Meadowlark Golf Course

Meadowlark Golf Course Overview
Situated in the toney suburb of Hinsdale, Meadowlark is one of ten golf courses owned by the Cook County Forest Preserve. It’s nestled next to I-294 and across the street from Chicago Highlands Club, a relatively new and prestigious country club. Like most of the Forest Preserve courses, Meadowlark offers an unpretentious, laid-back golf experience.

Meadowlark is a nine hole course, and a relatively straightforward one at that. The course is very flat, as are the putting greens. There’s no bunkers on this track to worry about at all. As far as water hazards, there’s only one small pond, which comes into play on a single hole. Mature trees line most fairways, but not as many compared to many Chicagoland courses, or the other Forest Preserve courses. As a result, it’s a pretty good course for beginners.

Meadowlark doesn’t have a driving range. It does have one modestly-sized practice green. Like most other Forest Preserve courses, the clubhouse is relatively spartan, with the emphasis on actually playing, not hanging out. The pro shop has the golf essentials, but not a massive amount of merch. Snacks and hot dogs are available there.

One novel thing offered at Meadowlark is FootGolf. It’s essentially like playing golf with a soccer ball. Similar concept to Disc Golf. Meadowlark’s 9 holes of normal golf are converted into 18 holes for FootGolf purposes. It even has its own FootGolf scorecard, which you can see in the scorecard scans below.