Starboard at Harborside International Golf Center

This was a nice course that was in very good condition. The course was a bit wet but I think that’s standard because it’s next to the lake. The course design was pretty good, the holes along the lake are what sell it though. The rest of the holes not along the lake are still nice enough but not anything novel or surprising. Overall this was an enjoyable round but the value just doesn’t add up, it shouldn’t cost $80 to $120+ to play a round on this course (if you can be conservative and hit the ball straight, it minimizes the difficulty quickly). I would recommend the course but I wouldn’t spend the money unless I got some form of discount.

I should have looked at reviews before booking. Once immaculate course is now a disaster. Rough unplayable. They had even mowed the front 9 recently as grass clippings were everywhere. Greens beat up. Birds have overtaken 18th green. It’s still aesthetically beautiful, but what a shame that this course is a mere shell of what it used to be. Won’t be back anytime soon.

This once impeccably kept course is a total disaster. It’s still aesthetically pleasing, but everything else was below park district level as far as upkeep. Greens were beat up. The front 9 rough was so deep it was unplayable. It had actually been mowed as there were grass clippings everywhere. So disappointing. Add in about 75 geese on the 18th green and I won’t be back anytime soon. Too many quality places to play in Chicago area to waste your time here. Hopefully they get their act together. What an absolute shame. Used to be a wonderful yet difficult course. Now it’s completely crossed off my list.

Management company has spent the minimum to maintain this once nice facility. Fairways were like rough and and rough was 6inches long. Cart paths are a pot holey mess. Such a shame.

I’ll start by saying, I have played both courses at Harborside several times and for the most part have enjoyed those rounds.

However……

This last round we played the front 9 on Starboard looked like it hadn’t been mowed in a week or two. Chicago had a lot of rain the last two weeks but the rough was US Open length. Fairways were also in desperate need of a cut. For $140 for the round the expectations were much higher than what we got.

There were several times when a ball just off the fairway needed a search party because the rough was so thick. Greens need to be cut and rolled, it was like putting on shag carpet the entire round.

The icing on the cake was we waited on the group in front of us on every hole and clocked an early Sunday morning round in just under 5 hours. We were 30 minutes behind pace through the front and the issues of slow play continued on the back even after we stopped at the turn to let the group in front get some space between us.

This was the first time I played here. The roughs were brutal. If your ball goes into the rough, you will not find your ball. We spend a lot of time trying to find our balls. This was not an enjoyable experience. I recommend this course for great golfers but weekend hackers will not have a great experience.

If you don’t hit in the fairway….just drop you’ll never find the ball. Also the cart path is basically nonexistent. The only “terrible” hole was 18 because of all the bird poop like you might as well just skip 18.

Many of my golfing buddies and I really like the course layout: long, challenging, especially on windy days, but fun to play.

However, for the price, the course is poorly maintained. The recent practice of leaving all grass clippings along the fairways and around the greens makes for a very unpleasant experience: the clippings tend to hide balls underneath, causing long searches and poor pace of play. But even worse, they get into shoes, socks, and stick all over your legs on weaty days, creating an exceptionally uncomfortable playing experience. The superintendent/green-keeper here probably never plays the course (or golf for that matter), otherwise they wouldn’t have adopted such an idiotic practice.

Starboard course cart paths are in awful shape as well as some of the fairways. The green on 17 is full of goose droppings. 18 is also infested with geese. I can’t imagine what the Port course condition is in, if Starboard’s is what it was…

Cart paths need to be repaved. The fairways were mowed and left messy with cut grass. The 17th hole green on Starboard was covered in goose poop. The 18th was overrun by Canadian geese.