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Bittersweet Golf Club
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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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Golf Advisor: Top Courses in Illinois (2016 #12)
Reviews
Reviewer Photos
Interesting layout, good for the right price
Over all the course is an interesting layout with pretty good condition when it comes to tea boxes Fairways and greens. Nothing particularly super special outside the course layout and for the right price I would come back. Not sure that I would pay the regular price of 70 plus dollars but for the $50 Mark it's a great course
Good Test
Bittersweet is a demanding course off the tees as keeping the ball in play is critical. Approach shots on many holes allow for run ups to greens if can’t get height and distance. Greens were excellent , ball rolled true and greens were quick. I think Bittersweet is a solid test of all skills and decent value for a N On L course
I don’t understand why the walking rate and rate with cart are the same, I was told by a member of staff that it was something to do with pace of play, I don’t quite understand stand the logic there. Usually courses have a different walking rate but I like this course so I would play again
Solid Deal for $55 but wouldn't pay $77
Overall this course has a solid layout with every whole being unique. Some holes are shorter than average. Greens were solid but not very fast. Tee boxes and Fairways were average. I think it's a great option for the $50 range but getting close to 80 is pretty outrageous in my opinion for this course.
The Sweet is still a little bitter
Staff are amazing, new range balls 👍, the layout still one of my faves. Now if the conditions were a bit better it would all be SWEET!
First Round of 2025
Considering it’s early April the course was in good condition. A little water on a couple fairways and a few greens were a little hard and bumpy. Other than that, it was pretty good.
Overall the course was in good condition. However, the greens were extremely fast and difficult to read. Pace of play was a little slow.
Slow round
Overall the course was in good condition except for the fairway on hole one. There was lots of water on it and a few greens had fallen leaves on them. The pace was too slow. It took us 4 hours and 45 minutes to play 18 holes.
My favorite local course.
Excellent from start to finish. Challenging layout and pin placement. The only negative was an extremely slow foursome ahead of us a few groups that slowed the back nine to a crawl.
Beautiful course
Loved playing a round of golf here at this beautiful course. It was challenging and forgiving and inspiring. Would definitely play here again.
Good time
We got paired up with a fun group. The course was in good shape and the range and practice area was nice.
Jeff
Course layout was good except the areas around the greens. Most greens were elevated and the slopes around them were so severe that many times shots that hit side of greens would go out of bounds. Course was in great shape from tee to green
Destination Kohler - Champions' Trail Golf Package
Destination Kohler - To Dye Four Golf Package
