Oak Grove Golf Course

I've played Oak Grove 3-4 times now, and I would say this course is certainly a diamond in the ruff. Not much in the way of traffic any of the times I've played.

Course: Layout is great. Ive played 3 different tee sets and each set presents its own unique challenges. Course is maintained pretty well. Greens are in great condition - pretty quick, but very smooth and true. Bunkers could be improved - small layer of sand then hard pan below and decent amount of rocks.

Off course Amenities: if your looking for a good lunch or to have a few drinks afterwords in the clubhouse, this isn't the place to go. They have an alright selection of beer but their mixed drinks are just basics. Food is hot dogs, brat and breaded chicken sandwiches. Oh and if you looking for a drink on the course don't expect to see a beverage cart. Hasn't been on out anytime I've been there including one time there was an outing and the course was packed behind us.

Place is generally understaffed. And if there's a second person there it seems it's always someone new who's being trained. The pro was rude at times to other patrons - he was more concerned with serving people drinks then serving people who were there to pay. After a round I stopped for a beer and at one point saw a group waiting for 15 minutes to pay for their round, and when they told the pro they were still waiting and their tee time was in 5 minutes he replied "I don't care we're busy, understaffed and I have people waiting for drinks. Your just going to have to wait.

Overall I think for $70 a round things could be slightly better, but above average.

Great course in a excellent shape.

Course was in good shape even though it rained all morning.

I enjoy the course as it has a variety of challenges

Played this course many times it is a hidden gem not a lot of play due to the location club house is fantastic greens are great.

Beautiful fairways and greens. No houses, all big oak tree nature at it's best. The greens felt soft under foot, but we're fast and very tricky. Pace of play was great. All around wonderful afternoon

Don't understand the high ratings from others. Average course, but could be so much better. Greens are slow and rough -- seemed to be soft, so must be getting enough water that they could be cut shorter/better. Sand traps are TERRIBLE -- obviously had been watered and then left to sit -- hard as concrete, and lots of rocks. Good strategic location of the traps -- but if you're not going to invest in manpower to keep them in good playing condition, take out the sand and leave grass bunkers as a hazard.

Nice enough layout, but course condition is rather mediocre. Quite a few blind shots, which could use better directional marking -- perhaps striped posts for 150-yd markers.

Fairways and greens were in excellent condition. The sand traps might have been the worst that I have seen, with very shallow sand and with pea sized pebbles common.

Very nice course. Great condition. Nice layout. The only hole I did not like was number 11, but it was the most unique I have seen.

This is a nature lovers course in the heart of a scenic area. You feel miles away from any sign of man. Love it!

Nice day at Oak Grove....always enjoy playing this place. It's worth the drive as pace of play is usually good and it's quiet/peaceful. Greens were rolling quick and in decent shape and fairways were bounding.....traps while maintained are basically a thin layer of dirt which is really the only drawback. It's a track that keeps your interest and has a lot of challenge. 4.25 stars.....they lose 1/2 due to the sand traps......greens are almost perfect but 1/4 star loss as they are getting a little chewed up.

This is a great scenic course away from any houses. You feel completely alone with nature. Different from any course I have played. There are a variety of holes and hazards. Good course for average to competitive golfer. Great price from Golf NOW

This course is amazing, fun, challenging and all about your tee shot. An accurate tee shot is how you'll avoid all the penalty strokes I incurred during my round. The greens aren't very fast buy they roll nicely. Worth the drive.

I have always enjoyed Oak Grove and have played it many times over the years. It is a fabulous layout (except #11, which you may read about elsewhere), with great greens, fabulous scenery and very interesting topography. I have noticed that it wasn't in as good as shape the last time I played it. That may be because it was still early in the season, but I suspect they are running this place on a tight budget (evidenced by the "pro" that took my money, got my coffee and was pulling carts out). The sad in the bunker needs upgrading and the overall conditioning of the course needs to improve. That being said, they have tons of specials online and it is always a good deal for such a wonderful layout. For those that say it is too far out, I agree it is a bit of a drive, but think of it as close to Lake Geneva instead of far from Chicago.

I had heard many times over the years that this course was one of the best in be state so I had high expectations going in. While I was impressed the the country setting club house and its surroundings, I felt it didn't quite meet my lofty thoughts going in. I loved the scenery and the change of elevation from hole to hole. The weirdness to me was one hole had the white tee box at a lower elevation than the yellow/red t box and therefore it's all you could see when teeing off. Absolutely blind shot and if you had a low shot, I can see how one could actually hit the t box in front of them. Another hole the tee box was the smallest I've seen, probably around 10ft x 8 ft area.

Some of its shortcomings for me is no GPS. For a nice course, is think they'd have one available. Also the carts were so standard, they didn't even offer windshields to use or put down to enjoy the wind. This was an issue considering it rain considerably hard in our faces. Now that I know to expect, I probably will go back without the thought it is an Chicago area top course. Very nice and challenging but no where a top track for me but worth the money for sure.

Good luck!

The course is in great condition. The greens were a little slower than in year's past. The only drawback is the course is in Harvard, not very close to the the North or Northwest suburbs...

The weather was overcast and muggy. The skies opened and poored for 45 minutes. The course became saturated and I couldn't believe how well water drained and allowed us to continue.
The layout is serene and well manicured. Greens were fast and rolled true even with the rain. The course is not gimmicky with unnecessary blind shots, bunker placement or trees placed in the fairway.
I wish I would have placed OG years ago. I will be back and recommending this track. The greens fees are a little too steep for its location. If you book on golf now or sign up for the newsletter you can get a better deal.

Another pleasant outing at Oak Grove. A tad above 4 stars this time. The tee boxes were aerated but the greens were in very good shape. Range was off the mats, pace of play was okay and the fairways were in great shape as well. The sand traps have needed some TLC for a long time now. Some difficult flag positions however it did appear that some holes the pin positions had not been moved for several days. This is great track with a good variety of holes and will always challenge your game. Always look forward to getting out to Oak Grove, just a shame it's out in the middle of nowhere.

Love this course layout. Every hole is separated by natural scenery and you feel as if you're the only one out there. Course has fast greens and a few dog legs which are challenging but it doesn't have any water holes. Only draw back is that play is very slow at this course since they don;t staff a Ranger!

Beautiful course - but far too slow. Waited 5 to 10 minutes on each hole. Waited 20 mintues on one hole. Finally quit after the 14th hole.