Very open course. Was mostly empty when we played so never felt pushed or slowed down. Well maintained, and we had a great time read more

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At $60 a round (walk or ride) you'd expect better. They stack people so heavily pace of play is ridiculous. To make matters worse the fairways are full of chip shop chunky holes and the greens aren't groomed well at all. The first cut off the greens is a mixture of first cut and clumps of weeds or grass. Seriously this course could be great but at 15 minutes per hole? No thanks. Plenty of other golf in Chicagoland. read more

Decided to give this course another try. The traps were filled with water and the twosome we played with lost 3 balls due to not being able to find them in the traps. Lots of ground under repair. $89 too much for this course, definitely not worth it. No GPS If it was in good shape, it would be a nice course. read more

Some of the most disrespectful staff I have ever experienced at a course. They yell at you for pace of play when they have three groups on a hole at one time. You would expect a lot more for an $80+ tee time. read more

Played Pine yesterday. RUDE STAFF. This used to be a premier course in the Chicago area. A nice layout with some interesting holes. However, the greens are HORRIBLE. At the turn, I asked the pro about the greens. He was immediately combative and said the greens were sanded. LOL. I could tell that. I've been playing golf for over 50 years and am a 5 handicap. That was not the problem. Looked like they had not been cut in days. The pro was rude. He was " in my face" immediately and said if you don't like the condition, I'll refund your money. I said that being with my buddies was more important than the conditions. For $85 the course should be better. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND PINE MEADOW. TOO MANY OTHER GREAT CHICAGO AREA COURSES. read more

Six of us played in back-to-back threesomes on November 9th. The foursome ahead of both groups was extremely slow, so we joined groups for a 3 on 3 scramble. We kept pace and had to wait on every tee and approach shot. A pro shop attendant stormed onto the 9th green shouting and pointing at our group. He yelled that two groups had called and complained about our sixsome. We tried explaining how slow the foursome in front of us had been, and that we had not slowed any groups behind us. However, he only cared that the others would complain. The situation was uncomfortable and spoiled what should had been a fun day. We split into threesomes for the back 9, and more importantly, the foursome in front quit after the front 9. Very quickly, the groups after us fell more than a hole behind, and we finished 20+ minutes before the "complaining" groups. Don't assume that we can't follow etiquette and keep pace because we're in our 30s and 40s. It's November silly-season golf, we were having a fun round, and we play fast. We paid $74/golfer to play in November only to be reprimanded about the optics of our group (not pace or etiquette). The era of grumpy golfers, who invented the 5-hour fourball have had their time. We are the new stewards of the game. We're polite, play fast and like switching formats. I'm sorry Cog didn't get awarded a US Open. Is that why both properties (and customer service) have deteriorated over the past decade? read more

Don't bother. On 13th hole now and 4 groups on this hole and the guy in clubhouse said "everyone is moving". No ranger on a Friday afternoon. They just don't give 2 shits read more

Rude clubhouse staff, so many scowls. If you hate your job and customers please find a different line of work. Practice facilities great, course good greens...half looked like park district. Bare, weeds on the collar, so sad reality. This used to surch a well kept course. read more

Only complaint is the greens are actually horrible. Everything thing else is great besides the bunkers sometimes but that is to be expected. I have to give the course a one star, when putting comes down to luck golf is just not fun anymore. read more

Maybe it was a great course 25 years ago, but not now. Clubhouse from the 50's and the rudest staff imaginable. At the turn I mentioned to the guy at the counter that the t boxes were in crap condition and the greens were beat to hell and maybe they should reduce the rate until these issues were corrected. His response..."don't like it, don't play". Now that's customer service. Don't worry boys, you won't see another nickel from me. read more

I made my tee-time online, Pine Meadow uses a algorithm called dynamic pricing. Prices you're tee time according to demand. I chose my time and received conformation e-mail with total due at the course $108.00 for a two-some. You can imagine my surprise when at check in, we were told $144 for two. I explained that the email stated $108 she said, we don't include the charge for the cart when the players book their times. To me, this is a very shady business practice. Every other golf course that I play in the fifty to sixty dollar range includes the cart. Had I known this, I definitely would have booked elsewhere. This course is not worth a premium price. Cart paths are in extremely poor shape, found myself driving on the fairways most of the time. Tee boxes are beat up and what's really troubling is that Pine Meadows customers can't be bothered to repair a ball mark on the greens. Two men with buckets of sand were filling in ball marks and sweeping it in. My playing partner nor I will be returning to play at Pine Meadow again. read more

I really like this course. It's very challenging, with a variety of holes and tee locations to test every skill level. The front nine and back nine are very different from each other, you can tell they are from different periods. They do a nice job of enforcing pace of play. My round was just at 4 hours on a Saturday morning. Well stocked pro shop, and decent hot dogs and burgers. Reasonable course to walk, although they could do a MUCH better job of putting out signs to tell you which way to go for the next tee box. Some distance between a few of the tees but nothing that will slow up play if you're a walker and playing with riders. It's a little spendy at $84 for a weekend round. Still, it's a great course, and I plan on playing there often. read more

Very good course and nice clubhhouse. Staff knows what they are doing.

There is a reason this golf course is consistently rated among top public courses in Illinois and well respected nationally. The layout is simply outstanding, the practice facilities are among the best I have ever been and the maintence of the course is top notch. I found the greens a bit slow for this time of year (1st of June) but in pretty good shape. I didnt like the half way house off 5th hole to be closed during a regular day, as I was hoping for a chilly beer, instead I waited till 9th hole and picked up a few. Reasonably price, super course for your golfing enjoyment. read more

The course was in great shape but my game was not. Fairways were like walking on plush carpeting. Greens were good and rolled true. Didn't have to wait on any holes. Played just under 4 hours. Great design and quite challenging. I would play again. read more

Because of the pandemic and having two parents that have a compromised immune system, one battling stage 4 breast cancer and the other dementia, I decided not to play golf this year or go to the range (prior to pandemic I was going 3 times a week). However, I decided to drive over the Pine Meadow early this morning to chip and putt, dropped three of my balls by the chipping area and here comes a guy in the cart, asking me if I was just going to use my three balls and use chipping and putting green for free. I explained my situation, and he offered to go get me a small bucket of balls for $5 - really. It's about $5 bucks after spending hundreds of dollars each year prior to the pandemic. I will do my best to never set foot in that place! read more

I remember this golf course being well manicured. Employees in the club house are incompetent and course needs some TLC

Overall, PM is a really nice course. I played today and thought the conditions were ideal. The golf course has a nice mixture of what I would call grip it and rip it holes along with several that definitely make you think twice abt hole strategy. The only negative, and for me it was a big negative, was being called for slow play when not only weren't we playing slow (I dislike slow play as much as anyone), but if you looked at the particular situation, it really was uncalled for. Just to give you an idea, we teed off at 10:30 and we're off the course by 2:30. We were on the 14th or 15th hole, some guy pulls up (50-60 yo, brown hair, smoking a cigar)and just parks his cart about 30 yards away right in my peripheral vision behind me. It distracted me so I asked him if he could pull over to the side. He couldn't hear me apparently so he drove up to to me and my playing partner and I again asked him if he could pls just pull off to the side. He did and as he was driving away he yelled out, "let's speed it up fellas." So I take my shot and then thought abt what he had just said. I knew we were on pace because we were just staying in front of a two some (we were a foursome) and by looking at my watch. And, today we were playing with my 80 year old father who walks so I was extra mindful. In fact, after this happened, I asked the two some if we were holding themup and if they wanted to play through. They said no, weren't holding them up a bit. So I decided to drive over to this ranger and tell him that I thought we were moving along just fine and his comment irritated me. He said, according to his records, we were eleven minutes slow. I asked who are we holding up? I knew we weren't holding up,the two some behind us. And I confirmed that five minutes later when I asked if they'd like to play through. The reason I even took the time to write this all down is not for your customers' benefit. It's for Pine Meadow. If someone is truly playing slow AND its affecting the course of play, then by all means say something to help them speed things up. Hey maybe even rake trap or help them some other way. It'll make you feel good. But what I suspect happened today is I guess what has happened to some other customers of yours. Being called for time when it just wasn't necessary. What's funny is the way you initially had your cart pointed and my location, I don't think you were going to stop and say anything. I could be wrong but usually when someone decides to say something only once they're driving away, that's a sign of bigger issues. Maybe Mr. Ranger you're the greatest guy in the world, but pissing off your customers should be avoided and in my opinion you went out of your way today to do that. I play a lot of golf with a lot of friends. I won't be back to visit you anytime soon. Way too many options out there where we don't have to deal with jerks. Sorry to all the other fine folks who work at PM. BUT you should know when you have a bad apple in your midst. read more

I had the opportunity to play this course twice this year. I was excited because I consistently see them in "Top 10" rankings of best public golf courses in the Chicagoland area. After my two rounds though, I just don't get what all the hype is about. I found Pine Meadow to be a slightly above average golf course. Here is my breakdown: Clubhouse: Old and dated. Pro shop has some of the things you might need to play a round, but be prepared to pay a premium for it. As in $68 for a dozen of Titleist. No, I did not buy any, just a warning for others. Plenty of PM apparel available to buy. Pro shop also houses the snack bar. Food options are actually pretty good, but again, premium prices. $9 for Beef Jerky! Again, no, I didn't buy any, just be forewarned. Selection of hard alcohol was pretty good. Decent amount of higher end spirits available. I did like that the Pro Shop was literally 5 steps from the parking lot though. Driving Range: This is where the course earns most of their stars from me. Without doubt, this is THE BEST practice facility at a golf course in the Chicagoland area. Range is located right outside the door of the clubhouse, so no long walks like other courses have. Too many bays to even count. I can't see a scenario where you wouldn't be able to hit balls here because they are all full. Plenty of greens to hit at, and all are marked with their yardages so you know the distances. Just past the driving range, is a very nice chipping green, where you can work on bunker shots, chips and pitches. Plenty of holes to shoot at. 5 star Practice Facility! Putting Green: Medium sized with about 6-9 holes to hit at. I did feel a bit cramped though, and there were only 5 of us putting. Green rolled true though to the course, which always gets my vote of approval. Course: The course itself was in good condition, from tees, to fairways, to greens. I don't really have anything bad to say about the golf itself. The course is slightly above average, but very forgiving in my opinion. What bothers me immensely though, is that there was no bathrooms, no water jugs, and no cart girls. Oh, and no GPS on the carts. For nearly $80 a round (in-season), those things are expected and frankly should be mandatory. For this course not to have any of it, is unacceptable. Staff is very clear about making sure you stay "one shot behind the group in front of you". This signage was posted in our cart. Yet, the group in front of us was clearly a full hole or more behind pace, and we never once saw a ranger enforcing pace of play. There also wasn't anyone available to clean clubs after the round was finished. For a course to charge high end prices, and be ranked in the Top 10 Chicagoland courses, and not have these services available, again is unacceptable. They say "it's the little things that can add up", and this course is the epitome of that phrase to me. Staff: Everyone I came across was nice and friendly. No issues with the staff, just the lack of certain positions (cart girl, bag attendant, ranger, etc.) Overall: If I could give half stars, I'd give Pine Meadow 3.5. Since I can't though, and with the lack of amenities I expect from top level golf courses, this place only gets a three from me. It would be at the top of the list of three star courses, but a three none the less. There is room to improve and they can make it happen. I just hope they do. read more

Used to love this course. I recall some holes not quite the same (as pretty or challenging) as a few years ago. But the real purpose of this review is to tell you there are lots of options our there where you'll be treated better. The totally unprofessional manner in which this club is run is counter to the game of golf. Played on a Sunday with temps in the mid 90's. NOBODY out there. Rangers were not helpful and outright rude. Kept following us to play faster, with no one on the course. I don't get it, but with many real nice courses in the area begging golfers to come out at reduced rates, these guys are turning people off. Finally stopped in clubhouse to provide feedback to staff but they just didn't want to hear it. The topper came when another golfer walked out to our car and told us we weren't the only ones he's witnessed similar complaints from. My advise: Stonewall Orchard (awesome, same rate), Foxford Hills (way cheaper), Steeple Chase, Chalet,,,,,, read more

I have lived only a few minutes from this course for over 8 years and never played it because I felt it was overpriced. With that said I greed to play with a couple friends to finally see if I was missing something. To my surprise I could have never played this course and been happy. The course itself is a bit of a challenge but nothing that great. The condition of the course was TERRIBLE and I frankly would have been embarrassed if I were the management. I paid $75 and for what I got that was a rip-off, I live on White Deer Run which is way nicer and cheaper. In todays day and age why is there not a GPS in the cart for that price? Anyway I will not be returning. read more

This course has a great layout. Just played late July. Tee to green was great. The greens were very disappointing. Shaggy, slow and sandy. Maybe it was a scheduled maintenance issue but none of us could get the ball to the hole they were so slow. read more

I love the layout and the pace of play at Pine Meadow. It is at the top of my list for public tracks in Chicago. But I worry that it is not maintained in the way that it used to be. The greens are fine, but not great, and there is now a big distance between many of the bunkers and the greens -- a symptom of careless maintenance. It's still a great place, and the fact that each hole is separated from the other is wonderful. The greens are interesting and undulated (and very large). But if this place had some investment it would be still be one the very top of the short list of best public tracks in Chicago. Without such investment, it will fall into the next tier. read more

Very nice course, but for $90, the value proposition is average.

I played this recently. Staff were very friendly, especially in light of a frost delay, which got us started late. We chose to walk 18 and they let us take carts out to hole 11 to start (scramble going off on the front 9 at the same time as us, so we started on back 9) and then leave them their, so we could drive them back when finished. Course was obviously not in perfect condition (its early April), but was still really nice. I think this place will be great in June once the trees have filled out and it can play as intended. Definitely recommend giving it a shot. read more

I'm a 12-13 handicap....I usually play Thunderhawk, Stonewall Orchard, and Mistwood. Thought I'd give Pine Meadow a try. Very disappointed in my first impressions. The clubhouse is old and shabby. There are no attendants to take and set up your clubs (nor clean them on the way out). The carts are slow, loud, and also run-down. The practice tee is large enough, and you do get to hit off grass. But there is no place for chipping or practicing bunker shots. The practice green is rather small, but true. Also, there is minimal snack cart service once on the course. We stopped at the clubhouse between nines, and the gentlemen serving us was in absolutely no hurry (usually the attendant is aware that you are playing and tries to get you right back out ASAP. But not THIS guy). I got a ham sandwich that was good and fresh. Also, and most importantly, there is no map of the holes; there is no GPS, nor layout of the hole on the tee. Thus, if you're unfamiliar with the course, or don't have your own app, good luck. I found the course layout to be largely un-interesting. There are a few dogleg holes, but they are mostly straight away and featureless. The course was maintained just OK....I wasn't impressed, nor was I disappointed there. I wouldn't choose to go back here, but I wouldn't refuse either if somebody else in my party wanted to play there again. read more

Had a great round except for the first five holes where our foursome was constantly badgered by the marshall to keep the pace of play up even though we were playing ahead of pace. ( We ended up finishing the round in just under 4 hours. ) I love to play fast but it's not much fun to play golf when you feel rushed even while playing fast. I have been playing every day this week at various courses and the course is in great condition if you only play fairway and green golf but I dont always do that and I think the rough hasn't been watered at all recently and I would consider the overall shape of the course as subpar when compared to others in the area right now. read more

I was disappointed with this golf course when I played it at the beginning of August. The biggest problem seems that it hasn't had enough water. Most greens had at least one considerably large dead spot I recognize that it has been an extremely dry and hot summer but that hasn't prevented other courses in the area from being well maintained. Manicuring aside, it is a great challenging course. It plays almost 7300 from the tips (although I played the blue/gold combo at 6600). The length of this course makes it very difficult. I'm told by a friend that the course was in much better shape when he played it previously. I'm looking forward to giving it another shot next summer. read more

Pine Meadow is always a favorite for the Golf Channel Am Tour. Our most recent visit was great once again. The facility looked great, the staff was friendly and outgoing (as always), pace of play was fantastic and course was in good shape. I will be contacting the club for a 2016 date very soon. Thanks for a great event! read more

I will preface this review by saying that I had a terrible experience, which may taint my opinion. I had a friend from Europe in town, with whom I played some of the better courses in the area - Pine Meadow is on every one of those lists, so off we went. Can't think of a worse way to waste your time than on this joke of a golf course. I don't get it. I don't understand how any critic can say anything good about this place. But I digress. Re: our bad experience: The course was hosting an outing in the morning - kind of a "fun" tournament, for which the pins were put in the most ridiculous spots (i.e. edge of ridges, smack in the middle of inclines, 2 feet from the fringe, etc.). I'm an ok golf player (Hcp 2), but at some point a course becomes completely unplayable. We putted out on the first 5-6 holes - from then onward we resorted to hitting our iron shots into the greens and picking up. What REALLY irked me is the fact that NOBODY said a word Not the guy collecting my 80+ bucks green fee, not the starter (!), not the first two rangers we saw. On No. 15 a ranger drives up and asks whether we're having fun with the pins. My jaw just dropped. I'm a nice guy, but I almost punched the poor dude. I actually emailed the Jemsek's afterward, but got NO response. Seriously? Anyhow, besides my bad experience, I still don't see why people are so enamored with this place. There is little variety amongst the holes, usually presenting runway wide fairways with massively undulated greens that seem totally out of place. Supporters of intelligent design point to the watch as evidence for the watch maker - Pine Meadow does most certainly not serve as evidence for the existence of intelligent golf course design. Over and over it's "find tee box, grab driver, swing hard. Lather, rinse, repeat." I've read reviews that allude to the "variety of holes" - really? I couldn't tell one hole from the other. I've played way over 100 golf courses in my life, and this one doesn't even make the Top 50. I admit - I may be bitter about a wasted afternoon, but still. This is not a good golf course. Period. I wouldn't play it again if it was free. read more

Over four days we played Medinah, Dubsdread, Eaglewood Resort (Itasca) and Pine Meadow, which came in last place. Sure, it's up against some tough competition, but it was just okay. Unlike the other courses, the staff is abrupt and unhelpful, and they certainly took no interest in helping us out-of-towners. Lots of frowns, few smiles. Of the 72 holes of golf I played this week, I cannot recall one from Pine Meadow, though I can recall virtually every one from the other three courses. Will not be back. read more

Very nice course, fairways well taken care of and greens roll true. Good variety of holes, some requiring some accuracy as well as length. However, a bit pricey so only 3 stars. read more

My son and I just played Saturday afternoon. We both gave the course top marks for condition, layout and staff. There were plenty of rangers to offer assistance and to keep it moving (nobody likes a five hour round...we played in four!). Keep up the great work! read more

I've played this course quite a bit. Challenging but fair. Fairways are fairly wide, but the course is a bit long and approach shots are a little tricky. What I like about the course is that every hole seems isolated from the rest of the course. You don't get too distracted with what's going on around you. Probably the best public practice facility in the area, dare I say the ChicagoLand area. read more

For $80 the greens are terrible and carts barely drivable. Seems like a $30-$40 course to me. Staff is very nice and helpful however.

Played Pine Meadow in October the course has really improved over the round I played in June. The greens were a little thin on two holes but great on the rest. The course was fairly open and we were able to play in 4 hours on a Friday! read more

I've been playing Pine Meadow for 20 years. It's my favorite public course in the area. One, the course can play many different ways depending on the tees you choose, the conditions and the hole locations. Two, it's set up well to walk. Three, there're a great mix of holes: long and short par 4's, challenging and score-able par 5's, and fair par 3's. Four, each hole is basically isolated from the rest of the course so you don't see other players. Five, the range and practice greens are the best around. Six, they run the course well. If there's a frost delay, they will send groups off 1 and 10 to quickly get back on schedule. They also aren't afraid to encourage slow groups to pick up the pace. Most people complain courses do nothing about slow play, at PM they do. Lastly, if the course isn't up to their standards, they adjust their green fees. They've had trouble with some of the greens the last few years, but they have also adjusted green fees to make up for it. I played there on Sunday, and I'm happy to report the greens are the best they've been in a while. read more

Just TERRIBLE!! First impressions are everything! Not only did they have the nerve to charge full price ($60) for aerated greens covered in seed and sand, but nine bucks for a BLT before teeing off, left more than a bad taste in my mouth. Post-winter/late spring conditions vary from course to course, but that's why there's a thing called "spring rates"!! Tons of dead spots on the "greens" that poked through the sand and seed, barren spots on fairways, and crappy fringe maintenance around the greens leaves you wondering the level of integrity of the staff to not even tell people the deplorable condition of their course. I signed up to Yelp just to help protect the masses from over priced jokes like Pine Meadow. They ride the coat-tails of a decade's old rating, and their course is clearly a hollowed out shell of whatever it used to be. Based on the high price and lack of transparency, I will never play there again. read more