Friendly staff and course is in fairly decent shape, especially for the price. Driving holes are wide and the rough is very manageable, so good times for bombers who don't have the best accuracy. Plenty of sand which you can mostly avoid if you play for the miss. Sand quality has become inconsistent between traps, but playable. The greens are sneaky and can be a little frustrating when it breaks way further or much less than you were expecting. And just when you think you've figured it out, that 6 inch break is actually a straight putt. They're fairly true, but depending on the pin placement, do expect to scratch your head a bit when you 3 putt, if you aren't totally excellent at reading greens. The range is massive with limited shade and mats were refreshed so that is nice. Good golf and good times. Totally worth the drive from Chicago.

Highland Woods Golf Course is located in Hoffman Estates, IL which is 30 miles Northwest of downtown Chicago. With this location comes great natural landscape beauty and elevation changes that make this a beautiful, fun course to play. I started at the large (48 bays) driving range that also has lights for evening practice. It was designed by respected golf course architect William J. Spear in 1975 and had several significant updates throughout the years. Spears designed 35 courses in his career, most in the upper Midwest and he’s known for using the natural landscape features to help distinguish the character of each hole. This course is built on the highest point in Cook County which gave Spears a lot more interesting canvas to build on. I played the White tees which are 6,490 yards with a 71.7 rating and a 119 slope. This is probably the most difficult Chicago Forest Preserve Golf Course, the very wide fairways and large greens make it accessible for any level handicap. I also like the Forest Preserve’s commitment to sustainability with its Guard Our Forest Greens program (#EcoForEveryone). It’s mission is to “create an ecological balance through sustainability and restoration.” It certainly appears like their mission is fulfilled when I walked this course. It’s in great shape and the wildlife is abundant. The course is managed by Indigo Sports, a Troon company. The tee boxes, fairways and greens are all lush (June in Chicago). The greens were excellent in that they were fast and pure, but not slate-fast. The elevation changes made it a lot more fun (great exercise if you’re a walker), but it also added a layer of difficulty. The pace of play was very good (4-hour round). The staff in the clubhouse is very friendly and the food and drink is good and priced fairly. I live in the city so driving out to Hoffman Estates isn’t convenient, but that said, I love this course and I will make the trip a few more times this summer and fall. I am an FPGC holder (Forest Preserve Golf Card) and I’m also a senior who enjoys walking. With all these advantages it cost $20 to play 18-holes here! It’s an unbelievable value and a wonderful golf experience.

Played for my first and was quite pleased with the whole golf experience from start to finish. The staff was friendly and the club house well organized with quality golf item for sale. Did I mentioned that the grill has Johnsonville bratwurst! Best dam bratwurst available to mankind! The course it self was somewhat manageable but the greens were well cared for and the greens were fast! Definitely would come and play this course against soon

Had a disappointing experience at Highland Woods this morning. I had a 9:40 tee time and arrived around 9:30, only to be told my group had already teed off because groups were being sent early. I asked if I could simply tee off at my scheduled time once the group cleared the hole, but the interaction with the starter became unnecessarily confrontational and I was even threatened with being kicked out. I completely understand trying to maintain pace of play, but customers should not be treated as though they are late when they arrive before their scheduled tee time. What’s frustrating is that the course itself actually seemed to be in very good shape and I was genuinely excited to play it. Unfortunately, the customer service experience completely overshadowed that and put me in a bad headspace before the round even started. I ended up leaving after 3 holes. Hopefully management takes a look at how situations like this are handled moving forward.

Lady at the desk is a total beach for no reason, very rude. Also overpriced its literally a sheep pasture with a few flags. Fire everyone. Also pricing does not match what they say online. I promise the lady overcharged us.