The Preserve at Oak Meadows

Only feedback is to stagger tee times upfront. There was a rather long frost delay to get started. Other than that pace of play was excellent, and the course was in great shape!

First time playing here! The pace of play for myself as a single was three hours! I’m sure it being 47’ helped. Overall great experience, none of the on course food options were open when I initially started but otherwise it was a fun tough course.

For $100 a pop, I would have expected better green conditions. Fairly chewed up.

You can play at Bloomingdale for cheaper and it has better course conditions. Only way I play here is for less than $50, not worth it otherwise.

Awesome course setup. Every hole is expertly crafted and maintained, and seems unique compared to the other holes. Very fun and strongly recommend.

Great layout and in great shape. The pro shop personnel are top notch despite a below average range. Typically I do not play on and support facilities that are municipal owned courses. Better places like Cantigny, Mistwood, Saint Andrew’s and Dubsdread don’t require taxpayer subsidies to run their operations., yet they have top notch courses and practice facilities. I like supporting the Capitalists behind these types of open to the public golf courses. The Dupage Forest Preserve taxing entity took over a failed private facility and spent tons of taxpayer money to enhance the course and build a beautiful new restaurant/bar/clubhouse that bureaucrats benefit the most from with discounts. If you like that type of Socialism, have at it.

Last issue is that at the turn there is a backup and the ranger told us we would have to turn in our cart at dusk even if we are on 16/17. They did not tell us that when we paid our $70 (twilight). Having a couple workers work after dark when we finish the round should not be an issue.

Anyways, I commend the greens keepers and pro shop staff who are top notch and are paid as municipal workers thanks to the taxpayers of Dupage County.

Maple Meadows is another Dupage Forest Preserve Course righ across the street. Also good people and layout, a bit cheaper as less premier but better to play Saint Andrew’s or Cantigny for the dough and to support Capitalism!

Just played this course and conditions were not even close to par for the cost to play. Most of the fairways were good and the bunkers were excellent, but the condition around the greens and many tees was poor. The fringes around many greens were burned out with crusty dead grass. Some of the greens even had some burned out areas and some of the tees were also hacked up and in bad shape.
It is sad to see the great job that was done with the recent renovation wasting away in important maintenance areas of the course. Unacceptable conditions for a higher-end golf course.

It's a great layout. Course was in marginal condition. There were many bare spots around the greens.. May of the greens also had dirt rather than grass near the edges. Many of the tees were pretty chewed. Following golf, the service in the clubhouse was terrible The bartenders are pretty clueless. This was also the case the last time we played there. Had one cocktail and left. It's a shame as the layout is one of the best in the area, but it certainly is being maintained or operated like a high end facility.

The Preserve at Oak Meadows is one of my favorites in the Chicago area. Beautiful layout, well maintained and challenging. It is more expensive than most courses in the area, no doubt. But if you are looking for an exceptional golf experience, I recommend Oak Meadows.

I've played 30 plus rounds in 2022 so far. This was the most I've paid for a round in 2022 by $25!!. Conditions at The Preserve have deteriorated to the point where I cannot recommend it for play...because of the premium rates they charge. And they get an extreme amount of play because of the "cachet" that this is supposed to be a "Best courses you can play" destination. The amount of play has contributed greatly to the continuing decline of OM.

In a previous review of this place I got some grief for offering an honest review of the now newer clubhouse. It's still ridiculous - you still find yourself waiting almost 20 minutes at the turn while the two groups in front of you trudge up and down 2 flights of stairs to get food/beverages. I discovered they do have a tiny locker room off the pro shop....and one shower stall (just one??). More rocket science & poorly thought out....DuPage Forest Preserve had a tremendous opportunity to build a top notch clubhouse/restaurant & failed miserably. Outside looks neat....and at least there are bathrooms & water downstairs while you wait and wait to start your back nine. Pace of play was very good otherwise.

Checking in I chuckled when the guy asked me if I wanted range balls. My question back to him - aren't they included in this exorbitant green fee I'm being charged? Of course they aren't included. Starter, cart barn and halfway house folks were very nice - note if you want any decent canned orange whip get it at the halfway house (after 4th and 13th) because you likely will not have those same selections at the turn - that makes sense right?.

Full range and practice facility. The practice putting green at the 1st tee is pretty worthless and not really like the design of any green on the golf course. They built a huge putting green when the redesigned the course....but that was blown up when they finally built the clubhouse - but why save that?

The carts have very good gps systems except they doorbell ding seemingly randomly - interrupting to remind you of items that they put up on the screen - it becomes a nuisance and feels like you are being treated like a two year old as the round progresses.

The course conditions -
Overall - hard as rock - hard and fast even with large rains in the area a week or two ago. One or two clubs less for run ups is prudent.
Traps - a notch above most places with good sand but observed several with no attempt to rake after being in them.
Tee boxes - as I predicted when this place was renovated the pads were too small for the amount of play. Half of the 2nd tee box we played was dirt - and many others were completely torn up with old divots.
Fairways - tight lies & divot laced in areas...increases the likelihood that one or two drives in your foursome will end up in an unfilled one. There's mix on the cart to fill divots in but most don't use it.
Rough - a good length but really sketchy in areas...hard pan areas with no grass as well.
Green Fringes - several were bare or very sparse & highly stressed out. Front apron on 5th green especially bad. Some Black layer has also developed - oxygen levels in the soil dropped because of saturated soil conditions/over watering and is especially prevalent (and growing larger) in run off areas.
Greens - acceptable however showing signs of stress as well.....and can be bumpy with imperfections, old ball markets and many not repaired correctly. The 16th green is especially bad with new and old ball marks all over the place.
Paying top dollar our foursome expected and anticipate far better conditions. I love the routing and design it's fun but for my golf dollar there are scads of other courses for 1/2 the price that are just as good and have better course conditions.