. Also carts no longer have gps.

Tee Time: 1:30 on a Saturday ($31). I’ve played Crane’s Landing twice now. Once last year, and now once again this year. I’m surprised a couple of users labeled this course as “easy”. I know it’s a shorter course, but from the Blue tees it can be fairly challenging. There are a few Par 4’s which eclipse the 430+ mark and 8-9 holes that have water hazards (most being lateral). The water hazards are most intimidating on the Par 3’s. The course conditions I would say are pretty average. Crane’s Landing gets an 8 out of 10 stars in my book because of its layout, mixture of short and long holes, and rather secluded nature. Normally I feel it’s overpriced, but if you can find a deal for $50 or under I would definitely give Crane’s a shot.

Note: They removed the GPS systems from their carts, which is a bummer. Hopefully, they will add a few more distance markers next season (or just find a more cost-effective GPS device).

The only reason I played this OVERPRICED course was due to the fact that my green fee didn't come out of my pocket. With all the nice courses in the Chicagoland area it's amazing that people fork over what Marriot charges. Then throw in the fact that the course is a short Mickey Mouse course suited for beginners and you can have it.

Fun day. Very nice course. Great greens and bunkers. Was not crowded when we played due to weather forecast so we were able to hit and go. Will go back again.

This isn't a typical Marriott course! There wasn't a ranger on the course all day and the group in front of us were playing a scramble but turned out to be a 10 minute per shot social gathering. Most holes you can hit an iron off the tee and the few holes that you can hit a driver off trees are blocking where you need to go. I will say if you want to go drink and party it's a good place to go.

Well maintained , slow paced. Challenging greens ..... Nice mix of par 3 and par 4s

Great place to golf friendly staff aver all great experience would love to go back

Was pretty wet when we came but course was in great shape. Pace of play was good even with foursome including kids in front of us. The starter and course attendants were outstanding. We will definitely come back!

The course is not bad, but not worth the fees charged. There was no food ready at the turn, at 11:00 am. We had a twosome cut in front of us, then a single jumped in front of us, and we were already backed up. And there was another single behind us.

We have played Crane's Landing several times a year for many years. We would play here more often if it wasn't for the narrow fairways and close hazards. We are both average players, however, we often leave the course feeling disappointed in the round. Too often average shots are punished as large trees and overgrown weeds border the narrow fairways. Also, many greens have limited lateral landing areas causing an out of bounds shot. On the positive side, the fairways and greens are always in great condition and the staff is very friendly and accommodating.

94 degrees and humid. Not typical for N. Illinois in early September. Course was in excellent shape, but many holds on back 9 were designated as cart path only despite needing water, not that it was wet. On a hoy, humid day, the extra hiking was inconsiderate. Mentioned this to staff, but got no response except that these holes are often wet - NOT TODAY! Otherwise the outing was worth a repeat. Ladies tees are very advanced forward which thrilled my wife!

Had a great round however the cart guy/starter was very rude to pretty much everyone I observed. I was appalled at how he spoke to other customers. If the pro knew this he would be released. The course was great, but I don't pay money to hear and see unprofessional behavior before my round. I play golf for relaxation not to be stressed out by staff.

Great course to play on. First 9 was finished very quickly with great pace of play. Management allowed an outing to go out in front of several 2 somes and a single causing the the back 9 to play in 3 hours. Complaints from many other golfers on the course regarding speed of play.