Bittersweet Golf Club
About
Bittersweet Golf Club in Gurnee, Ill. is ideally situated for a scenic round of golf. The diverse landscape flows seamlessly from lush wetlands to native prairies covered with colorful wildflowers. The layout also winds across a 100-year-old sage meadow and through forests of mature hardwoods, which serve as a home to an abundance of wildlife. Beyond the beautiful scenery, the terrain presents many challenges. The undulating fairways demand accuracy as you hit from multi-tiered tee boxes. Water also comes into play on almost every hole and there's an array of strategically placed bunkers you'll have to avoid. The eighth is the toughest hole on the front nine, a par-4 dogleg right with a lightning fast green. Bittersweet Golf Club's back nine is known for its scenery, which is best displayed on the signature par-5 11th hole, which offers not only a challenge but also a spectacular view from the tee.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 72 | 6751 yards | 73.3 | 135 |
| Blue | 72 | 6345 yards | 71.4 | 131 |
| White | 72 | 5559 yards | 67.8 | 122 |
| White (W) | 72 | 5559 yards | 72.8 | 128 |
| Red (W) | 72 | 4952 yards | 70.0 | 121 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold M: 73.3/137 W: 79.5/143 | 338 | 565 | 196 | 344 | 371 | 148 | 346 | 422 | 516 | 3246 | 369 | 546 | 403 | 200 | 506 | 420 | 421 | 203 | 437 | 3505 | 6751 |
| Green M: 71.4/133 W: 77.3/138 | 319 | 531 | 169 | 334 | 361 | 126 | 326 | 404 | 485 | 3055 | 340 | 530 | 363 | 183 | 496 | 376 | 409 | 190 | 403 | 3290 | 6345 |
| Green/White M: 69.7/126 W: 75.1/133 | 319 | 531 | 127 | 334 | 234 | 126 | 326 | 328 | 485 | 2810 | 340 | 507 | 363 | 145 | 496 | 376 | 360 | 133 | 403 | 3123 | 5933 |
| White M: 68.0/120 W: 73.0/129 | 298 | 490 | 127 | 323 | 234 | 106 | 309 | 328 | 410 | 2625 | 329 | 507 | 319 | 145 | 445 | 341 | 360 | 133 | 355 | 2934 | 5559 |
| Orange M: 65.2/113 W: 69.8/122 | 283 | 469 | 93 | 279 | 234 | 76 | 288 | 323 | 402 | 2447 | 241 | 424 | 289 | 115 | 371 | 290 | 327 | 126 | 322 | 2505 | 4952 |
| Handicap | 17 | 1 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 13 | 15 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 2 | 18 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 4 | |||
| Par | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 36 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
| Handicap (W) | 9 | 1 | 17 | 7 | 13 | 15 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 2 | 12 | 18 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 4 |
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Course Details
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Golf Advisor: Top Courses in Illinois (2016 #12)
Reviews
Solid course
Played here for the first time this morning. I was the first person out so pace of play was no issue. Started at 5:55am, was in the car headed to work at 8:05am w/o rushing through holes. Course is routed well through forest/ wetland area. Feels like a $70 course, costs half the price. Awesome.
My impression after my first round is its a shot makers course. Distance off the tee really is not paramount, but if your comfortable with your long game, you can turn many holes into pitch and putts. It's the classic risk/reward scenario. There's a lot of hazards on this course, but because most holes are short, the need to be aggressive off the tee just isn't there. Conservative still gives you a short iron into most greens. Greens have nice shape to them. Some undulation, but nothing crazy. Not extremely fast. A bit bumpy at times. If they could get these greens rolling a bit faster and more true, I would be a big fan of them. Later in the summer hopefully!
My one suggestion: If you hit the ball only one way (aka fade or draw), there are holes that will demand you play very conservatively off the tee. Play within these holes, wait for the ones that set up well for you to get aggressive. The course is shorter and the greens aren't terribly difficult. Pushing it on the wrong holes is how big numbers are made here.
Slow
Course was in great condition, weather was perfect. Had a 8:06 tee time as we were hoping to get a jump on the dawdlers but, both, the group (3) we were behind the front 9 and a different group (4) on the back 9 really slowed things down for us (3). Why must duffers practice swing EVERY swing 4 times before hitting it 60% as far as most other golfers???
Great layout
Challenging course with plenty of teeing options for players of all abilities to enjoy.
Very nice course
Very nice course. Played a few tines. Staff is very friendly.
sung
Good location & rate .
Nice course layout.
My wife & her friends like the this course.
Great Course
I had heard how challenging this course was. I decided to go play it anyway. It looked like it was going to rain and that kept the crowds down. I got out there and it was a very fun, challenging course. I scored pretty well for me and was happy. The fairways were very nice and the greens were pretty fast. I would play here again in a heart beat. There is water on 16 of the holes or something like that. The only issue I had, which was taken care of very well, was that we teed off at 9:36 and were told at 12:40 that we had to be off the course at 1:00. There was a high school tournament that was an 18 hole shotgun start. I wish they would have told us this as we were checking in, but again we were given a rain check for 9 holes. The customer service alone would bring me back to this course.
Challenging
Impressive layout with a variety of shot making challenges. White tees shorten course significantly, and condition of some white tee boxes is poor. From blues or blacks this course will require discipline and skill. Ranks with the best in the area.
very nice course
We loved this course. It has rolling contours, challenging greens, lots of water and high rough making accuracy important. The tee choices are good with the four tee sites quite different for each hole. After playing the nice but relatively flat courses in the area, this one was a treat. We will be back.
Nice day in Gurnee
Course was challenging and in beautiful condition. Greens were smooth and ball rolled nicely.
Wished play front 9 first
We were arranged to play back 9 first which turned out to be much more challenging than the front 9. After having my worst 9 holes record after back 9, played the front 9 like a pro and had my best 9 holes record. What a up and down day! A very challenging course to play.
Consistently good course
This course is definitely challenging in spots, however, after playing it many times, it's an enjoyable course. The course maintenance is consistently good and it dries fast after hard rains. The staff is very friendly and the clientele is too.
Great Course, Great Value (If You Don't Count the Cost of Lost Balls!)
Bittersweet is a great course that's in great condition. And whether I've been paired up with other golfers on the first tee, they've been great guys. Just be sure to bring plenty of golf balls!
Bittersweet is bittersweet
The course is well kept and the greens are fast. Every hole is a challenge and can make you feel like you need to get a few lessons. But the course is well laid out and very pretty. It has matured well. We will play it again for sure.
Bittersweet is sweet
A fun interesting golf course with lots of water hazards, dog legs and very tight/wooded in some places. We had a nice day (two deer and a very fast turtle were on the eighth hole visiting) and the course conditions were very good....greens were most speedy and overall the course was playing pretty hard/fast. A quality 4 to 4.25 star experience as it was last year when we played it. Recommend the course but you do need to play it a few times to get some good tee shot aiming points.......pay close attention to the flag positions as many of the greens are very large.
Course Review
It was fun and somewhat challenging courses.
BSweet
good course, plays fair but challenging - only a few holes where "local knowledge" is a distinct advantage.
Good course
The course was in great shape. Tee boxes and greens were great for the end of the season. Pace of play was poor. The round started at a good pace but then hit a lot of slow foursomes that would not let you get around them. No Rangers on the course to help speed them up.
I could recommend this course to my friends.
Because of excellent weather the course was busy with some waiting at times, other than that the course was relatively well maintained and the staff members were friendly. I could recommend this course to any of my friends.
Richard N
I play this all the time. Great Staff, great food, course is always in super shape. Each time I play there I seem to find it a challenge.
Everyone needs to play it once. You will want to come back.
Richard