St. Andrews Golf & Country Club - Joe Jemsek Course

About
There are two championship golf courses available at St. Andrews Golf & Country Club in West Chicago as well as a top-ranked practice center. The Joe Jemsek Course, formerly known as the Lakewood, was added in 1929, three years after the club opened. Unlike the original St. Andrews Course, the Joe Jemsek Course has a hillier terrain. Although it is shorter than the other golf course at 6,770 yards, the elevation changes make it seem similar in length to the 6,920-yard St. Andrews Course. The course features tree-lined fairways and strategically placed bunkers, offering plenty of challenges but overall it is not an overly intimidating layout for beginners. There are several long and demanding par 3s throughout. The best example being the tricky second hole, which has a green that is guarded by two deep bunkers and towering trees.
Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
---|---|---|---|---|
Blue | 72 | 6666 yards | 71.1 | 121 |
White | 72 | 6358 yards | 69.6 | 117 |
Red (W) | 72 | 5353 yards | 69.4 | 114 |
Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Blue M: 72.0/122 | 362 | 216 | 425 | 384 | 433 | 200 | 349 | 420 | 496 | 3285 | 517 | 221 | 338 | 329 | 207 | 514 | 451 | 552 | 404 | 3533 | 6818 |
White M: 70.1/118 | 333 | 194 | 380 | 370 | 402 | 171 | 336 | 406 | 479 | 3071 | 467 | 187 | 313 | 303 | 192 | 498 | 436 | 524 | 367 | 3287 | 6358 |
Gold M: 67.7/112 W: 73.0/124 | 314 | 179 | 361 | 356 | 337 | 146 | 277 | 377 | 456 | 2803 | 418 | 160 | 297 | 292 | 179 | 486 | 385 | 460 | 351 | 3028 | 5831 |
Red W: 70.3/118 | 294 | 164 | 342 | 342 | 272 | 142 | 271 | 258 | 406 | 2491 | 401 | 158 | 292 | 284 | 176 | 413 | 333 | 458 | 335 | 2850 | 5341 |
Handicap | 11 | 15 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 17 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 10 | |||
Par | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 35 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 37 | 72 |
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In great shape
I was pleasantly surprised at the condition of the course
I had a permanent tee time here for 12 years and playing at 6:45 the course was always over watered and greens while smooth they were always too slow
Today the greens were true and rolled at a good pace Fairways also were in very good shape
I was not in any bunkers so can’t comment
Tee boxes were in good shape
Staff was friendly and Covid aware
Cart was in good condition
Course is needs updating. Flat and back and forth layout
Jam1107
Great weather and course in great shape. Pace of play slow due to walkers who were on their cell phones on a couple of holes. Thank you to the ranger who moved us from Joe Jemsek course to Lakeside course so we can play without backup. All good until a couple of course workers decided to jump in front of us to start playing. They knew we were behind them but seemed not to care. We still managed to get most holes in before the 4:45 time limit.
St. Andrews - Joe Jemsek course
The course was in very good shape. Playing in late October, the trees were in wonderful colors. I really enjoy playing here.
I first booked a foursome; however, at the last minute had to cancel one person since they were in the ER. The course basically said “well you didn’t cancel 24 hours in advance” so no refund. I asked for a voucher and they also said no. It’s not like I knew this 24 hours in advance!!!! Overall the staff were very unfriendly and I will not play here again or recommend. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to be kind to your patrons.
Charge too much money for golf you have to pay an additional $20 for a cart by yourself during this pandemic

We appreciate you taking the time to review the course and rate us. We are going to pass on your feedback to the team. Thanks for visiting St. Andrews Golf & Country Club - Joe Jemsek Course, and we hope to see you again in the future.
Open layout
I can see why this was Jemsek's favorite course because of the amazing open layout with plenty of ways to get yourself into trouble. The short holes look easy, but with wide fairway bunkers precisely placed, a lot of hazards lurk. I was LUCKY today and only hit one bunker, but the sand was still managed enough to get your club through easily. I happened to play a better back 9, so I saw a lot of the front and the rough was just the right amount of length for a links course. It makes you really want to make sure you hit those fairways and think about the club you're going to use. Personally, I believe the undulation of the greens is the great thing about this course (and course #1) because that is not seen a lot anymore. Most greens, even with tiers, have flat tiers. With them manicuring the greens well, they run quick. Make sure to practice putting beforehand!
Fun course
Enjoyed my round on Joe Jemesik side on a beautiful fall day. Will return to play the other 18.
good walking course
course is set up great for walking. off the green and on the next tee box in a few steps.
reasonably priced and you can play the 2nd course for free i understand
Go to it
Fairways and greens are in great shape. I started playing on the dot of my tee time, and I finished in just over four hours.

Thank you for reviewing us! We see you rated the course 3-stars and are interested in learning what we can do to improve before your next round. Feel free to comment on this review or reach out to the team in the golf shop. We always appreciate the feedback. Thank you for playing St. Andrews Golf & Country Club - Joe Jemsek Course, and we hope to see you again soon.
Hello, thanks for taking the time to leave us a review. We see you rated the course 2-stars and are interested in learning what we can do to improve for your next visit. We take customer feedback very seriously at our course. Please reach out to our team in the golf shop and tell us what's on your mind. Thank you for playing St. Andrews Golf & Country Club - Joe Jemsek Course.