Nickol Knoll Golf Club

Nickol Knoll Golf Club Overview
This hilly and fun par 3 course owned by the Arlington Heights Park District has a major claim to fame. Before the property was turned into a golf course in the mid-1990s, there was a landfill here with a particularly steep hill. Chicago Bears legend Walter Payton lived nearby and came here to run the hill and workout. In honor of this, the hill was subsequently named Payton’s Hill. The 3rd hole currently occupies that space and the huge numbers 34 adorn a retaining wall there. On that hole, the normal blue tee distance is about 150 yards, but there's a special elevated Payton tee at the top of the hill which adds about 20-30 yards.

The course here is a little more adventurous than your typical par 3 due to the aforementioned hills. Those elevation changes add spice to the round. It's good exercise to walk this with your clubs, particularly the uphill 4th hole. While the tee boxes at Nickol Knoll aren't very level, last time I played here in 2024, the bunkers were immaculate. And there's lots of them here! This track is great for kids, and in fact they play a number of junior tournaments here.

There is no driving range at Nickol Knoll but there is a decent sized practice green. As you'd expect for a par-3 course, the pro shop has some staples like balls and tees, but not a tremendous amount of merch. The clubhouse has a number of Walter Payton memorabilia items which are fun to examine, including a photo of John Madden on the course with the clubhouse in the background.