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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
Course Review 1st time played
The greens and fairways were in good shape. But the rough was a challenge, ground was hard like concrete.
Tough course, fun
Tough curse but really fun Love this course, especially the back nine! Lot of water and hazards.
Nice course - challenging
Hot day. 7:30 start time...pace of play was too slow for that time of day on a monday.
course was in great shape. greens were running. mostly target golf. I should have left the driver in the trunk.
Play it . you wont be sorry.
Challenging, bring the wood off the tee
Challenging course design with lots of hazards and water, not as driver, friendly as other courses. Lots and lots of T-shirts that may not work on, especially if you can’t keep them straight consistently. Greens were Challenging to read, the day we played was very hot and on the back nine lots of the turf became hard pan. Piece of play was slow on a Weekend, would definitely try during the week next time
Solid course
Bittersweet is very underrated if looking for a good test. T shots are pretty demanding but I feel there is enough room. Greens were excellent, fairways in nice tight shape. Always enjoy Bittersweet because you have to every shot with a purpose
Wrong 9!!!
they sent us off back 9 and when we got to front they said they made a mistake.and we'd have to wait to follow all the people they were starting on the front. We weren't going to wait a half hour for a very slow 9.
Challenging course
Very challenging course, in particular if you struggle off the tee. Lots of teeshots that need to carry large obstacles such as water and tall grass areas. It was a super hot day so on the back 9, the course became hardpan in many areas, so come prepared for that if the weather is hot. Quite a few narrow fairways with trees as well. Great challenge, would definitely come again. Weekend round, pace of play was slow. Will probably try during the week next time.
One guy almost ruined a great experience.
Service from Young lady at the Bar - Excellent
Service from Young lady at the Pro Shop - Excellent
Course Conditions, Excellent considering all the rain from the night before.
Pace of Play - Slow, no ranger to keep groups from taking multiple balls off the tee.
Biggest issue - One of the young staff members of the golf course and his friends decided that it was a good idea to hit balls into my group on hole #8. All groups were backed up for several holes before that, so they had to know we were there, but decided that they were going to hit anyway. I know there will be no repercussions for this type of behavior because it was a staff member who also plays for the local high school team. In fact when they see this review they will laugh about it and wish they would have actually hit one of us. The reason I can say that is on the next tee I could actually hear one of them say it as the green from #8 and the tee on #9 are only separated by a tree line and you can hear the conversations through the trees. In conclusion, the course is great and the staff at the clubhouse is great, but keep in mind that at the end of the day the younger staff are allowed to play on the course and they will have no hesitation to hit you with a golfball.
Excellent Challege
For sure the course name tells you what you're in for when you play here. Everything was fantastic (except the weather) but the course is punitive for sure.
Several holes with OB on both sides make for a long day if you're not hitting it straight. I average 1 penalty per round and I had 5 penalties during my round.
Otherwise, course in good shape and the staff was friendly, especially the starter.
Review
Tough track already, 3 wood course for sure. Greens are like glass! Best I've seen in a long time!
Good but frustrating
If you are a high handicaper or can’t hit the driver very far be prepared to lose a lot of balls. A lot of holes start with hitting over something either water or tall grass and fairways can be tight. If your a low handicap this is a good course where you can use a lot of your bag with a couple holes that would need an iron of the tee. Overall a pretty good course, definitely more of a weekday course worth the money.
Always fun to play!
Holiday weekend and the play was so slow.
8:40 tee time and it took 4:40 to play.
Don't let that stop you from playing on any day of the week. Then often less than 4 hours.
Live in EG and it's worth the ride!!!
Destination Kohler - Champions' Trail Golf Package
Destination Kohler - To Dye Four Golf Package
