Golf in Brookfield

Who said golf was a rich man's game? We didn't. It was a filthy, lying cyber-bully. You know which one we're talking about, the one with perfectly quaffed hair, a button-less future shirt, and a smug grin taunting you—almost daring you—to challenge him to an enunciation contest (he has never lost). But don't be intimidated by the way his eyes twinkle under the Canadian moonlight or how he stands on water as if he were Moses, he's incredibly self-conscious of his inability to inflect.

Whisper Creek’s visionary architects, Greg Nash and Billy Casper, and Orchard Valley’s architect, Ken Kavanaugh, present two championship-style courses of verdant, undulating terrain, flecked with challenging features. Golfers traverse Whisper Creek's 240 acres of protected wildlife sanctuary in GPS-enabled golf carts that provide yardage measurements, record scores, and eliminate the need to ask tiger-head club covers for directions. During an 18-hole round (up to a $68 value with cart), clubs send dimpled orbs hurtling past imported white-sand bunkers, pristine waters, and more than 5,000 character hardwoods. Over on Orchard Valley’s 6,800-yard, par 72 grounds, manicured practice facilities conduct dress rehearsals for the course’s 18 holes (up to a $76 value with cart), which span sand traps and wetlands, including the expansive water hazard on the aptly named "All or Nothing at All" second hole.

LPGA Class A member Rachel Teresi chips away at learning blocks and corrects crooked swings during private lessons and group classes at four Chicagoland golf facilities. Rachel's swing tutorials emphasizes sound fundamentals designed to enhance all areas of one’s game, including driving, pitching, chipping, and shouting at opponents during critical shots. When they aren’t honing the focus and discipline necessary to excel at the mental aspects of golf, students learn important techniques for fitting clubs and maximizing the efficiency of their training. In addition to her work with students, Rachel has contributed to the overall advancement of the game by developing the downloadable iPhone app GolfPro911, which assists with shot selection and offers advice on wooing feral golf carts into sand traps.

The Meadows Golf Club of Blue Island's 18-hole course winds over a 6,581 layout that showcases the inventive mind of course architect J. Porter Gibson. From the double doglegs on holes 10 and 15 to the back-to-back forced carries over water hazards golfers must face on 13 and 14, the layout enchants and challenges golfers without forcing them to read the Petrarchan sonnets a lonely flagstick wrote for a comely sand trap. Golfers can prepare for rounds at the club's on-site driving range and enhance their bag of trick sticks at the golf shop with gear from top golf brands such as Titleist, FootJoy, and Cleveland.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par-71 layout
• Length of 6,581 yards from the farthest tees
• Course rating of 71.3 from the farthest tees
• Slope rating of 121 from the farthest tees
• Three tee options
• Scorecard

Sculpted around many lakes, The Village Links of Glen Ellyn's 18-hole championship course and 9-hole course fill 170 acres with a verdant landscape of challenging golf. Originally built in 1967 and renovated in 2004, the championship course has played host to 40 USGA and PGA Tour qualifying tournaments, including those for the 2012 U.S. Open and 2008 U.S. Amateur.

Sixteen waterways meander through the grounds, directly entering play on all but three holes, where they enter play indirectly by threatening to take down golf shots with troupes of flying fish. On the par 4 10th hole, players must hit a difficult tee shot onto an S-shaped fairway that weaves between two large lakes. The 18th hole, also a par 4, features a treasure trove of sunken golf balls and golf carts lurking in three lakes that surround the fairway and in one that lies right in the middle. Once safely on the greens, players putt over fast A-4 bentgrass surfaces, a key addition from the 2004 renovation.

18-Hole Course at a Glance:

• Par 72
• Total length of 7,208 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 74.9 from the back tees
• Course slope of 138 from the back tees
• Five sets of tees per hole
• Scorecard

9-Hole Course at a Glance:

• Par 36
• Total length of 3,303 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 35.7 from the back tees
• Course slope of 129 from the back tees
• Three sets of tees per hole
• Scorecard

Marengo Ridge Golf Club, which began as a modest nine-hole course, endured a 25-year gap before taking full advantage of the surrounding landscape’s diverse terrain and expanding into a sprawling 18-hole course. Course architect William James Spear broke ground on the front nine in 1963, designating a large, renovated cow barn as the first clubhouse and cleaving nine holes through densely wooded hills. This layout proved sufficient until a late ‘80s spike in the local caddy population—and business boom—made the addition of a back nine desirable. Construction began in 1988 and, two years later, a new nine-hole track opened for play, presenting golfers with a profound shift in scenery, as this layout was built on an expanse of open farmland. The old clubhouse lasted for three more years, but the awkward location and argyle-wearing cattle called for the construction of a new clubhouse to match the new 18-hole golf club.

Today, golfers enjoy the diverse layout of the 18-hole course from the first hole, the longest par 4 on the course, to the last, a par 5 severe dogleg right. Water enters play on nine holes, including on the first six, creating the potential for an extending water break for thirsty golf carts.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course
• Total length of 6,654 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 72.5 from the back tees
• Course slope of 129 from the back tees
• Four sets of tees per hole
• Scorecard