The Preserve at Oak Meadows

The golf course was in great shape. It was a convenient location for our foursome. The staff was very welcoming, and we will definitely be back in the near future.

Greens were sanded just prior to our morning play on 10/9. Putting conditions were completely ridiculous - your golf ball picked up so much sand impossible to judge speed/roll out or anything!...caked on so hard you couldn't even get your ball clean. 17th green was so full of leaves we had to call a two putt leaf rule. They should not have been charging their "full" rate. Won't go back until next season (maybe). Cost for what you get is ridiculous. Still no groundbreaking on a new clubhouse...extremely high beverage prices. Despite the "flood control" with the redesign this place is always still a complete swamp as well - make sure it's not cart path only because if it is count on a 5.5 hour round and it's usually 5 hour round if not. Very slow deliberate golfers play here. Fairways are still patchy/hit and miss...and I'll just echo other reviewers comments below. It's a nice course to play however yesterday really really soured my overall opinion of it going forward.

For the money please go across the street at Maple Meadows instead of forking out 50$ for a 5 hr round , horrendous greens, obnoxious guests...and wait for it...sunbathers on the 18th hole who just sprung a towel in the sand bunker and we're getting their tan on....after the round we went to tell the starter and his answers was.....wait for it..." Well it's a forest preserve so they are entitled to sit there"....

Whaaa?! Huh?! Then I said ...fine, on the weekend I'll bring my portable bque and a couple of others sausages and set up camp in the middle of the fairway next to the sunbathers... Done!

The renovation of the old Oak Meadows and Maple Meadows East 9 was very well done but could still use some improvement. The course layout was excellent--the first hole is similar to the old Oak Meadows first. The next few are variations of the Maple Meadows East 9. Then back to the Oak Meadows with some pretty significant changes. The overall look is fantastic with brush and sloughs throughout the course.

I have two complaints:

1. I've played this course twice this summer and both times it was "cart path only." The old course flooded a lot and this new one remains very "soggy" after any sort of rain. As such, hitting irons off the fairway requires a very precise strike, not unlike hitting out of fairway bunkers--too penal for a shot in the middle of the fairway. The carts are equipped with GPS but this is useless because most holes have one path (instead of one on either side of the fairway). To make matters worse, there are no 200, 150, 100 yard stakes so if you don't have your own rangefinder or GPS watch, it is impossible to know relevant distances.. Not a lot of sprinkler heads with yardages either. EASY FIX. At minimum, add yardage stakes to improve pace of play when it is "cart-path only." Overall, I would avoid this course after any rain--it remains a flood plain.

2. When I played today, the greens had been sanded--like really, really sanded--like putting out of wet sand-traps sanded. Really annoying. This was not noted on website; most better courses offer reduced rates when this is done--TPAOM did not--disappointing.

SUMMARY: Very nice renovation. Two suggestions: place yard maker stakes when it is cart-path only (which seems to be often in my experience), offer reduced rates when greens are sanded (or use less sand)

I have had the pleasure of playing The Preserve at Oak Meadow now in multiple stages of growth: During its preview season, the fairways were thin and patchy, stitched together with seams healing, drainage improvements, and general ground under repair at every turn; the rough around the cart paths and greens were equally thin if not bare and overall struggling; the hazards were littered with signs of course construction.

Now fast forward to more than 1 year later and I'm seeing a course well on its way to rising to the level of expectations that many have been looking forward to.

Fairways have now thickened and firmed up to a beautiful and continuous green with excellent consistency in play...perhaps a little too thick for my preference on this day, especially nearing the greens (in the past the fairway nearing the green perfectly puttable and I found this to be a rare treat for Midwest public golf)...That said, this may have been a pace of play decision, as i noticed in the course's infancy, balls catching the front of some greens would simply would run back down to the flat or the rough and I fully expect that the average golfer does not excel at mid-range pitching from 20 yards off the green and with the green surface 3, 5, 10, or more feet above where their ball rests. This was a Thursday however and the crew appeared to be focusing on the rough so maybe I just caught this area of the fairway just before they were ready to give it a nice trim? I'm overthinking it of course and the bottom line is that this did nothing to make this round any less enjoyable.

Overall, 1 year later, everything here looks, feels, and plays better than before from tee to green. The rough is thickening nicely throughout the course with one exception — The areas around the cart path. This is not the courses fault, but the fault of the players who seem to have no care or concern in regard to how to keep their cart wheels on the path. I don't know what the mentality is for running just off the right edge but I see guys do this over and over again even though its obvious that this destroys the grass at the edge and makes it not just difficult, but absolutely impossible to recover.

This is why so many courses have installed ropes, large curbs, or some even railroad ties in the areas approaching the green, because they know golfers can't help themselves in avoiding this destructive driving maneuver. It's sad and that's it for this review's rant. :)

Other positives: All signs of construction in the hazards are gone. The hazards are healthy and thick and teeming with wildlife. The golf carts now have a quality sand/seed mix which was desperately needed and better yet, there are signs of people actually using them.

On a side note: tor those who complain about the pace of play...ahem... I sense another rant...or rather a suggestion coming... Imagine the course is full and there are no serious gaps in pace of play, but the course plays difficult for many. This slows play. I see this at many golf courses with slopes above 130. You can decide to let this bother you to no end.... or maybe you can turn this obstacle into an opportunity. I feel better using some of that spare time filling in a divot or two or many more on the tee box or the fairway. Everyone appreciates it and you can feel good about leaving the course in even better shape than you found it. Once that's done, you may still be able to calculate your next shot the way every Pro Golfer gets to on every and I mean EVERY - SINGLE - SHOT. In golf, time is a luxury. Realize how important that is. Time to assess, confer, calculate, visualize and practice swing that shot you are about to execute? That's gold, and a key factor in what separates hopeless hacks from those who hope to — and will— improve.

I'm off track here so back to the course. A little over one year in and staff is as excellent as ever. Signs of work were apparent everywhere on and off the course. It appears they are building a halfway house on the west end of the course at a great location that seems to be reachable from the front or back nine. I hear a new clubhouse is in the works and that's great. It's progress, and I like it.

I'm holding on to that fifth star in my review for the day I return and the course is absolutely on point with all of the proposed amenities in place and. To date, The Preserve is really great and I look forward to playing again and again for many years to come!

We had a great round but the pace of play was very poor, although this could be due to the weather conditions. The staff was excellent and offered 9 hole vouchers and warned us on 10th green that we could wait out the weather and that the play in front of us was slow. I would definitely try this course again.

The course was in great condition and was very challenging, but our round took 5.5 hours on a Saturday morning. We had an 8am tee time, but were unable to tee off on the second hole until 8:30 due to the 2 groups in front of us. This set the tone for the rest of the day as we consistently waited for them on every hole. We did not see a ranger all day either.

Hats off to Dupage county. Preserve at Oak Meadows is a fantastic course. I have played it twice this year and it keeps getting better.

The sand traps are the best in Dupage and cook county. Where cook county courses are getting worse, Dupage County is doing everything right.

This course is challenging and has many different tee box options. Thanks for the Combo option. Love it, and perfect length.

i look forward to playing this track again.!

The Preserve at Oak Meadows is a gem of a course in a perfect location. The renovation should go down as one of the best projects ever in the golf business. With all of the rain we got over the weekend the old Oak Meadows would have been closed. The greens were in great shape but clearly not as fast as they would usually be due to the rain and hot temps. Our group will definitely be back and if you haven't played there then you should give it a shot too.

I had high hopes for this course, but was very disappointed. At $65 dollars with a cart, I wasn't expecting the conditions of a private club, but the greens were horrible. Way worse that Columbus Park in Austin, which cost $14. They were some of the slowest greens I've ever played on. And, it wasn't weather- it was 85 degrees and hadn't rained much in a few days. You could also tell that they didn't move the pin position enough. The greens were in awful shape around the pin, but then there were parts of the green that looked good. I don't like to blame missing putts on the course, but there is no doubt I added 6 strokes to my score because of dozens of ball marks on every hole, along with greens that were worn down to the dirt. Very disappointing.

But, conditions can always be improved. My bigger problem was that I hated the course layout. There were a few nice holes, but I felt like there was no thought into the design. Some holes were hard for no reason, or had a hazard in a random approach. I know architects say that they start at the pin and work backwards, but this was more like start with the overall layout and then just drop random hazards around. Maybe it's personal preference, but I absolutely hated this course. At $65 I was disappointed, but I wouldn't play the course for free. There are too many nice courses around to spend any time here.

After hearing great things about the course finally

played it today. Nice layout but poorly maintained.

On the first green looked like they hadn’t changed the hole location in a while, pitch marks all around the pin. There’s no concept of secondary rough here, its fairway or buried lie. The sand in the traps is extremely soft. The greens have to maintained better. They will lose clientele if they don’t maintain it better.

Our group had a great time on the new layout. We played a month ago, and the course looks like it has made a lot of progress since the last time we were out. Greens were in nice shape and the course was really scenic. Fun place to play in a great location for all of us to meet up.

I'm a skilled golfer. I will be coming back here to keep my game sharp. I know golf and the industry very well.

Tees - Fantastic. Nicely squared off and aligned, and maintained very well. They make you feel as though you are at a private country club.

Fairways - These are laid out fantastically. I will not deny that the conditions are average at best, but it is clear that once the growing pains of an INFANT course are overcome, they will be good.

Greens - This is the strongest part of this course. The rolls are true and the speed is right on. They felt as though they were stimping around a 10, which is a great speed.

Rough - Lengths can sometimes be inconsistent, but then again, the rough is a punishment. You are not meant to play the ball from the rough. It is never overly punishing, but do not expect easy pars from the rough.

Overall layout - The layout is just fantastic. You will be forced to use many different clubs, which is all you can truly ask for. There is an excellent modern design with a nice nod to the history that surrounds this place.

Give this course another month/two months. The course will be great.

After all the hype about the re-do and improved drainage design, it was disappointing to find numerous ground under repair patches on the fairways, which also had numerous bare patches elsewhere. Greens were in pretty good shape and rolls were consistent and true. practice traps have regular sand while course traps had silica sand topping? We played the course during last fall's preview opening and had hoped that it would be better this summer. Maybe next season???

This course was re-designed with much fanfare and sold as a premium public layout. The layout is quite challenging and looks nice but the conditions are anything but first rate. The fairways were over watered, and where there was grass, it was way too long. I have no plans on returning anytime soon to this overpriced poorly conditioned course. The bunkers were nice but fairways, tees and greens were awful. The superintendent should be replaced. The excuse given was that a wet cold spring followed by hot dry stretch stressed the grass. I'm not buying that excuse as it hasn't affected other courses in the area.

I love the redesign. After playing the old Oak Meadows multiple times, I can say that this golf course has improved drastically. The layout is fantastic, especially the back nine with a wide variety of holes. Course conditions are good, not great but as this course continues to mature it will be one of the best public courses in the area. The bunkers are a huge improvement. The additions to the driving range make this course an ideal spot to practice as well. I'm sure along with many people, it would be nice to have a clubhouse but overall great experience