Big Run Golf Club

Passing through Chicago and roommate and I wanted to catch a round. We were one of the first ones on Monday AM and course was in great condition. The roughs were nicely kept as were the greens. Super fast greens with lots of undulation. Great value for the price and we got through in about 3.5 hours.

Seems like a "only regulars play here" type of place. People behind counter wee eating while customers trying to pay. Like it was a hassle to get up and take care of customer. Also, dress for one guy taking care of customers was in a dirty hoodie. Come on! No colored flags for where pin is. Laser link doesn't work. Too hilly of a course not to have those amenities for golfers. Extremely small chip area and extremely contoured putting green to practice. Not worth it.

A course that challenges every aspect of your game. A must play at least once per year.

Played at 12n 6/13..... It was 91 degrees with no beverage cart circling the course. Played the front nine, ran to my car for HOT Gaterade. Fairways were great, greens great. Finished playing in 4hrs 15min. Great. I was dehydrated on the back nine which made it a grind.

Fourth time playing this course and this time we had the best conditions yet. We were fortunate to be able to play on a beautiful Spring day with a group of 8 guys and all were loving the course from beginning to end. I'm not even going to mention the clubhouse because it's not a factor for me or the group I play with. I will say that the staff members were kind and courteous friendly as they have been each time I've played here.

Every hole here is a joy and has something to offer. for every type of golfer. The tee boxes are perfect. Elevated, tiered, flat, and well manicured on every hole. Long hitters will relish playing from up to 7200+ yds while taking on a variety of opportunities that big hitters enjoy; cutting the corner while rising over towering oaks trees; carrying a creek, pond or greenside bunker; pounding a long iron low through the trees to recover from an errant drive.

I strongly suggest you play from the tees that truly match your skill level. If you are a 18+ handicap please do yourself and everyone playing behind you a great favor by playing the Green Tees at approximately 6,200 yds instead of the approximately 6,700 yd white tees. The course will challenge you plenty at that distance and you'll just have more fun.

Those who sacrifice distance for accuracy are smart to stay in the fairways and clear of trees even if it means not reaching in regulation as even though the rough is well maintained and appears short, it can be seriously dense and difficult to swing through especially if the ball is sitting down. Speaking of which, here is an IMPORTANT TIP: Make sure that your playing partners have all eyes on each others drives or you are very likely going to lose some balls in wide open spaces or just really slow down play which isn't fun for anyone.

GREENS

The greens- are -awesome! Plan your approach well. You really MUST know the general pin position if you're going to reach it and have a reliable chance at two-putting. To be sure, only playing the course multiple times will provide you with the critical knowledge necessary to comfortably position your approach. I believe that every green has a number of possible pin positions that might require several feet of break inside of 20 feet. Many people use the word "undulating" in describing greens and that word seems to fall short in describing these. This round we saw some putts that ran up down and up again, some with double and even triple breaks. Fun right? Add to that, if you end chipping or even putting from above the hole, you need to have just the right amount of touch as your ball could be sliding clean off the green!

All in all, there isn't a single hole on this course that fails to provide a golfer exactly what he's looking for in every round, whether it's finding the beauty in nature in defiance of its proximity to a very active industrial corridor, or the challenge in balancing the requirements of the game in power, accuracy, finesse, and touch.

Thank you again Big Run for being unique in what you offer to us Chicagoland golfers. You're not just big, you're also among the best! Keep up the great work!

This was my first time playing here and what a piece of land ! Many beautiful aged trees, fairways and greens in great shape. So spread out, it was a busy day but no one was on top of each other. Some very long fairways (500+), challenging greens. Staff was very friendly, no beer cart girl, but you could refill easy at the turn. Laser finders attached to cart. I had a really great experience here and cant wait to play there again.

5 hour round with an 8:18 tee time shouldn't happen that early in the morning

Been playing here for decades. Usually get here a couple times a year. I'd agree with the other recent reviews that state the course is in the best shape it has been in a while.

Truthfully, unless you are sporting a single digit index, the regular tees are probably too much to handle. Just check the slope ratings!

A fair number of 90 degree or rough only signs during the round. Tough pins on 5 and especially 11. See review title.

Pace was 4:25, going out at 07:30 am. Hard to play the course much faster than that.

Beautiful day and beautiful views. Just wish they had a range.

Refer to my review of 5/26/16 for more detailed information and tips. The rough was cut in the last couple of days and the course is most playable......best shape I've seen it in several years. Experienced a rarely seen far right back pin position on #5 - and note that part of green plays to the middle of green yardage distance. Green speeds swift right now however they are perfect/smooth and very manageable on the downhillers....green fringes are much better than last year (you can putt from them) and as course drys out a little from the over abundance of rain early season expect a real short stick challenge this summer. Some wet areas at the current time but was pleasantly surprised it wasn't worse....the 18th fairway near the creek is really wet (always has been) but other than than really really nice. Great welcoming folks in the clubhouse. Wonderful conditioning from tee to green except here and there in the sand traps. If you have never played Big "Bad" Run you should....great elevation changes and hills and dales.....133 slope from the green/senior tees 6200 yards provides plenty of challenges....play the white tees 138/6670 and you'll be hard pressed to be within 5 strokes of your hdcp....with some very tough holes...9, 11, 12 and 18 in particular. 4.6 stars only downgrades due to no range (but they do have nets) and sand trap conditions. Go play this place!

This is by far one of the finest golf courses in the area. It is a challenging course for even the lowest of handicappers with holes over 600 yards on each nine.

The course is the star of this facility as the rest of the amenities are pretty non existent. No driving range to warm up, very few additional offerings.

But the course is worth the price of admission and then some

Big Run is one of the best courses in Chicagoland without a doubt.

So the clubhouse is from the 60s and smells like your Grandma's house. Are you golfing to golf or worry about carpeting?

The greens are true. Fairways are narrower than you'd expect, but the rough is meticulously trimmed and always fair to play out of.

My one gripe; number 11's green is nearly unplayable. The slope toward the fairway is too steep to stop a putt. The green needs to be redone, it's that's simple.

Yes, little things on the course like the paths and bridges need updating, the actual course is phenomenal.

Big Run has one of the hardest par 3s in Illinois (240 downhill with water on both sides playing from the back tees), 2- 600 yard par 5's, and a whole lot of undulation on the greens.

Play it. The course rocks.

There are over hanging trees everywhere. Even if you were in the fairway on either side there were hanging tree limbs blocking you. The green designs are horrible. ... they slope up hill then down,it's almost impossible to keep your ball on the green in most holes. Also they booked a wedding party of 10 ahead of us so we tee's off 30 minutes late. At one point all 10 guys were on the green trying to putt and laughing and joking and not playing. The experience was horrible, it took us almost 6 hours to play.

As always, the cause record is safe. Undoubtedly on e of the most challenging courses in the area.

And someone made the greenskeeper bad, judging by the pin placements on 11 and 18.

Its not often that one can take advantage of being able to play golf in February in Chicago. The day was a bit overcast but the course was in good shape considering this time of year. Definitely going to go back in the spring and summer this year.

Good day, pace of play, great staff, course in great shape