The Allure of Public Golf

Having grown up working at a private golf club, sneaking out to play on Mondays or after work when the head pro allowed, I learned a side of the game that I would later hate.

The men and women who comprised the membership of the now-defunct Joliet Country Club spanned the “private club membership” spectrum. There were the older members who were just there to enjoy a round of golf or a few hours at the pool with their grandchildren. A smaller collection of female twilight-golf players hung around to socialize and drink wine on the patios after a quick nine. The majority of the membership, however, included middle-aged white men chasing dreams of yesteryear or the inevitable DUI after too much celebration following the Club Championship.

Don’t get me wrong: those 10 years working in the bag room — and later the pro shop — were the best of my life. I learned a great deal about hard work, service, loyalty, friendship, drugs and alcohol. In terms of my golf game, I cut my teeth playing holes that were oddly laid out and featured small greens, mountainous hills and conditions that rivaled any “big boy course” in the Midwest. It was my Augusta, my nirvana, and my temptress.

But it was also a version of golf completely opposite of my lower-class upbringing. It was an opportunity to see how the wealthy lived and how they spent their casual time, all while getting paid to make their lives enjoyable. Sure, there were plenty of perks that came along with my role in this performance, but once I clocked out at the end of my shift, things changed.

Public golf has always held a special place in my heart because I knew that’s where I truly belong. Stepping onto a golf course that didn’t have manicured greens and a tee-sheet loaded to the gills slowly became commonplace for me. Watching handicaps that ranged from scratch to “You Should Take Up Bowling” was the norm, and with it came a different sense of community.

Of course, public golf is not without its negatives. Rounds often surpass five hours on a good day, and greens fees fluctuate more than the stock market. You’re always at risk to run into golfers you’d rather not play in front of, or behind. I’m not the biggest fan of being paired with random strangers, but this is almost guaranteed should you venture out as a single on a weekend. Private clubs, conversely, allow familiar faces to be paired together.

The unfamiliarity of clientele can also be public golf’s biggest benefit. I’ve met many great people completely due to chance on a public course, and sometimes have been lucky enough to play more than one round with them. I can count on one hand the number of instances I regretted being paired with random strangers, and it’s usually due to pace of play than attitude or personalities. At the end of the day, playing bad golf together is a great equalizer.

At the business level, public golf screams “community” to me more than anything we did at the private club. You meet all walks of life at a park district scramble or moonlight nine, and the stories told among a foursome after “so where are you from?” are highly entertaining. I’ve shot some of my best scores on public courses with people I’ve never met, leaving me with a feeling that I’d just pulled off the world’s greatest con.

The flavors of public golf courses are plenty, and while most are developed by architects you’ll never read about, a select few leave lasting impressions on you. I’ve yet to find a golf course that I find nothing enjoyable about, and the most ridiculous hole designs haunt me every season. In some weird way, however, those monsters keep me coming back for more.

The allure of public golf is more than just the people, or just the course designs, or just the discount hotdogs at the turn. It’s the combination of all these parts working perfectly together in spite of their imperfections. It’s the game in its purest form, curated by taxpayers and superintendents, setting the stage for future generations to experience something we’ve left behind.

Cog Hill Golf and Country Club

Looking for a great golf experience on one of the country’s greatest courses?  Look no further than Chicagoland’s very own Cog Hill Golf & Country Club. Cog Hill Golf & Country Club in Lemont, Illinois is approximately 30 miles southwest of downtown Chicago and arguably one of the best courses in the Midwest.  Home to a PGA Tour event 18 times since 1991 including the Western Open and the present-day BMW Championship, the #4 course (deemed “Dubsdread”) was voted as one of GOLF Magazine’s “Top 100 Courses You Can Play” in 1998 (16) and 59^th on Golf Digest’s “America’s 100 Greatest Courses”.  Consisting of four courses in total, the original course was built in 1927 by manual labor and horse-drawn equipment.  The third course on the property was built in 1963 by architect Dick Wilson, whose work was so impressive that he was asked to build a fourth course that would “be good enough to host a national open or PGA Championship”.  Unfortunately, Wilson passed away in the planning stages of what would become Dubsdread, which was ultimately finished by Joe Lee.  This legendary track was reopened in 2009 after a $5.2 million renovation led by Rees Jones and has hosted the BMW Championship ever since.

Cog Hill’s four challenging courses are open to play for the public and features affordable pricing for any player.  According to the club’s website, Spring and Summer rates for courses #1 and #3 will run you $37 during the week and $45 on the weekend before 3pm.  Course #2, commonly referred to as “The Ravines”, goes for a flat rate of $57 anytime during the week.  Carts are also available for all three courses at $16 per player.  Further twilight discounts are available after 4:30pm on the weekend and after 6pm any day of the week.

Dubsdread is available for play at a reasonable $155, which includes complimentary golf cart, range balls, and Laser Link distance finder.  Twilight rates are also available for courses 1 through 3 after 3pm where you can play any course for under $20. Replay rate for Cog Hill’s pride and joy is $95 for those players looking to get 36 holes in for the day.

Often seen as a “dying breed” in most of Illinois’ courses, Cog Hill also offers caddies for any of its four courses.  Rates begin at $20 plus gratuity and are paid directly to the caddy following the round.  Caddies are available May through August and can be reserved up to 48 hours prior to your round.  All caddies are considered on-call and are not located on-site.

Winter rates are also available all courses but Dubsdread.  For example, weekday rates in the winter months (December through April) are set at $31 for courses 1 and 2 while The Ravines course runs at $46.  Twilight rates also apply for the winter beginning at 2pm.  Golf carts and hand carts are available, weather permitting.  Recently, a local sports station covered winter golf at Cog Hill:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8CR-c2Z4Oo]

Out-of-town travelers to the Chicagoland area have additional options when looking to play Cog Hill, including hotel packages and other amenities.  For example, Merriott hotel in nearby Burr Ridge, Illinois offers a “Stay and Play” package to traveling players and is conveniently located just 20 miles west of Chicago and near Midway Airport, the Brookfield Zoo, and Oak Brook Mall.  For updated pricing on golf packages and hotel availability, contact Merriott – Burr Ridge by calling 630-986-4100 or by visiting the Merriott website.