Big Run Golf Club

Awesome course! My friend is a scratch golfer and he shot a 77. Hot dogs are good.

I usually play Big Run once a year because it is such a test of my game. The course hasn't changed in the past 20 or more years. It feels like you're stepping back in time. The cart paths on the course are so bumpy that you may need to see a doctor afterwards. The rough can get a bit dicey as well. I had no problem losing balls that seemed to get swallowed up by the weedy areas. Fairways are a must out there. Some greens are nearly unfair with the severe angles of them. It's a super challenging layout that would be great if they would put a few bucks into it.

This is my favourite course, trying to get some guys there in next 10 days

Overall rating , please see title for short review description. For more detail see below.

For the cost of the course, I expect a little higher amenities than I was given at this course. The course itself has an old timey feel to it which I enjoyed and a couple holes were gorgeous to step up to, but the rough it self was just unplayable and some of the sand traps didn't even have sand. I would expect this at a course that was cheaper , but not at a course like this. The speed of play was fine although the Marshall overseeing the pace of play was great at first , but constantly was down our throats to move faster which Ill talk about further down in my review later. The rough on this course was not cut and hitting a ball just a foot off the fairway took us quite a long time to find let alone hit due to how deep it was! We aren't talking way left or right of the fairway either. There was a few shots where we had to drop a ball that rolled off the fairway because we were unable to locate the ball. Had we not been searching for a ball not on the fairway as much, our pace of play would have been great. We were practically playing ready golf all 18 holes (mind you there was never a group behind us that waited on the tees for more than a few minutes). The topping on the cake for this course was the fact that since the place was under maintained, a groundscrew member really got on us for mis interpreting a sign on the grounds. The signs all over the place said "carts on path " & "carts on rough only" and on one particular hole we parked our carts on rough to look for a ball only to be yelled at for misreading a sign that said " carts on path" that was facing the opposite way we were driving. Our group followed the rules for the entire course and the way the groundscrew handled our situation by belittling us and treating us like a child was disrespectful and ultimately was the reason I am rating this course below 3 stars.

I have been golfing Big Run for almost 40 years as a regular on Sunday. The course is difficult, challenging and very rewarding when I play well. A great value for the green fee, though conditioning could be better. Greens have been slowed down, fairways could be improved and the rough cut down a little. The elevation change can be dramatic for flat Illinois, quite fun with many elevated greens. Sand traps galore and water hazards on half the holes make the 6,690 yard regular tees feel like playing 7,000 yards. Carts are 5 years old, and expensive at $23/player with a laser shooter that frequently does not work. An outdoor grill makes great burgers and brats, the bar is old-school and the restaurant is good for breakfast. All in all a wonderful golf course that I am happy to keep playing!

great course. ruff was kind of long, hard time finding golf balls. great price especially for us Seniors. cant wait to play again

The course is long, hilly and covered in trees, very beautiful. I normally like to walk but was advised against it here and for good reason. Very challenging set up, but still very fun. Wish they had a bev cart driving around on a busy sunday. The halfway house was great and the grillmaster had dogs ready at the turn and the toasted bun really lets you know he cares. Some tee boxes and greens had some rough spots that could use some love. Overall had a fun time at a beautiful course.

I hadn't played this course in 25 years bur still remembered the hill going up to the 18th green. They offer a senior weekday rate of $42 w/cart, which is a bargain for this course. I checked a few reviews online and they were pretty bad so I called the pro shop to check on course conditions. The course was being sold prior to Covid, but now off the market. They admitted that the maintenance was neglected, but assured me that the course was in great shape now. We were glad we gave it a chance and were impressed with the beauty and layout - lots of mature oaks, plenty of flower beds, lots of elevation changes, and smooth greens made it seem like a private country club. We played the Senior tees from 6,190 yards and you paid a penalty if you missed the fairway as the rough is lush. The greens were like carpet and lots of slope, but rather soft, so not extremely fast. They have an impressive practice green, but no driving range - only a 3 bay net with free shag balls and some beat up AstroTurf for warming up (the only negative). They had a grill going outside the clubhouse with brats and burgers, and the drinks were reasonable. It was a 5 hour round with a lot of time searching for balls in the rough and a 20 min stop at the turn to let a couple of twosomes play through. Only a couple of coolers of drinking water on the course, and we didn't see a cart girl, so bring some beverages with you. I wouldn't want to walk this course with the huge elevation changes, but it's definitely recommended if you want a stern test on a beautiful golf course.

The greens were like shag carpet. Way too slow. Ruined my great ball striking round by not being able to convert hardly any putts because of the bouncy mushy slow green speeds. Okay to make the ball stop but had to hammer everything to get it to the whole. Not coming back here again until they have greens not shag carpet.

No ranger around Course people taking there time on course

This course has tons of character in its layout. There are elevation changes, the right amount of holes with sand and water, killer rough, undulating greens, and the dreaded par 5 ninth hole! There are needed cosmetic updates though, , bridges need to be replaced, floral or landscaping around the tee boxes, and newer ball washers would spruce things up. The course, if renovated, could bump up its green fees and easily get $90-100 per round like others in the area, especially on weekends. All in all, this is a great course to test every part of your game!

Classic golf course, a true test, find out where your game stands on this course. The course was in great shape, rangefinders on the cart worked.

Had an amazing time at big run

Weather was perfect course was green am in great shape

Not only a challenging course but a beautiful layout too !

This course is challenging and some of the holes are long! That is what I love about this course, it goes up and down, not just flat some of the other big name local courses. I just started playing this course this year and have logged about 6 rounds. It is challenging but the course needs some attention to maintain its infrastructure. A few times I wondered if my cart would make it over the old wood bridge. Aside from that, I have no complaints and I would highly recommend this place. Cannot wait to come back and play it again and again and again! The staff is super friendly. Cannot comment on the restaurant as I did not use it.

Course infrastructure (bridges, retaining walls) is a bit run down. The course itself was in good shape. The layout is great with hills, elevated tees, and trees. GolfNow had the course for $40 which is reasonable. The walk-up rate is $63 which is too much for this course.

Great place and if I had the extra bucks I would but it and make it a real nice joint but it needs lots of Tlc.. it’s a big place so the room is there

8 and 9 fairways were worse than others

Overall very good experience

This was my first time playing at this course and I was almost rained out. Fortunately, I got out on the course and definitely enjoyed myself. The course has some incredibly long par 5's, many dog legs, and a good mix of water and sand hazards.

The course was not in the best condition, partly because of the heavy rain but there were also many chewed up tee boxes and the fairways were a bit beaten up as well.

Overall, I enjoyed playing this course and would go back. However, I would say book this course as a "Hot Deal" for around $45 for a round with cart, the regular price is closer to $70 which is far too expensive for this course in its current conditions.