Wilmette Golf Course

The Good: Completely redesigned after a tragic fire ravaged the course years ago, this Greg Martin track is a fun, sporty course with tough driving lanes and small, undulated greens. Par 4 variety is strong with several doglegs to either side and demanding closing holes. Course is in good shape and greens hold fairly well. Clubhouse is nice with full restaurant and bar. Practice facility includes short game area and small driving range. Good value for quality of course and pace of play.

The Bad: No GPS on carts and very limited yardage markers on the course. On-course service is barely existent during the weekend mornings. Driving range is pedestrian, even for a park district course. Par 5's & Par 3's are unmemorable.

The Verdict: Wilmette GC is another good, but not great, option on the north shore. An improving park district course with no fancy flashes, but just a fun walk in the park.

Best Hole: #11 is the best Par 4 on the course. A demanding drive must avoid water left and sand right to a green guarded by a pond.

I played this course for the first time with my brother, and I couldn't be more pleased. The staff was friendly and gave me all information I needed for my round. It had rained the previous night about 2 1/2 inches, so I knew the course would be a bit wet, and it dried up better than expected. There were a few wet spots, and some bunkers had some standing water, but it was 2 1/2 inches. Greens were nice and quick, a lot of one putts. For a municipal course, it's tough. 16, 17, and 18 are no joke. Some really cool looking holes, I was attached to the designs of holes 7, 16, and 18 as they were my favorites. My only complaints, the walk from some greens to the next tee were a bit long, but I only noticed that because it was 90 degrees. Overall, great experience and I will be coming back soon.

I felt compelled to write this review because the more I play this course, the more I appreciate how nice it is. This Wilmette muni used to be pretty boring, but they did a big renovation a couple years ago and now I think its second only to the Glen for public courses nearby. They elevated most of the greens and many of the tee boxes, so there's a fair amount of contour now. And the greens have some real undulation and tiering. I played North Shore CC recently and was surprised how flat everything looked compared to Wilmette. And I don't enjoy playing Winnetka any more because its so tight and so short you almost never should hit driver. Wilmette has 8 par 4's that are 400+ from the tips ... so you can hit driver a lot, which really sets it apart from some of the other local tracks. Overall, I think its in pretty good shape too.

I paid an annual fee to be a "member" and play any time I want. Excellent deal if you play a lot.

Greens and sand traps are great. The rest of the course in awful shape. Had to open the course for financial reasons. Maybe in a couple of years when the course grows in it will be better. There are no deals for this course. No senior discounts. No breaks at all. Plus on top of the steep greens fees they will be adding a $3 charge for the next few years to help pay for the renovation. Not worth the money at all

This course just opened after undergoing a $3 million renovation. The architect is Greg Martin. His conception of a golf course is, at best, unusual.
14 Greens were reconstructed to contemporary USGA specs. All the new greens are smaller than many of the old greens and the landing areas are very small. If you like hard fast greens then you'll like them. All of the greens are elevated with a large "lip" so it is impossible to run the ball unto the green. And it is almost impossible to hold an approach shot on any green unless you are a pro who can his a high shot with lots of spin (See Rory McIlroy).

On the back nine there is a drainage ditch (aka "bio swale") that meanders through the nine, that is basically an open sewer. Very unappealing.

One green #17 is ridiculous. the Golfer can not see much of the green from the fairway because is is so elevated It replaced a very playable green

Finally, the turf condition of the fairways and around the greens is very poor,; thin grass full of weeds

The greens fees are way too high for such a poor course. I would stay away. There are many other courses nearby that are much better layouts and in much better condition, therefore are much better values.

I thought the course was in pretty good shape considering the amount of work they did and the weather we had this past winter. Many established courses were crushed and they were planting new grass etc. I am sure it will improve over time. The tees and greens were in great shape as the course just opened to play that day.

Greens were super. The new layout by Wadsworth golf management was well thought out. It appears as the park district ran out of money as the fairways were full of weeds and crabgrass. This course is much worse than last year. Surrounding courses in the area are much better condition with bent fairways. Green complexes for now are smooth. I would recommend playing elsewhere for about $10 less than you would spend here. The head golf pro is new and is rude to the point like you are lucky to be playing here.