Looking to play the best golf courses in Illinois? GolfReviewsGuide.com picks out the top courses to play in Illinois.
Overall, golfers that are heading to Illinois should expect some seasonality limitations in this northern state – but the summer months bring out some of the United States’ best tests.
Our top five best golf courses in Illinois is headed by arguably the most controversial the state has to offer and it is joined some by some real gems.
1. Butler National Golf Club
The golf course at the Butler National Golf Club may be best remembered for hosting the Western Open back in the 1970s and 1980s.
Tom Watson and Hale Irwin won at the venue, a course that was originally designed by George Fazio and Tom Fazio in 1974.
The latter participated in redesign efforts in 1988, 2005 and 2008. Today, the renowned 18-hole course plays as a par-71 at a decent length of 7,523 yards.
Golfers that are able to play here should expect a pretty flat course with trees along the perimeters of most holes. One should also expect a fair share of doglegs, water hazards, and about three-dozen sand bunkers.
One thing to note, this is a course for men only so if you are planning a husband-and-wife golfing vacation, skip to the next golf course.
2. Chicago Golf Club
The historic course at the Chicago Golf Club, which has made the national registry of historic locations, is our second pick for top golf courses in Illinois.
The course opened way back in 1893, the original designer was Charles B. Macdonald, and today it plays as a short-ish course at 6,950 yards.
It is a rare par-70 venue, and is private club is located near Wheaton, Illinois, that ranks highly among those who have teed it up.
It has hosted major events in recent years, including the 2018 US Senior Women’s Open.
3. Shoreacres Golf Course
The Shoreacres Golf Course is located in the Lake Bluff area of Illinois, and is considered to be one of the best courses in the northeast of the USA.
A historic course, Shoreacres was built in 1916 for an opening date of 1921. Seth Raynor is the historical architect for this course while Tom Doak performed an update in 2013.
A par-72 venue, this is a very short course at just 6,372 yards in length and golfers should not expect overreliance on lengthy drives. In fact, strong players off of the tee might expect to leave the driver in the bag on plenty of holes.
Expect narrow passes, plateaus, and unique holes among immaculate course conditions at this well-maintained course.
4. Medinah Country Club’s (Course No. 3)
Medinah Country Club’s Course No. 3 combines major-championship pedigree with one of the most significant and successful modern course transformations in American golf.
The private Chicago-area club’s championship layout has hosted three US Opens, two PGA Championships, the 2012 Ryder Cup, the 2019 BMW Championship and the 2026 Presidents Cup.
Originally designed by Tom Bendelow, Medinah No. 3 reopened in 2024 following a sweeping redesign by OCM Golf – Geoff Ogilvy, Mike Cocking and Ashley Mead – ahead of the Presidents Cup.
The result is a course that feels markedly different from the tight, tree-lined version familiar from Tiger Woods’ PGA Championship wins and Europe’s dramatic Ryder Cup comeback in 2012.
Players now have more room from the tee, but the best route to a green is often dictated by the angle of the fairway, expansive prairie-style bunkering and the positioning of Lake Kadijah, which has become a more central feature of the design.
For championship play, Course No. 3 can stretch to around 7,550 yards as a par 70, with the redesign creating far more compelling risk-and-reward opportunities.
The course’s history remains a huge part of its appeal including at the 2012 Ryder Cup, when Europe overturned a 10-6 deficit on the final day in what became known as the “Miracle at Medinah.”
5. PrairieView Golf Club
PrairieView Golf Club‘s golf course was designed by James Spear and was opened for play as recently as 1992.
Today it is a par-72 affair at a fairly testing 7,135 yards in length at its longest. There are four sets of tees at this 18-hole venue with the shortest measuring 5,269 yards.
Noted for its scenery, expect tree-lined fairways but some links-style holes as well when you play this course, which is near Byron, Illinois.