Shepherd's Crook Golf Course

Course is in good shape, greens were fast and the rough was challenging.

As always, Shepherd's Crook is a very playable and fair course. If you hit the ball well, you'll find it very straightforward with challenging greens and a variety of lies. If you are not hitting straight, you can get yourself in trouble very quickly. Fairways, greens and tee boxes are maintained to a high standard, and the grass and wooded areas provide a pleasant background.

If it wasn't next to a landfill, this would be a top notch course. Some wet spots on course and around the greens are very compact. Still some beautiful holes, well maintained fairways and greens

We got dumped on with rain the night before and a lot courses where shut down and I was skeptical going into the round but the course was in great shape a couple of holes had standing water but the greens were firm and very playable. The staff did a great job making the course playable.

I have played this course about half a dozen times. Other than the dump next door , the noise of the trucks coming and going ,along with the occasional odor this is a very nice track. I real challenge from the tips. Fast greens make for tough scoring. The hot deal at $26 was great. Otherwise $60 would be a little pricey for weekday golf.

I played this with a friend yesterday and we definitely enjoyed it.
The pro's: a well-kept quality course. It's obvious the winter was hard on this course like most others in this area but you can easily see beyond that to what is a very nice course. The greens and fairways were in good shape regardless of the areas where the cold had clearly killed off some of the grass. The greens were fast and true. It took me a few holes to adjust but after that they were lot of fun to play.
The day we played there wasn't a lot of play so we were able to play 18 in less than 3 and a 1/2 and we actually payed the replay rate and got in 18 more in about the same time.
The only con I would list was that some of the grass got beat up this winter but this seems like a course that will fix that in due time and have a championship style course. I plan to play here again.

I have played shepherds crook numerous times. The greens were the fastest I have ever played them. Probably rolled at an 11. Was awesome. We were a 2 some...played front side in 1.5hrs.....back in 2.5hrs. Pace of play terrible on back side. No ranger. Waited to hit most every shot. Course in great shape though some burned out areas..m been really dry lately...so kind of expected. Hope greens stay way they are nkw!!!!!!

Love the course layout. It's in great shape. My only issue is that greens are a little too tricked up. I'll be back.

First let me state that I'm a senior golfer who has finally decided to play from the white tees. I put my ego aside and resigned myself to the fact that I don't have the length I use to have. I'm also an 11 handicap golfer.

On that note I must tell you that Shepherd's Crook is an excellent links course that will challenge a player's skill (or lack thereof) from any of the tee boxes.

I define a links course as a course with no trees, with undulating fairways and greens, with hidden pot bunkers, with very high grass (fescue), and with a lot of wind. This is the predominant layout you'll find in the British Empire (or so I've been told). And this is what you'll find at Shepherd's Crook except that there are some tress on the course.

Shepherd's Crook is not a long course even from the back tees; however, it places supreme emphasis on accuracy especially from your tee shots. That's why I practiced with my Driver at the driving range the day before playing Shepherd's Crook and it paid off.

The greens were fast and rolled true. I like fast greens so this appealed to me. You may think differently. Regardless of the speed of the greens I've never played Shepherd's Crook when the ball didn't roll true on the green. And that's very important.

The fairways were not in exceptional condition as I found them in the past. I think they succumbed to the brutal winter that ravaged many golf courses in the MidWest. However, the fairways were in good condition.

Many of the greenside bunkers were deep (at least the ones where I ended up). Many of the fairway traps were large and were located in strategic spots on the fairway. By that I mean they were reachable from the tee box.

The fescue was very high as is to be expected from a links course. So stay out of the fescue. My playing partner lost three balls in the fescue. We found one of his golf balls in the fescue but he didn't want to hit it out of the grass for fear of hurting his wrist/hand. So he took a drop.

The wind was a factor when we played. It's always a factor when I play a links course. This seems to happen even when I played a links course on a "calm" day.

The rough at Shepherd's Crook was high and deep enough to present a challenge. However, it wasn't so high and deep that you had to wave a white flag whenever you hit into it.

The bottom line for Shepherd's Crook is this: if you spray the ball all over the place, good luck and bring a lot of golf balls. If you hit the ball somewhat accurately most of the time, you'll have a good time.

Shepherd's Crook is on my top ten list of public courses to play in the Chicago area and I highly recommend that you try it and form your own opinion.

Course is excellent: deal was totally awesome:wind was brutal

Greens still show signs from fall aeration, otherwise in very nice shape. It was extremely windy (30 - 40 mph) so not as enjoyable as it could have been.

Cold weather has prevented any new growth, but what's there is in decent shape. To early to evaluate the summer conditions. Reduced rates are a good deal. Worth the drive to the Wisconsin border.