Opinions needed-TPC Deere Run or Dubsdread

[exgolfpro]

Already starting to put together some thoughts for 2017 vacation. I live in SE Missouri, but my wife and I have driven to Sheboygan, Wisconsin the last 4 years and love vacationing up there for a week. Usually, we make the drive to Erin Hills on the first day, spend the night at Hartford, WI and get up and play Erin Hills, before heading over to the Kohler area. But this next year, the US Open will be at Erin Hills, so I am looking to do something just a bit different.

 

My first thought is to drive up to Moline, IL, spend the night, then get up and play TPC Deere Run before heading up to Kohler. But I have never played any golf in Chicago either and would consider possibly playing Dubsdread instead, before heading up.

 

I played TPC Deere Run about 10 yrs ago, and wouldn't mind playing it again, but what do others think of either course? If there is a better option than Dubsdread on the western suburbs of Chicago, I would consider that as well. What say you?

 

The only thing of note that may be important is that I play as a single and my wife tags along to take pics, etc. Getting paired up with others is not a problem.

[zer0]

change of plans: you're skipping Dubs and Deere Run and heading up to Green Lake to play Lawsonia Links instead.

 

 

 

You're welcome.

 

 

P.S. lawsonia is very customer friendly and will have no problem with your wife tagging along for photos. The ranger will probably talk her ear off giving her all the good spots on the course for photo ops.

[exgolfpro]

change of plans: you're skipping Dubs and Deere Run and heading up to Green Lake to play Lawsonia Links instead.

 

 

 

You're welcome.

 

 

P.S. lawsonia is very customer friendly and will have no problem with your wife tagging along for photos. The ranger will probably talk her ear off giving her all the good spots on the course for photo ops.

 

funny you say that....I was just on their website today looking at the courses. Thanks for your input and I will seriously look into it. Is one course much better than the other? (links vs woodlands)

[dikaia22]

Between Deere Run and Dubsdread, I would go Deere Run. Unless of course you have never played Cog, then go for that. My personal preference though is Deere. If you haven't played it in 10 years you may seem some subtle refinements since you last played it.

[DavePelz4]

Go to Deere Run and then continue north to Galena and play The General at Eagle Ridge. Top notch spa for your better half while you're enjoying a great Illinois design. You can rent a nice townhouse and have an awesome time.

[dikaia22]

Go to Deere Run and then continue north to Galena and play The General at Eagle Ridge. Top notch spa for your better half while you're enjoying a great Illinois design. You can rent a nice townhouse and have an awesome time.

 

Is Galena everything it's hyped to be? Have been wanting to do a long weekend get away with the wife and this sounds like this may have made the shortlist.

[DavePelz4]

Go to Deere Run and then continue north to Galena and play The General at Eagle Ridge. Top notch spa for your better half while you're enjoying a great Illinois design. You can rent a nice townhouse and have an awesome time.

 

Is Galena everything it's hyped to be? Have been wanting to do a long weekend get away with the wife and this sounds like this may have made the shortlist.

 

Yes Sir, it is. Eagle Ridge has 3 great courses that are almost always in fantastic condition.

 

And downtown Galena has the cute shops your significant other would enjoy. A great steakhouse as well as a couple of fun bars,

[Argonne69]

Go to Deere Run and then continue north to Galena and play The General at Eagle Ridge. Top notch spa for your better half while you're enjoying a great Illinois design. You can rent a nice townhouse and have an awesome time.

 

Is Galena everything it's hyped to be? Have been wanting to do a long weekend get away with the wife and this sounds like this may have made the shortlist.

 

Yes Sir, it is. Eagle Ridge has 3 great courses that are almost always in fantastic condition.

 

And downtown Galena has the cute shops your significant other would enjoy. A great steakhouse as well as a couple of fun bars,

 

I'm not a big fan of the other two courses, but the General is certainly worth a visit.

 

Normally I would say Dubs, but I played it back in September, and the course was in mediocre condition. Many bunkers had little sand, and the bunker lining was coming up in places. I've played Dubs numerous times, and it's one of my favorite courses in Chicago, but I was really disappointed this time around given the $155 price tag. TPC Deere Run is probably be best value in TPC courses in the country.

 

I'd certainly consider Lawsonia as well.

 

OP, when is your planned vacation? Keep in mind that TPC Deere Run closes for the PGA tournament (7/13 - 16).

[exgolfpro]

Go to Deere Run and then continue north to Galena and play The General at Eagle Ridge. Top notch spa for your better half while you're enjoying a great Illinois design. You can rent a nice townhouse and have an awesome time.

 

Is Galena everything it's hyped to be? Have been wanting to do a long weekend get away with the wife and this sounds like this may have made the shortlist.

 

Yes Sir, it is. Eagle Ridge has 3 great courses that are almost always in fantastic condition.

 

And downtown Galena has the cute shops your significant other would enjoy. A great steakhouse as well as a couple of fun bars,

 

I'm not a big fan of the other two courses, but the General is certainly worth a visit.

 

Normally I would say Dubs, but I played it back in September, and the course was in mediocre condition. Many bunkers had little sand, and the bunker lining was coming up in places. I've played Dubs numerous times, and it's one of my favorite courses in Chicago, but I was really disappointed this time around given the $155 price tag. TPC Deere Run is probably be best value in TPC courses in the country.

 

I'd certainly consider Lawsonia as well.

 

OP, when is your planned vacation? Keep in mind that TPC Deere Run closes for the PGA tournament (7/13 - 16).

 

Yes, I had read your post on Cog Hill....disappointing.

 

Nice comment on the dates of the tournament. We usually take our vacation in late June or early July so thanks for the reminder.

[zer0]

change of plans: you're skipping Dubs and Deere Run and heading up to Green Lake to play Lawsonia Links instead.

 

 

 

You're welcome.

 

 

P.S. lawsonia is very customer friendly and will have no problem with your wife tagging along for photos. The ranger will probably talk her ear off giving her all the good spots on the course for photo ops.

 

funny you say that....I was just on their website today looking at the courses. Thanks for your input and I will seriously look into it. Is one course much better than the other? (links vs woodlands)

 

Links is much better, but Woodlands is still an awesome course. Many people like Woodlands better the first time they go to Lawsonia because of the aesthetics of the course. Woodlands is beautiful, cut out of the woods and you won't see another hole or golfer all day. Has a couple breathtaking holes at the beginning of the loop in #2 and #3, #2 requires a short iron approach over an old rock quarry and #3 is a 160 yard straight down par 3 where you tee off off a cliff.

 

But, there's nothing like the Links course. You can play the rest of your days and never see a course like the Links. One magazine rated it the best greens in the country and golf digest rated it as the 13th funnest course to play in the USA. A true links style course and not just on the surface, it actually plays like a links course. Fairways are extremely firm and fast especially as you get closer to the greens, plenty of blind shots, risk/reward, variation between holes and multiple ways to approach a hole/shot. Its the kind of course you could play every day for the rest of your life and not get bored.

[Argonne69]

Another option would be the Madison Wisconsin area, with a round at University Ridge. UR is a solid course, and home to the Badgers golf team. Wild Rock near the Wisconsin Dells would also be a worthy stop.

[Thunder Dan]

Dubsdread is worth a 45 minute drive tops. It's pretty overrated.

[oldpalchamp]

I have never been a fan of Cog Hill. I think it is overly penal, never in really good shape and over-priced. TPC Deere Run is one of my favorite courses. It is very fair, and if you play from the correct tees, you can post a pretty good round. The Links at Lawsonia is fantastic Langford Moreau design with some of the best, most interesting green complexes you will ever see.

[saggysag]

 

IMO- can't go wrong with dubs. I love the place, and it's extremely challenging.

 

For pictures and a fun golf course. Check out the glen club. It's pricey, but beautiful and fun to play.

 

http://www.theglenclub.com

 

 

 

[golfer912]

Played Dubs earlier this season and it wasn't in the condition it use to be. Greens were painfully slow. I would avoid it

[CMCSGolf]

The Lawsonia advice is the best here. The Links course is fantastic. If you're tied to TPC of Dubsdread, fo to TPC Deere Run. It's a fun course, but still a large step below Lawsonia.

[PuttCurseRepeat]

 

Yes Sir, it is. Eagle Ridge has 3 great courses that are almost always in fantastic condition.

 

And downtown Galena has the cute shops your significant other would enjoy. A great steakhouse as well as a couple of fun bars,

 

The Log Cabin steakhouse is one of the only things I remember about Galena. That, and downtown is protected from the oft flooding Galena River by a levee complete with giant floodgates. Gives downtown an almost "Walled City" feel. I suppose it's not a bad place to overnight, coming up from Missouri.

[adamjstl]

TPC over Dubs. And, if you are driving from SE Mo, play Spirit Hollow on the way to TPC. You'll love it.

 

Personally, if you are playing for a few days, drive out to Indianapolis instead. There are many great options, and more affordable than TPC or Chicagoland.

 

PM for details on specific courses.

[Argonne69]

TPC over Dubs. And, if you are driving from SE Mo, play Spirit Hollow on the way to TPC. You'll love it.

 

Personally, if you are playing for a few days, drive out to Indianapolis instead. There are many great options, and more affordable than TPC or Chicagoland.

 

PM for details on specific courses.

 

No doubt Indy has some great courses at affordable prices, but the OP was looking for courses along the way to Sheboygan. An alternative trip to French Lick via Indy would be a nice golf trip, with rounds at The Brickyard, Purgatory, and The Fort before heading to FL to play the Dye and Ross courses.

[UCBananaboy]

I haven't played Deere Run but I will opine on Dubs. I think the course is grossly overrated. If it weren't for the novelty of hosting a TOUR event, the course would be a slightly above-average muni course. There are probably a half dozen public courses in Chicago that are better and who don't charge $180 for a round.

[jsixman]

Deere Run. So underrated. Greens are impeccable at the right time.

[exgolfpro]

 

 

Personally, if you are playing for a few days, drive out to Indianapolis instead.

 

 

 

Actually went to Indy to watch the BMW Champ and played about 4 courses. Had a blast. Thanks for the advice.

[MK7Golf21]

Deere Run. So underrated. Greens are impeccable at the right time.

 

my favorite greens Ive played on, ball just stays on its line and they are fairly quick.

[PuttCurseRepeat]

I haven't played Deere Run but I will opine on Dubs. I think the course is grossly overrated. If it weren't for the novelty of hosting a TOUR event, the course would be a slightly above-average muni course. There are probably a half dozen public courses in Chicago that are better and who don't charge $180 for a round.

 

Actually, Dubs is $155. $100 after 4:00pm. Including cart.

 

Dubsdread use to be all the rage. Once greens fees topped $100, people cooled. They were used to paying <$80. The Tour came and greens fees soared. Then the PGA bailed on Dubs, but the price remained high. At current prices (top 3 public in the area?), the course should be in primo condition but I hear that is not always the case.

 

Besides price, another thing Dubs has going against it is, it's hard. Very hard. Many will shoot their season high score when they play Dubsdread. Many will shoot their career high. If the course is not named Oakmont and there is no PGA Tour stop to legitimize it, this will rub people the wrong way. Unless you bring an A+ game to Dubs, you will be playing from the rough and sand all day. This is generally not the recipe for a good time. That said, you will feel like you are on a PGA Tour course and there are very few public courses in the area which rise to that level. I say, if you don't mind paying a premium to get a little beat up by a "big boy" golf course, then go for it. You could play many less memorable courses.

[Argonne69]

I believe Dubs is the 2nd highest priced public course in Chicago at $155 (w/ cart). The Glen Club is the highest at $220 (w/ cart) at its peak.

 

I don't find Dubs incredibly difficult if your ball striking is decent. Yes, it can be a kick in the head if you're not hitting fairways and greens, but I think it's a fair course. I think The Glen is a much harder course. 'Nothing tricked up about it. It's certainly not a course for the casual bogey golfer.

[CMCSGolf]

I politely disagree with argonne69. I thought Dubs is harder mostly because the bunkers there are so deep. When they updated the course in hopes of chasing the BMW they made them so tough. Unless you can really loft a soft spinning wedge out of those traps, you could get stuck in them all day. The Glen Club was a fairly pedestrian track in my opinion. More water comes into play there, but other than that it is a fairly common modern course. Great conditioning though.

[sleuth]

If you're able to, try to get onto Davenport Country Club. Pretty much same location as TPC. It's a private club and pretty open to outside guests, if you're there during the week. Give the head pro a call and see if you can work something out. The course is just visually stunning.

[ckates7]

If I were you I would not pass up an opportunity to play Ravisloe in Chicago. Up until recently it has been a private club. Now open to the public it is one of the better courses up there. Ravisloe and Cantigny are my suggestions

[adamjstl]

Cog is just not worth the $...

 

The LEAST memorable $100+ plus course you will ever play.

[FairwayFred]

change of plans: you're skipping Dubs and Deere Run and heading up to Green Lake to play Lawsonia Links instead.

 

 

 

You're welcome.

 

 

P.S. lawsonia is very customer friendly and will have no problem with your wife tagging along for photos. The ranger will probably talk her ear off giving her all the good spots on the course for photo ops.

 

funny you say that....I was just on their website today looking at the courses. Thanks for your input and I will seriously look into it. Is one course much better than the other? (links vs woodlands)

 

This +1000

 

Plays Links as much as possible don't bother with Woodlands.