Golf in Homewood

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.

Today's Groupon gets you and a golf buddy 18 holes on the difficult Tamarack Golf Course in Naperville for only $50. Each Groupon is good for two people to play an 18-hole round together, so get a pair and a foursome together to hit the lynx for the price of a 2.6-some (meaning it's up to a 62% discount—weekday rounds are $55, weekends are $65). Golf with friends is the best kind of bonding; there's nothing like being out in the open air, hearing the wind blow through the beautiful old trees lining Tamarack's well-groomed fairways, and refusing to grant your compadres mulligans. The satisfaction of a well-played hole is amplified by one's sadistic enjoyment of your partner's three-shot adventure in the woodsy rough.

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.

Par-King Skill Golf has been churning out rounds of family-friendly fun for the Chicagoland area since the 1950s. With two separate 18-hole courses, six water challenges, twelve moving obstacles, numerous curbs, and surprising elevation changes, Par-King is a step up from the flat mini-greens of yesteryear, and 3 club-lengths more entertaining than the regulation-sized greens of normal-sized golf. Play a full 18 holes as you gape and gander at twirling clowns, roller-coaster ramps in the vein of Rube Goldberg, elaborately-painted totem poles, and recreations of famous landmarks such as Mt. Rushmore and the Sears Tower. This colorful landscape of golf-based adventure is refurbished and repainted every winter to provide a consistently-beautiful, clean, and safe experience during April to October operations. Although the park is family-oriented, they maintain a stout 48-inch height requirement to play or playact in the playing area; this is enforced purely with safety in mind, as the challenging course terrain may prove hazardous to the diminutive.

Old Orchard Country Club is tucked behind a wall of thick, mature trees that ensconce guests in a serene golfscape highlighted by a well-manicured driving range and scenic 18-hole course. Golfers can warm-up drivers and stretch-out irons while pelting practice balls down a range bound to the rear by a small creek that doubles as a practice water hazard and stage for tadpoles to rehearse future roles as eventual princes. The range is maintained by a diligent ball collector and hugged to the right by a rolling fairway that prompts range balls to dream of one day being promoted to a tournament ball, and one day retiring on a mini golf course.

The Joliet Park District sprawls across more than 1,000 acres, engaging visitors with everything from sports to nature. Guests can wander through the foliaged paths of the Pilcher Park Nature Center and the organic community garden, or treat their senses to the floral colors and aromas that fill the bird-haven greenhouse. The 10,000-seat Joliet Memorial Stadium hosts high-school and college sporting events, while a dozen athletic fields fill with recreational players hitting baseballs, catching softballs, and spiking soccer balls when the referee isn't looking. During the summer, inner tubes transport patrons down Joliet Splash Station's high-speed water slides and 865-foot lazy river, and the glittery strands of Fourth of July fireworks color the skies above the stadium.