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The “Best of CDGA:

Reader Rankings”

results are in after

area golfers weigh

in on some of their

favorite holes.

Of the 376 member clubs and courses listed in the 2007 CDGA Green Book Course Directory, 202, oran impressive 54 percent, were included in the final online tabulations via www.cdga.org.

If one thing is certain, it is that opinions are both many and varied. In the category of Best Short Par 3, for example, area players voted for no fewer than 127 different holes on 103 courses.

C hicago-area golfers have spoken and the survey results for the best in the District are in.

JULY/AUGUST 2007 35

Best TreeThe 18th at Butler National Golf ClubOak Brook

A large oak tree virtually in the middle of thelanding area of this par 4 is the mostimportant factor in the placement of a

player’s tee shot. It requires the golfer to play further left, lengthening this dogleg right evenmore, and on days when the hole is cut on theright side of the green, nothing short of two near-perfect shots are required to get close to theflagstick on a hole that plays more than 400 yards.It’s possible to hit an approach shot under the branches, but that is a daring feat that requires an exacting touch. This is a magnificent finishing holeand in 2000, it was included on Golf Magazine’slist of the world’s 500 greatest holes.

Rest of the top three:2. The 16th at Wynstone Golf Club,

North Barrington3. The 12th at Medinah (Ill.) Country Club

ARCHITECTGeorge Fazio and Tom Fazio

OPENED1972

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From the back set of markers this hole plays about450 yards, so even with a solid drive a scratch player is hitting a long iron on the second shot. The

approach has to carry a creek, but also it’s harder to hold

this putting surface because the green is elevated. Thereare bunkers both left and right that catch most shots thatcome up short. As a testament to the difficulty of thisapproach shot, this green was hit in regulation by just 39.5percent of the field during the 2003 U.S. OpenChampionship—the lowest GIR percentage of any hole that week.

Rest of the top three:2. The 10th at Wynstone Golf Club, North Barrington3. The 18th at Butler National Golf Club, Oak Brook3. The 9th at Big Run Golf Club, Lockport

Best ApproachThe 3rd at Olympia Fields Country Club (North Course)Olympia Fields, Ill.

ArchitectWillie Park, Jr.

Opened1915

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The 290-yard hole is tree-lined on both sides.Players can choose to try to drive the green,keeping in mind there are three bunkers

lining the front of the green, or play the hole moretraditionally. On the left side, overhanging trees protect the fairway and green on a player’s secondshot. This hole also sports the course’s most severelysloped green, running from back to front. It’s a challenge to make a putt, let alone keep it on thegreen. Whatever strategy a player chooses off the tee,it’s possible to make a bogey or double. It certainly isa risk-reward hole.

Rest of the top three:2. The 4th at Stonewall Orchard Golf Club, Grayslake3. The 8th at ThunderHawk Golf Club, Beach Park

ARCHITECTTom Bendelow andWilliam Boice

OPENED1911

Best ShortPar 4The 8th at Glen OakCountry ClubGlen Ellyn, Ill.

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There’s no missing the distinctive outline of theChicago skyline, some 15 miles away, from the fifthtee on Harborside’s Port Course. The hole runs

south to north, virtually in line toward the city’s noted

landmarks, which serve a secondary function in addition tocreating a spectacular panorama. They are directionals fortee shots on the par-4 dogleg left. Depending on the location of the tee markers, the aim of a player’s drivecould be right at the Sears Tower, or the Aon Center, theJohn Hancock Center or the Prudential Building.

Rest of the top three:2. The 14th at Eagle Ridge Resort & Spa (The General), Galena3. The 12th at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club (No. 4 Course),Lemont3. The 17th at Medinah (Ill.) Country Club (No. 3 Course)

ARCHITECTDick Nugent

OPENED1995

The 5th at Harborside InternationalGolf Center (Port Course)Chicago

Best View

Shoreacres was one of the first solo designsby Seth Raynor, whose notable worksinclude Fox Chapel Golf Club near

Pittsburgh and the Camargo Club in Cincinnati.One of the signature characteristics of Raynor is aterrific use of elevation change, specifically theplacement of large bunkers set well below the surface of broad, expansive greens. The 12th atShoreacres, which generally plays at only about130 yards, falls 40 feet to a large green bunkeredin front. But there is no room for error, which isthe point of constructing, in architects’ parlance, a“Short.” Missing this green and walking away witha par is a terrific feat.

RReesstt ooff tthhee ttoopp tthhrreeee::2. The 11th at Ruffled Feathers Golf Club, Lemont3. The 12th at Beverley Country Club, Chicago3. The 17th at Chalet Hills Golf Club, Cary

ARCHITECTSeth Raynor

OPENED1916

Best ShortPar 3The 12th at ShoreacresLake Bluff