Old Orchard Country Club

The course is a fun one to play, but it could be better. Specifically, the pace of play at beginning of day. Overbooked which forced our 4-some to start on back 9. Then on way back to play 1st hole it was stacked up. We ended up sf starting on 3 and coming back to play holes 1 and 2 last. So, 10-18; 3-9; then finally 1-2. Difficult to build rhythm when we had to change order more than once.
The rate of $65 through GolfNow isn't worth it even with a better pace of play.

Positives: Decently maintained grounds with nice fairways/greens and appropriate rough/bunker/hazard maintenance. At par 70, it plays short, except for a couple of long par 3's. 17th hole was crazy as I nailed my 230 club into a stiff breeze and still failed to reach the green by a good 15 yards. The course was almost completely vacant at the time I played, so the pace was as fast as I could go.

Negatives: The little things seem to be really lacking. Cheap hole flags & ball washers, poorly maintained golf carts (old and really bad), aging clubhouse and pro shop, overpriced retail goods, many of the trees are becoming overgrown and starting to negatively effect play by narrowing tee shots, overly obstructing approach shots, crowding bends on doglegs, etc.. In addition to few golfers, there were only about 4 total employees on hand at 3:00 pm: manager, pro-shop attendant, bartender and cart guy. Also, with no ranger/starter on duty, local residents from surrounding condos were on the course hitting balls and playing some of the holes. I had 2 separate people wave me by as they had snuck on the course, playing 1 or 2 holes. There was even a guy riding his bike around the cart path whom I almost hit a few times.

Overall I think the course could be really nice, but is currently overpriced for what you get. I wouldn't be willing to play the course again for anything more then $30. It's sad when a forest preserve course provides a better service/experience then one privately owned. Old and in need of TLC.

6 hour round and they had multiply 8 somes on the course. Only course in Chicago area I will never play again

Short course but does not mean easy to make par,lay out of couse require perfect shot to reach green every holes.We had so much fun the first time playing this course.Good location ,not too far west or north.

Great course, greens were stiff and hard to hold. Plenty of water and sand for my fellow beach friends. Overall enjoyable and challenging

Fun course-good value, but despite sunny forecasts, it rained in the middle of our round. We were told they do not give rain checks under any circumstances. That seems a bit unfriendly.

Pace of play was good. Enjoyed pairing when all are playing ready golf.

Great course first off would absolutely go back.lots of challenges

Pretty wet and slouchy after and during light rain. Lots of debris off the fairways. Power carts pretty well worn with club protection canopy pretty raggy. Canopy tie wrapped into place and had to cut tie wrap to use the canopy. Pretty low class. Greens in good shape and fast. Beverage cart wasn't seen until about noon.

Doug and his staff are always very friendly and the course was in nice condition. It rained when we played but the course drains well. Greens were very nice and pace of play was good. One of the best places in the NW burbs.

This course was amazing. I would recommend it even to my most critical golfing friends. Each cart has a distance reader or gps which always makes the game a little more fun. Really enjoyed the variety in the hole placement and scenery.

Below average adequately describes everything about this course & facility. Though to be fair I didn't play the back nine because the front nine took 2.5 hours to play... on a Wednesday afternoon.

never saw a ranger. people bouncing around nice course overall ,make sure you play the right tees for you

During the summer they have someone grilling which is nice right next to the 1st and 10th hole. Some really challenging holes. Need to have the course mapped out on your phone for 1st timers. There is quite a bit of trouble

Very cold day; staff was somewhat unfriendly; barely said hello.
Course is short but fairways are hard to hit and then greens are hard to hit.
Course was in decent shape; greens run true; bunkers could use some work.
For a GolfNow HotDeal, it was worth it.

Course plays well, a little short and forgiving if you are looking for a challenge. Staff was very friendly, and the pace was great (granted it was pretty dead the Saturday we played). I would play again.

Short course with narrow fairways. You won't lose your ball if you miss the fairway, but you will likely be blocked by a tree. Greens are well protected by trees from shots not coming from the fairway. I felt like the whole day I was punching out to short of the green when I missed the fairway. The course doesn't really restrict you from using your driver, but its important to hit the fairways.

Greens were fairly firm, fast, and small with decent amount of slope from back to front.

The Good: Traditional parkland layout was a former country club turned public course turned park district funded. Short, challenging course with good mixture of long Par 4's, long Par 3's, and risk-reward Par 5's. Course is typically in good shape, with large, tough greens. Decent clubhouse with large bar and banquet area. On-course service is pretty good, especially on the weekends. Pretty good value for the north Chicago suburbs, especially when using an internet special. GPS on carts!

The Bad: Sand traps aren't in very good shape. No restroom areas on-course is a negative. Driving range only allows irons and there is no sand short game area. Pace of play is a big issue. Peak season rates of around $75 with cart is overpriced.

The Verdict: With reduced rates, Old Orchard is becoming a stronger player in the Northern Chicago area. An interesting, parkland track that will sneak up and bite you if you aren't straight.

Best Hole: The short Par 5 15th is pure risk-reward. A good drive will leave a long shot to carry water in two.

We had a 1:39 tee time. The starter said it was slightly slower than the 4:15 we had been told to expect. It was so slow that we didn't even start the back 9 until 4:55. We reached the 14th tee at 6:10 and there were 2 groups waiting to tee off. We gave up and left. We stopped at the clubhouse and they were unapologetic. They said a 24 person party had teed off a little before us and they were slowing everyone down. I'm no expert, but isn't that why they have marshals? I will never go back.

This will be my new home course. I hadn't played here in years, and had forgotten how nice it is. The clubhouse is a bit dated, but for a park district run club the course is in fantastic shape. Bent grass throughout, undulating fairways and very nice, true greens...they weren't all chopped up like most other muni's can be. I recently moved back into the area and I will be changing my CDGA membership to Old Orchard CC next year.