Orange at University of Illinois Golf Course

Nice course, but had an experience that was less than ideal. I booked an afternoon tee time and as we got to hole 15, we were kicked off the course due to league night. We weren’t able to finish our round we paid for. Why would we be able to book a tee time for 18 holes knowing full well we would not be able to finish it before a league night that we knew nothing about.

The orange is more challenging than the blue, I was in the trees all day but had a good time,

Have played this course numerous times. While the green fees are relatively affordable, the value offered is slightly subpar. On this occasion, the experience was especially poor due to the lack of an adequate number of golf carts available. With a reserved tee time of 10:22, we weren’t able to tee off until 10:50, because of the wait for golf carts. Poor planning by management.

The course itself is in reasonable shape. Greens and fairways were in fair quality. Sand traps were heavy sand because of recent storms. Cart paths could use some repair. Course represents a reasonable and fair challenge for a wide range of handicap levels.

Staff could have a better attitude. The manager/pro is not particularly customer focused or friendly. Unapologetic attitude about the golf cart shortage and his explanation that “this has never been an issue before” rings untrue, as this has happened on at least a couple of occasions this season. The rest of the staff is a little better, but don’t expect stellar service here.

Used one o the GolfNow hot deals and paid $25.49 per person for my son (6) and I to go out, 18 with cart included. This is almost of the cost of cart fees in some other places, so the value is phenomenal.
The course has very good layout although the condition of the fairways and greens are mediocre. The bunkers feel somewhat different than what I expected but I hit great shots out of them so all is well.
Got some hot dog and Powerade before tee-off and the restaurant and clubhouse staff are very friendly. They let us go out by ourselves.
There was a group of foursome in front of us at the 1st tee who are obviously new golfers. Three of them duffed their drives and subsequent shots so I was worried it was going to be a long day. However they waved us through after 3 holes so all was well. In fact, it was clear sailing after that point.
That is, until we made the turn. We stopped by the restroom and when we got to the 10th tee, a fivesome was magically inserted in front of us. We had to sit around until they teed off. All five of them are very good golfers and wasted no time, but it still felt rather strange. We spent the rest of the round waiting behind them at every tee box. At one point they told me there was a foursome in front of them who are playing slow.
There is a twosome behind us who are (naturally) getting somewhat impatient as we are. When it was finally our turn to tee off at the 18th tee, they drove up to the tee box in their loud gas cart and hard braked in the middle of my backswing. The ball was thinned towards the green but there is water in front. The guy then yelled out to me "just chip and putt!" without any hint of apology. I explained the ball may be in the water (it was not) and continued on to finish the hole.
Overall, it was 4.5 hour to complete the round which is acceptable overall. However, bear in mind that we completed the front 9 in well under two hours. The back 9 felt like we spent most of our time waiting to take a shot. And when it was our turn, we were rushed by the group behind us. I feel some of the golfers playing here have bad etiquettes. In fact, I feel an underlying sense of anger from some of them.

Enjoyed the course. Not a lot to offer in terms of terrain, but a well-paced round.

Played my college golf on the Orange & Blue golf courses back in the late 70’s. Orange is a tougher test than the Blue, and I enjoyed playing both for a total of 36 holes. As a senior golfer, the senior tees made both rounds very enjoyable. Shot a 75 on the Orange and 73 on the Blue. Both courses are in great shape tee to green and greens role nice and true. Staff only charged me for the cart (no greens fee) to play the Blue, after having played the Orange (cart & greens fees) earlier in the morning. Playing golf on the Orange & Blue is a good test of your game and you’ll use all of the clubs in your bag!

Course was in nice shape for the lack of rain we have a had in the Midwest this summer. The greens rolled true they have some very big slopes so I did appreciate they were rolling at a nice speed and not lightning fast. The Orange and Blue courses have been around for years so the trees have grown up since the last time I played probably 20 years ago.. The layout is fun and challenging and fair. Several different tees I would suggest picking the right ones for your skill level because the orange course is over 6600 yards from the blue tees. Great practice facilities and awesome and the food at the snack bar is in a class by itself cooked fresh for you.

They use to have marshals and starters in the old days. Now folks play at their own leisurely pace. Five hours to play 18 holes is outrageous. At least the course is good conditions and the staff is very friendly. Weekdays are less crowded and players more educated.

Great work making a flat terrain challenging. The green complexes are challenging and demand good approach shots.
Fairways are impressive for this early n the year (May), super tight, 1/4 inch of turf. If these get a little tighter and an 1/8 - 1/4 inch is added, they'll be on par with TPC Sawgrass at tournament time.

Greens and fairways were hard and fast and most holes allowed 4 a bump and run. A very well hit approach would hold.

For people willing to drive a little south both the blue and orange were great places for spring golf. The price was outstanding. Both courses would be great for walking. Orange course has a better lay-out and is harder but both courses are great to get your year started. Greens were in good shape. Nice practice facilities and staff was excellent. If weather is right will head back in the future. Drove 4 hours pretty much straight south it was well worth it.

Slow slow slow. They need to keep pace of play up. There were times we waited over 20 minutes to tee off, then another 10 or 15 to hit our second shot.

Even though it was November, the condition of the course was controlled.

This was the first time I’ve played the golf course in over 35 years. I was pleasantly surprised to see the bent grass fairways they had put in. The course was in as good of condition as any I’ve played this year. I’ll definitely make the trip back to play it again!

The orange course greens has lots break on them. Challenging!