Bonnie Brook Golf Course

Beautiful weather, course was in great shape considering the amount of rain over this summer. Greens were very quick and pin placements were in very challenging spots.

Play was very slow - two deep on some of the par 3's and we had to wait on every shot. Round was 5+ hours and basically took up the whole day for us.

Two suggestions:

1. Invest in a marshall on the course. Find the group that is slow and have them skip a hole to speed up play. Let that group go back to play the hole they skipped at the completion of their round.

2. A lot of the golf balls at the range are very old. May want to check which ones should be retired. Bad look.

I love this course nd 99% of the things about it. Great to have the grill working outside after the 9th hole!!

Course was still very wet but the staff are doing the best they can.

Great course for the value. I would highly recommend.

Great muni. Well maintained with a variety of holes that make you use a lot of the bag. A lot of trees but not pinching you. Very little water in play. Well groomed fairways with moderate sized greens that present a challenge.

Great clubhouse. Stayed after the round for the Friday night buffet. Great food at an awesome price. Dining room overlooks the course. Very nice!

Bonnie Brook is one great place to spend a day.

Course is tough but fair, staff is accommodating and friendly. The price is very affordable and the venue is one of the best here in Lake county.

Old beautiful course in the North suburbs. Bent grass tee to green, good range, great putting green, friendly staff, great clubhouse, very good food. Layoit is fun and challenging, some good elevation changes. Definite must play if in the area.

Of all the courses in northern suburbs, Bonnie Brook is by far the best value. Excellent layout, friendly accommodating staff and price make this the favorite of mine and a lot of other people. Pace of play can be a pain, especially on the back nine,but a lot of that is due to some tricky holes back there. My buddy and I play just about every weekend. We love it !

Very easy play, wide fairways and smooth transition to greens, always like playing this course

I grew up in the area and never played this course. I wish I would have experienced this sooner. Well kept and challenging. Going back again soon.

The Brook was in decent shape late season. They aerated a couple of weeks ago and the greens have recovered nicely. It's a pleasant course with a driving range and slightly overpriced beverages. No carts allowed in the lot. Grilling food outside at the turn is always a nice touch. The front nine is pretty straight forward with a nice dogleg left par 5. The meat and challenge of the course starts at the 10th with a long par 4 and then the course gets a tad "stupid" and really tight with target hit and hope tee shots on the the 11th, 12th and 13th. Even the tee shot on the par 5 14th has to be fit between a couple of large trees. And then your tee shot on 16th requires another "lay up" short of a creek. All in all it's a decent place worth a play once or twice a year. I like the old school layout with hills and dales but inward holes while interesting aren't designed extremely well...a few too many targety tee shots for my taste. A nice uphill finish on 18. 3.75 stars upgrading to a four as it's well maintained.

Course is in great condition for this late in the season. The carts are well maintained, the starter was super friendly and knowledgeable. The layout of the course is easy to follow with little cross fairway issues with people playing from the other direction.

They have an incredibly nice beverage cart person that has several great drink options and snacks if you wanted to purchase something. The clubhouse is really nice with a super friendly staff.

Good course for the money. Not sure you will find a better value in the Northern Illinois/Southern Wisconsin area.

Ive played this sincd a kid and consider it my home course. For a public course its always in great condition. Even if the layout does not suit u as difficult, especially since a lot of trees were takin out, the greens always have a lot onjulations that can make putts challenging. The front desk staff is nice but do not seemed trained; took ten minutes to check in. May seem a little pricey but again the quality of the course is great and u can find deals online. I was surprised to find a beverage cart out on a weekday which ive only seen in the south which is great. They do great at golf outings. This is always one of my favs.

There was little control from the starter. He allowed a twosome who came late for their 12:45 tee time to "squeeze in" at 1:30 which pushed everyone back. He also allowed a fivesome to tee off when their reservation was for four. Starter would not enforce tee time etiquette. This caused a poor pace of play and excessive waiting on every tee. We saw a ranger only once the entire round. I love this course, but I will never play again on Saturday.

The Good: Decent park district course near the IL/WI border is well conditioned and staff that provides a nice, casual atmosphere. Old school parkland design has good variety of long and short Par 4's, risk-reward Par 5's, and challenging Par 3's. Small, challenging greens can be very slick. Nice clubhouse with banquet area and small restaurant area and bar. Pretty good value for seniors and juniors during the week.

The Bad: Poor practice facilities includes driving range that can only include irons. No short game practice area. Several holes require a long carry over water that isn't realistic for most weekend golfers. Overpriced for quality of course compared to other options (Bittersweet & Shepherd's Crook) in the area.

The Verdict: Bonnie Brook is a fun little municipal track that doesn't have the upscale amenities or practice facilities, but the staff makes up for it.

Best Hole: The short Par 4 #12 requires strategy off the tee with multiple creeks to carry and requires an approach to a small, undulating green.

Course is in good shape. Layout is ok. Very playable and scoreable.