Stonewall Orchard Golf Club

Stonewall Orchard Golf Club Overview
This masterpiece of a course in Grayslake was designed by storied golf course architect Arthur Hills, who in his lifetime designed over 200 new golf courses all over the world. The beautifully maintained property has hosted 4 US Open qualifying tournaments (2003, 2005, 2009, 2015). The layout is tucked into a veritable forest of over 60,000 trees, according to the course. When I played here, I felt each hole was thoughtfully designed and required a deliberate strategy to score well. Water encroaches on 10 holes. The greens were tricky; some had obvious breaks, but many of the reads completely puzzled me. I was lucky to play here with someone that knew the course well, which really helped. The course also has the most comfortable golf cart seat I've ever used.
There are lots of fantastic golf holes at Stonewall, but the par-5 18th hole is a real classic. The longest hole on the course provides drama and will test every aspect of your game.
Stonewall Orchard's logo looks to be either a Great Egret or a Sandhill Crane. Hopefully you'll see one or both of those birds while you're on the course. When I was there, we saw a group of beautiful Sandhill Cranes on the 17th hole.