Mt Prospect Golf Club

Been 18 years since the last time we played this course. Finally found a price that was pretty comparable to what we usually try to pay. Prices have always been too high for us to play since 2003. We were very impressed with the renovations...we think there were two in 18 years with great drainage now from the last renovation and 4 inches of rain the day before. Biggest issue/complaint is that the scorecard yardages are always much more than the GPS from the tee box even with no doglegs. I've already told another friend that we must play this course this year and we will try to be regulars again as long as prices remain reasonable.

A nice little gem in the heart of mount prospect. A shorter course which requires a bit of shot making off the tee, especially for longer hitters. Make no doubt though, you can over power this course with driver and set up tons of scoring opportunities if you place the ball in the fairway off the tee. Pace of play was a little below average, played on a Sunday afternoon so I guess I should expect that. Beware of tons of "fore" shouts because there's a ton of drunk hacks who like to come out here and beat up the place. Surprised on the condition given the clientele however. Would return but on a slower day.

Good job with the renovation.

It’s a short course but the greens make it memorable

Due to Heavy rain today, I have cancelled todays round.

Let me refund prepaid portion

There's a love/hate relationship with fairly recent redesign of this course...read the reviews below as well as my previous reviews of Mt. Prospect. Great clubhouse and good practice area with a putting green representative of what you'll be faced with on course. The extreme amount of play the course receives (as I surmised in reviews here years ago) the fairways are now getting a tad torn up/ball marked greens/tee boxes getting sketchy. Right now Mt. Prospect is playing so hard and fast I had several drives almost roll out into trouble.....30 or 40 yards longer than normal. The green complexes (after several plays) are completely and ridiculously over the top/some pads to small/many too big....and way too fast on the stimp for the casual player/weekend warrior. As an avid frequent player (as well as my playing partner that day) we have come to the conclusion that the greens complexes are fun the first couple of times - but after those initial few plays it becomes a frustrating nightmare to prox a green to 20-25 feet and not be rewarded at all with a good look at birdie unless you're lucky enough to have a straight uphill putt (which is almost impossible on this course). I'm almost to the point playing the course where you're better off missing the greens on purpose and then chipping onto them to an area where you can reasonably get an uphill non 4 foot breaking putt to attack the hole and just get up and down for par. While picturesque with a lot of cool old school design features - Mt. Prospect basically comes down to a putting examination. If your shot stick is working you'll score very well - if not be prepared for multiple 3 putts and 4 putts. The difficulty navigating the greens also contributes to very slow play especially after the turn. Overall 4 stars. Recommend for at least couple of plays.....several of the reviews below will give you good insight. I definitely try to play Mt. Prospect at least once a season.

The green designer and greens keeper need to apologize to everyone. This place has the most “circus” greens I’ve ever played on. They don’t deserve to be on an amateur or professional course. When you hit an iron shot onto the green you should be putting with no problem. However, hole 18, second my second shot was put onto the green, but I had no chance to sink a putt because of a peninsula of fringe and rough that separated my ball from the hole…how dumb is that! Oh, and the undulations in every green are impossible.

Nice track. Greens are very undulating which helps protect par on this shortish layout. I would play again. Also, for a public course greens were quick! Only negative is the number of ballmarks, greens are soil not sand based so the ballmarks are pretty prevalent.

The course was in good shape and we got out on time. Pace of play was very poor - over 5 hours for 18. Greens are extremely challenging and interesting. Charging $18 per person for a cart seems like gouging

It's been 8 years since course revised. Fast greens , some hold approach shots, others roll off.. big breaks in putts result in slow play.

I would definitely give this course a try because it certainly is unique (specifically the green complexes), especially for an affordable public course. There are some classically elegant features and many memorable holes. The design however is just curiously executed (or poorly executed depending on who you ask).

I completely understand the need trick up the course to counter for the lack of land needed to lengthen the course. The course stretches to just 6,300 yards from the back tee/par 70 (most golfers default to the 6,300 yard tee). However, the strategic nature of the greens is often lost due to the wacky distances from which you are approaching the greens.

The par three 4th hole is a reverse Redan that plays 220 yards. That is an absurd distance for a Redan. So rather than trying to use the contours or determine a good line that could provide a reasonable putt you are just blasting a wood up there and trying to get up & down.

The same problem exists at the par three 16th hole. It features a beautiful Biarritz green. But again, the hole plays 225 yards and is the tightest par 3 on the course. There is a huge tree line along both sides and a cart path and fence ~6 paces right of an very narrow green. Typically this kind of green is used in a more open links type setting, not on a very narrow hazard rich chute. (The par three 7th is well designed with a wider green at a more reasonable distance, and is much more fun to play.)

There are two par 4’s on the front that play 460+….again, very strange distances. So obviously there are some short holes out there that pay you back where you MUST score. 3, 9 & 18 are examples of short holes where the devilishly wicked green complexes make a good score well earned. Another really fun green is the 435 yard par four 11th, but the hole seems to play a bit uphill into the prevailing winds, so golfers are often laying up on this hole rather than rolling balls into the punchbowl style green….again, not really getting to interact with the contours.

The redesign largely defaulted to the original routing. I wish they would have thought outside the box more and done a more imaginative rerouting. There is not a forced layup anywhere on the course There are however two creeks that run through the property that could have been used to force some layups which would have essentially lengthened the course. That creek could also have been used to front a couple of greens (creek tends to be 40+ yards from any putting surface). This would have been an alternate way to make the course challenging without making all of the green sloping so severe. Picture moving the green on #3 just across the creek setting up a fun little approach over a hazard. I also think there are places where the use of a double green could have worked to extend distances. If the course could stretch to 6,600 that would push the par up and spread people onto alternate tee boxes. 11 and 17 for example could share a double green; converting the 11th to a par 5 and extending the course distance.

Typically the course is in great shape, but the amount of play is starting to show as tee boxes are butchered on some of the shorter holes and the ball marks on the greens are quite severe. I cannot imagine a more walker friendly course, so the turf doesn’t get as trampled as some of the higher end courses by cart traffic. When they have issues with the turf they generally address it quickly, which is nice to see. The rough and bunkers were in very good shape as were the fairways (aside from some popular layup spots on par 5’s, etc.)

It's definitely a tough and memorable little course which yields all of the passion articulated in the course reviews. Give it a try. Do yourself a favor and walk it; you won’t regret it.

Course I’m good shape and a good test of skills ! Excellent practice facilities . Greens roll as good as anywhere . Only knock cart fees $20 per person as round gets expensive and course not quite on that level for the price you pay !