Shepherd's Crook Golf Course

Really fun link style course near the Wisconsin border. Course was awesome, fast pace of play even though the course was busy. Only complaints were no beverage cart and greens were really quick. Overall well worth the price and definitely worth checking out!

Great price for this course, little wet on a few holes. Lots of rain couple of days ago. Did not drain the best, but greens were in good shape. played there before and always in great shape.

Shepherd's Crook is a very nice track, especially given that it is a municipal course. The Links style is pretty unique to northeast Illinois. The course was in outstanding condition. Greens are lightning fast, and many of the greens are ringed by small berms on the sides and back. Coming off of those and stopping the ball on fast greens is a challenge. Keep your approach below the hole to get manageable putts.

Course was well maintained and in good condition, but if you want extras, this is not the place. Limited ball cleaners at T-box; clubhouse was poor and no cart service while on the course. Pace was slow and ranger did not move pace of play up.

Greens with their undulations make you work to get in cup.

Got a great deal on golf now and had really been wanting to play here for a while, and I am somewhat happy I did. Start with the Goods

Pull up to the first tee and the course looks great and it is. Fairways are nice greens are great. Got good speed and very receptive to spin both on chips and shots from the fairway.

The course itself is a pretty cool layup lots of character. Holes kinda run next to each other but they do a great job of making it seem like they dont.

Now for the not so good.

Front 9 I thought was very spot golf never should have taken driver out of bag just hit a 4 iron out there and your in great shape every time.

Fescue grass was somewhat thin but very matted down making it hard to find balls. If you have fescue you should be able to find your ball and the penalty is trying to hit it out. EX: Played Erin Hills hit in a 4some none lost a ball all day but didnt shoot well cause of the fescue.

Club house is average saw no bev cart girl. And oh boy if the wind is right your small the dump ALOT on this course. Plus they had charging spots in the cart for your phone. SO cool.

This is definitely still a nice course just a couple adjustments and this place could be really cool.

We were lucky enough to find a Saturday early morning time on GolfNow for our foursome. We paid $60 each to ride and I can say the course was definitely well worth the money spent. There is another, more heralded course in the area, that is $30 more and Shepherd's Crook is a much better experience in my opinion. The layout is great and our group often commented "wow, this is another great hole." The course was in impeccable condition from tee to green and the greens were exceptionally good especially considering the rain and hot temps we have had. We drove an hour from the western burbs to play up at Shepherd's Crook and we all agreed that we will do it again, soon.

Course was in good shape but tee times we spaced to close causing pace of play to slow tremendously

We really enjoyed playing on this beautiful links course. The fairways are pretty open, but the greens are fast and undulating. Balls are easy to find in the rough. Staff are very welcoming and the refreshment cart came around quite often for a Monday afternoon! I will be back to play at Shepards Crook!

Great local park district golf course. Regular rates are a little higher than I would normally pat but you can always find a reduced rate on Golfnow. Great value at a lower rate. Greens are always in excellent condition and course layout is great!

I booked a 3:20PM tee time and was not warned that league play would interrupt our play at the turn. I was instructed to jump to the 13th, to get ahead of the league, but quickly caught-up with another league foursome. We were unable to finish as the delay caused us to give-up due to rain on the 18th, never playing 10, 11 or 12. Golf now should be held responsible for this sitaution. Why book tee times if you cannot play 18.

very nice links course and a good value greens were challenging and in nice shape. the rough wasn't too bad you could easily find your ball most of the time, fairways were in nice shape considering lack of rain lately , would go back again at some point

Best deal for money. Totally worth of driving 40 plus miles. Pace was a bit slow especially for Thursday AM tee time. Great condition at great price. Some challenging holes that you might wanna play smart. Would come back couple more time this year for sure.

Links style on front 9 and midwestern style on back nine.

Nice course, more for the average golfer to senior golfer. Drove 1 hour and 10 mins.to play here arrived an hour early to hit balls found out no range, that was a big disappointment , my mistake should have asked. It was fun but even from the tips I think it was around 6700 fairly easy course.

The Good: Extremely well-conditioned Keith Foster (of Iowa's The Harvester fame) park district track just south of the Wisconsin border is arguably the best value in the North Shore area. Links style layout is relatively flat off the tee but the true challenge is around the incredibly undulating greens. Most holes are very open with strategic bunkering and water hazards. Nice variety in Par 4's and long, challenging Par 5's. Good clubhouse with full restaurant and bar. Staff is supportive and friendly. Pace of play is good for a public track of its caliber.

The Bad: Lack of driving range or short game area is a huge bummer for overall quality of facilities. The greens can be overbearing for the average 15-20 handicapper. Some blind shots from the tee are a little annoying unless you play there often. Benign, forgettable Par 3's on the closing nine. When the wind blows, this place is a bear!

The Verdict: Sans the lack of practice facilities, Shepherd's Crook is a solid, complete golf experience in the North Shore. Just a very fun place to play 18 holes of golf.

Best Hole: The tree-lined Par 4 5th is a brute. A demanding tee shot must find its way between a forest of trees and a downhill approach to a long, thin green.

Shepherds Crook is a great links layout, bentgrass tees dairways, and greens. Was very wet the day we played, so was cart path only. Still a lot of fun, highly recommend.

I play this course handful of times a season and I enjoy it for the most part. My problem is with this grumpy old man in the proshop. 2nd time playing this course through GN, and when I was checking in 30 minutes before tee time he ridley states he can't check me in till 10 minutes before tee time. When I asked why, he states that it's their policy for GN. 1st time I was able to check in an hour before tee time.

The grumpy old man should not be working customer service!

Links to woodland back to links, this course has an interesting feel to it. Very fun track with a fair amount of challenges. Some hole call for attention to the tee shot others more technique around the greens with some challenging pin placements. Windy conditions just adds to the fun.

Cons. are the very unappealing trash dump and all the truck traffic. Really really poor placement for a golf course. It's very unsightly and would be the reason I wouldn't go back. There are other courses that offer the same and don't have disgusting sights and toxic air. Golf is fun and relaxing and there's no tranquil feel to this place at all. You have to put the blinders on and just look at the 300 yards in front of your face.