The ultimate Chicago golf course guide
Chicago Area Golf News
Recent news, events, and coverage of the Chicagoland golf scene, curated every day
Updated February 25, 2026
2026
St. Andrews Golf & Country Club in West Chicago is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2026, marking a rare century of continuous operation under family stewardship. Opened in 1926, it has endured major historical challenges while evolving into a vibrant, welcoming public golf destination with two championship 18-hole courses, a major practice facility, and a longstanding reputation as a generational home for Chicagoland golfers.
The Naperville Park Board has approved buying two Toro autonomous mowers for $76,757 to use at Naperbrook and Springbrook golf courses. The battery-powered, quiet, zero-emission machines will mainly maintain driving ranges, allowing mowing without closing areas or picking up golf balls, while cutting labor, fuel costs, and emissions.
LIV Golf begins its fifth season in Saudi Arabia with significant changes, most notably the removal of Chicago from its 14-tournament schedule after a four-year run. The circuit is also evolving its format to 72-hole events with expanded 57-player fields and, for the first time, limited World Ranking Points.
While the tour loses mainstays like Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed to the PGA Tour, it adds new talent like Illini alum Thomas Detry. Although LIV has exited Illinois, Chicago golf fans can look forward to the Chicago Golf Show in late February and the PGA Tour’s Presidents Cup at Medinah this September.
While the tour loses mainstays like Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed to the PGA Tour, it adds new talent like Illini alum Thomas Detry. Although LIV has exited Illinois, Chicago golf fans can look forward to the Chicago Golf Show in late February and the PGA Tour’s Presidents Cup at Medinah this September.
Northwestern University recently honored Horace Morgan McDougal as the first Black intercollegiate golfer in history. A Chicago native and Purple Heart veteran, McDougal broke the color barrier in 1923, decades before Tiger Woods.
Though his achievements were buried for nearly a century, his family and Northwestern officials are now sharing his legacy to inspire a new generation. Following his 2025 induction into the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame, his story serves as a call to increase diversity in a sport where Black athletes still represent less than 2% of collegiate players.
Though his achievements were buried for nearly a century, his family and Northwestern officials are now sharing his legacy to inspire a new generation. Following his 2025 induction into the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame, his story serves as a call to increase diversity in a sport where Black athletes still represent less than 2% of collegiate players.
Megalodome Golf plans a climate-controlled indoor golf complex in Oswego, featuring four domes, a 9-hole executive course and full driving range. The proposed site is designed to recreate the look and feel of Scottsdale, Arizona. The project is still in the financing phase, with a target opening of fall 2027.
J. Andrew Langan, a Winnetka resident and seasoned litigation counsel at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, has been named Chairman of the Western Golf Association (WGA) and the Evans Scholars Foundation (ESF) for the 2026–2027 term.
A WGA Director since 2016, Langan succeeds Steve Colnitis at a critical juncture as the organization scales its youth caddie programs and scholarship opportunities. His leadership will focus on executing a strategic growth plan leading up to the Evans Scholars Foundation’s 100th anniversary in 2030.
A WGA Director since 2016, Langan succeeds Steve Colnitis at a critical juncture as the organization scales its youth caddie programs and scholarship opportunities. His leadership will focus on executing a strategic growth plan leading up to the Evans Scholars Foundation’s 100th anniversary in 2030.
Representatives from the Southland Development Authority announced a five-month market study to determine the "highest and best use" for the controversial Calumet Country Club property in Hazel Crest.
While the property owner, Walt Brown, Jr., seeks to redevelop the former golf course for industrial use, residents at the meeting voiced strong opposition, citing concerns over home values and environmental impact. Village officials maintain the study will objectively assess the site's feasibility, though some community leaders argued this analysis is overdue for a dispute that has persisted for years.
While the property owner, Walt Brown, Jr., seeks to redevelop the former golf course for industrial use, residents at the meeting voiced strong opposition, citing concerns over home values and environmental impact. Village officials maintain the study will objectively assess the site's feasibility, though some community leaders argued this analysis is overdue for a dispute that has persisted for years.
41,031 rounds were played in 2025 compared to 40,237 played in 2024.
The Chicago District Golf Association and the Donald Ross Society have partnered to acquire and preserve the historic Calumet Country Club as a public golf destination. However, they face opposition from property owner W&E Ventures, which intends to demolish the course for industrial redevelopment, citing financial unsustainability. The site's future now hinges on the Village of Hazel Crest, which controls the necessary zoning and demolition approvals amidst community resistance to industrial expansion.
Despite the biting January cold, golfers braved frigid temperatures and frozen hazards at the annual Des Plaines Chili Open this Saturday. Held at the Des Plaines Golf Center, the popular winter event offered a festive atmosphere featuring family fun, contests, raffles, and prizes.
After decades of serving the Woodridge community, the 9-hole par-3 course at Zigfield Troy has permanently closed. However, the facility’s driving range remains fully operational and open to the public, continuing to offer practice facilities independent of the shuttered course.
St. Andrews Golf & Country Club in West Chicago is kicking off its 100th anniversary celebration this Sunday with the annual Polar Bear Open. Operated by the Jemsek-Hinckley family since 1926, Illinois’ oldest continuously family-owned course will mark its centennial with monthly events and prizes throughout 2026, honoring a rich history that includes hosting U.S. Open qualifiers and golf legends like Patty Berg.
2025
Carriage Greens Country Club is currently repaying a $366,000 subsidy granted by the City of Darien in 2019, utilizing increased tax revenues from sales and gambling to cover the debt over a ten-year period. City officials confirmed the arrangement after a local school board president inquired about the subsidy following a report that ranked the course poorly in certain categories. Despite the scrutiny, officials note the private club is performing well and must directly pay any difference if tax revenues fail to cover the full amount by the deadline.
Woodridge residents have organized to oppose a proposed redevelopment of the Zigfield Troy Golf Course that would convert the 35-acre site into commercial lots and 220 townhomes. While the plan by Kensington Development Partners retains the existing miniature golf course, neighbors argue the high-density project requires excessive rezoning and will result in traffic congestion, school overcrowding, and a loss of green space. In response, the opposition group has launched a GoFundMe campaign to hire legal counsel to challenge the current proposal and advocate for lower-density alternatives.
In preparation for Ravisloe Golf Club’s 125th anniversary in 2026, staff member Jim McGrath is soliciting community photos and memories to help document the history of the Donald Ross-designed course. Founded as a private club in 1901 and opened to the public in 2008, the historic venue invites anyone with stories or artifacts to contact McGrath.
The Village of Woodridge has secured the immediate future of Village Greens by approving a two-year management agreement with KemperSports. Following the Park District’s departure in late 2025, this deal ensures the course remains open under professional oversight while the Village conducts a broader community study to determine the property's long-term "highest and best use."
Efforts to preserve Calumet Country Club are underway from both the CDGA and the Donald Ross Society.
The 18-hole Village Green golf course has officially closed to undergo a $4.2 million transformation into a sports complex for Mundelein High School. Demolition began in September to make way for new tennis courts and athletic fields, replacing the course originally opened in 1962. This conversion is part of a larger $149.5 million district facility improvement plan that also includes significant renovations and classroom additions to the high school itself.
The future of the Village Greens of Woodridge is under review after a consultant termed its financial struggles "perplexing" given the high local demand for golf. While selling the property could yield over $50 million, the report recommends the village hire a third-party manager to overhaul operations -- specifically citing poor marketing, flawed rate structures, and damaging year-round play as key failures --projecting that proper management could make the course profitable despite needing millions in capital improvements.
Zinkand Golf Design, led by architect Dave Zinkand, has completed a new short course and practice facility at Chicago’s historic Saddle and Cycle Club, which is expected to open next summer. To maximize the limited urban footprint near Lake Michigan, Zinkand implemented a creative reversible routing that features eight par-three holes played in opposing directions as four-hole loops. The extensive renovation involved demolishing existing features to construct four new greens, a 30,000-square-foot putting course, and CapillaryFlow-lined bunkers, marking Zinkand's second major Chicago-area project this year following his work at Old Elm Club.
The Winnetka Park District has closed the third hole of its recently renovated primary course for the season following two acts of vandalism where a vehicle, believed to be an electric bike or scooter, intentionally damaged the green. Police estimate the incidents caused thousands of dollars in damage and are currently investigating, while park officials have stabilized the area and plan to complete full turf restoration in the spring.
Zinkand Golf Design has completed construction on a new short course and practice facility at Chicago’s Saddle & Cycle Club, slated to open in Summer 2026. Located on a compact urban site near Lincoln Park, the facility features an innovative reversible routing, allowing eight par-three holes to be played as two different four-hole loops, maximizing variety and preserving space for simultaneous practice. The project replaced the parcel's previous features with four new greens, 30,000 square feet of putting course, new bunkers, and expanded teeing grounds, creating what the club's general manager described as a creative design that will "set the standard for city clubs."
Calumet Country Club is permanently closed. The owner, W&E Ventures, announced it will remove all infrastructure, including landscaping and golf holes, citing public safety and vagrancy concerns. The closure of the historic 1901 Donald Ross-designed course follows years of uncertainty and contentious proposals to redevelop the land for industrial use.