Flossmoor Country Club

The Good: Flossmoor Golf Club, often overlooked by its adjacent neighbor Olympia Fields, is an excellent southside suburban private club that dates to its inception in 1899, making it one of the oldest clubs in the Midwest. An extremely playable, fun Herbert Tweedie design in which 14 of the initial hole corridors remain over 120 years later, it was renovated extensively by Raymond Hearn in the mid 2000’s. Plays best when its firm and fast, Flossmoor is very inviting and fairly spacious off the tee, with appealing Hearn bunker design and strategically placed trees that are easy on the eyes. Strong Par-4 variety with holes varying from 320-465 yards & fun Par-3’s with good distance diversity. Demanding green complexes that are incredibly slick if you are above the hole, but fair enough to allow recovery. Extremely nice clubhouse area (although I only got a quick peak due to Covid-19 restrictions) & very accommodating staff.

The Bad: Practice facilities are a little lacking for a private club, with limited short game areas. The Par-5’s are good, particularly the 18th, but otherwise are fairly forgettable compared to the other holes. Pace of play, especially for a private club, was a little slow, clocking in at over 4 hours & 30 minutes.

The Verdict: Flossmoor is an excellent overall, “old school” golf experience with the width and playability of the best modern courses. While its not as heralded as some of the most elite clubs in the Chicagoland area, it is certainly worthy of high praise in comparison. GREAT course!

Best Hole: The long, dogleg Par-4 5th is a beautiful, tough golf hole. Enveloped off the tee by two large, gorgeous fairway bunkers and a few large, overhanging trees, the approach is incredibly challenging to one of the smaller greens you’ll see for a 450-yard Par-4.