Arlington Lakes Golf Club

Arlington Lakes Golf Club Overview
Owned by the Arlington Height Park District, this course is on the site of a former US Army Nike Missle Base. The base operated until 1968 or 1974, depending on who you ask. The Park District acquired the land from the army in 1976, and then held a contest to name the golf course, resulting in the current name. (The contest winner received $100 and free green fees for a year). More recently, Arlington Lakes underwent a $3 million renovation in 2016 that substantially altered the course. The nines were flipped, routing was changed, and updates to tees and greens were made. In addition, 69 bunkers were removed, leaving the course with 37.

At 5,432 yards, the property isn’t huge, but it defends itself well. The word Lakes in the name is a tell there’s a lot of water here, and in fact there’s water on 13 of the 18 holes. Par is 68 here and the course rating is 66.0. There’s six par-3’s, but only two par-5’s, the longest of which is 501 yards. The property is mostly flat and the greens run at medium speed. Fairways are pretty narrow and mostly of the parallel variety.

There’s no driving range here, and unfortunately no nets to hit into either. There’s one small practice green near the first tee. The pro shop has a pretty good selection of merch to choose from, and also houses a separate snack bar with a few tables. There’s lots of tables outside too.