Wilmette Golf Club
Hole-by-Hole Photos

Hopefully you arrived early and had time to work on your game at the Wilmette practice facilities. Now it’s time to tee off. There’s 5 tee boxes to choose from, maxing out at almost 6400 yards. Choose wisely and don't overdo it. There's 5 tee boxes for a reason.

A quick word on golf ball choice for the first (and third) hole. Don’t play a yellow ball here. I’ve made that mistake before. Holes 1 and 3 run adjacent to the driving range, which uses yellow range balls. If you hit it anywhere near the fence, it’s hard to differentiate your ball at a glance from the 20 others lying there.

Depending on your tee box and length, if you hit a solid drive, the fairway bunker is in play on the left. It’s about 115 yards from the centers of the bunker and green. Additionally, two bunkers buttress the first green on the left and right. Thankfully, Wilmette’s first green is relatively flat and welcoming to golf shots, which serves as a nice onramp to the course.

It looks like they added a new cart path to the right of the fairway in early 2022, when I took these photos.

The first par 3 of the round clocks in at 172 yards from the back tees. A relatively narrow, undulating, uphill green looms, while a greenside bunker on the right lies in wait.

If the pin is on the left side, try to avoid the hill left of the green, as there won’t be a lot of real estate to work with and your chip shot is likely to roll down the hill. Been there, done that.

In this area of the course, on occasion you’re treated to loud *clanks* as misfires from the 2nd tee box hit the maintenance shed to the right of the hole.

A slight dogleft left, this par 4 runs along the driving range to the right. As such, much like on hole 1, I recommend against using a yellow golf ball here if that’s your normal ball. If you end up on the right side near the range, it’s frustrating trying to differentiate your ball from all the range balls.

They added a new cart path to the right of the fairway, which is nice, but unfortunate if your drive hits it and bounces deeper into the rough. Such is life.

According to the scorecard, this is the hardest hole on the course for men. You're gonna want to keep your tee shot to the right side of the fairway, if possible, to avoid tree trouble on the left. As you approach the green, 3 bunkers emerge. One is a deep, circular bunker that fronts the green, somewhat reminiscent of a pot bunker. My proprietary, expert advice, based on advanced analysis: stay out of that one. It’s no fun.

Not sure about you, but I disagree with the scorecard handicap on this hole; I find hole 4 to be tougher than hole 3 personally, but it's ranked as the only the 5th hardest hole for men, whereas #3 is ranked as the toughest on the golf course. Regardless, the left fairway bunker is in play from the tee if you hit one solid, ruining a once-promising tee shot. It's about 175 from that bunker to the center of the green. Side note: probably more than any other aspect of my game, I struggle with fairway bunker shots. They're nearly impossible to practice. I never get very good contact on the ball. It's not like you can blast 175 yard bunker shots at the range. They're particularly penal IMHO.

The recently-paved cart path runs along the left of the hole. The green is kidney-shaped with slight mounds. Hopefully you were able to avoid the front greenside bunker en route to it.

You'll pass by the 17th tee box on your way to the 5th tee, getting a sneak preview of what's to come. That diabolical par 5 will have to wait, as the 5th should be the only thing on your mind. At 338 yards from the black tees, it's not a long hole by any stretch. But hole 5's primary defense is comprised of 5 bunkers jealously guarding the landscape, desperately wanting to keep you from scoring well. In my case, they often achieve their objective.

Due to the modest length of the 5th, using a fairway wood is not a bad play here if you can gain some accuracy and keep the fairway bunkers at bay.

The green runs uphill and has some nuances to navigate. Wilmette's greens are relatively fast and fair. No idea what they run on the stimp, but they're faster than the muni's in Chicago, but slower than the private north shore clubs up here (thankfully). The private clubs seem to wear quick green speeds as a badge of honor. I suspect there's some invisible competition going on behind the scenes, where the greenskeeper that can simulate putting on glass gets a hearty handshake from the membership.

The 6th hole brings the first par 5 of the day, one of two at Wilmette. This one doglegs to the right at around the 280 yard mark from the back tees. In a recent development (2022), they removed a fairway bunker that used to be here, which I appreciate since I've spent a lot of time there over the years. Perhaps with the new cart path they paved, it had to go? I don't know, but the mound there with lots of rough remains. At least if you hit it up there, you have an elevated look at the hole. It's not the worst position.

Speaking of the worst position, that would be down in the valley area on the right side. Tough to find your ball down there sometimes. Plus your playing partners are up in the penthouse on that mound, while you're down in the gutter. How did you let this happen?

Approach shots are straightforward until you get to the 3 bunkers up toward the green. The wise move is to lay up and take those out of play, leaving yourself a short final shot into the green where you can take dead aim. I don't always play it that way, but that's what I think a wise person would do. There's water tucked away on the left of the final segment of the hole, the first time we've seen any today. Luckily, it's not really in play unless you truly try your hardest to flirt with disaster.

The green runs uphill and sort of has two tiers. Also I've seen deer on the right side of this hole before, which is always a bonus. Good to have a gallery.

The 7th hole is another par 3 and trouble abounds. If the first par three had green ski trail vibes, this one has black diamond vibes. Obviously water is the key element that guides your thinking here. It's ~160 from the back tee to the green and hopefully the golf gods don't have the wind dialed up too much.

Adding insult to injury, a bunker fronts the green at 7, making any short shots pay an extra price. If you're between clubs on the tee, opt for the longer one. Being long is far better than being short here.

The green is somewhat tiered and unsurprisingly runs towards the water. Par is a very good score on the 7th.

The 8th is a fun, short par 4 with a narrow zigzagging fairway. In F1 I think they'd call this a chicane? The fairway's surrounded by four greedy bunkers trying to steal your joy. Don't let them.

There's a short water carry off the tee but it doesn't come into play, save for misfires. Therefore it's definitely in play for me.

For some reason I find the rough to be especially thick and plush on this hole. That's probably not by design but it's the way the cookie crumbles when I play here. The green is narrow and kidney shaped, but luckily there's no bunkers to worry about.

Wilmette's last hole of the front nine is a 417 yard par 4 with sinister intentions. Not one but two fairway bunkers guard the left side of the hole, making the short grass landing area extremely narrow as a result. Laying up short of these two nasties is a fine option, but the result is a longer approach into a narrow green. Pick your poison.

A nice aspect of the 9th is that the trees are pretty sparse. And they're young and naive, not yet mastering the art of grabbing your golf ball from the sky. If you do hit it too far right or left, you're bound to have a decent shot at the green. But the dense rough on 9 is penal, so don't get too excited.

The green runs uphill. Compared to the previous few, it's a lore more clear cut. And if they have the grills fired up outside, you'll smell it. Do yourself a favor and grab a bite at the turn. There's some good dogs here.

Hopefully you quenched your thirst and refueled with a snack at the turn. You'll need the energy, and your wits about you for the par 4 10th hole. It's the 4th longest par 4 on the course, but definitely the most narrow fairway, buttressed by trees on both sides. There's no room for error here. OB is to the right, lined by houses. You can find your ball if you hit it in the right tree line, but your second shot will be stymied. If you miss, miss left.

Complicating matters is the fact that portions of the fairway grass have problems on 10. It's not the smoothest, even if you do find it off the tee. Hopefully by the time you read this, it's a problem of the past.

Approach shots have to contend with a bunker to the right of the green, along with trees behind it, which visually separate this green from the 11th tee. This hole is a roller coaster, a test of wills.

The green itself runs uphill and has two sections -- a lower and upper tier.

The scorecard suggests hole 11 is the 2nd toughest on the course. It's absolutely the most nuanced hole. At 428 yards from the back tee, with OB to the right, a mischievously placed fairway bunker, and a water carry, this is a true test of midwestern golf. Buckle up.

The preferred landing area is either to the left of the fairway bunker, or just short of it. The short grass narrows considerably in the area of said bunker, so it's easier said than done. If you miss right, the trees can swallow up your ball, or worse, it might leak out of bounds into the industrial-looking storage sheds.

Missing left is not great either though. Water, trees, and bushes line the left of 11. Accuracy is at a premium here.

Next up is the water hazard that separates you from the two-tiered green. If your tee shot found the rough, you're taking a gamble by going for it. You might want to lay up and try to get up and down from around 100 yards. It's about 85 yards from the very end of the fairway to the center of the green.

There's a big ridge on the green's right side which makes things interesting. Par is a very good score here.

If you imagine the 12th green on this 148 yard par 3 as a clock face, it runs diagonally from 5 o'clock uphill to 11 o'clock. The multi-tiered green is surrounded by 3 bunkers and water to the left. There's also a pond behind the green you'd rather not explore. The fairway/runoff area in front of the green wasn't in great shape last time I played here. Hopefully that's cleared up.

Putting on the 12th is an adventure. Lewis & Clark would approve.

The scorecard rates this par 3 as the easiest hole on the course for both men & women. It's the shortest par 3, but I've personally never really found anything easy about it.

Pay no attention to the creek that runs through the 13th hole. At 140 yards to the water from the black tees, it's not in play for this 371 yard par 4 unless you really set your mind to it. It's more of a distraction from the real issue you'll face here, which is the trees that encroach on the narrow fairway from the right.

The green is a slick two tiered surface in the shape of a kidney. A pot bunker defends the front-right of the green, which you absolutely want to stay out of.

Another issue here is the OB fence to the right. Righties with big slices risk losing their ball to the gravel pits of that industrial strip east of the course. I bet they find hundreds of balls a week over there. Golf ball resale is probably a decent side hustle for those folks.

Hole 14. This is the northernmost spot on the golf course. Just north of you, the Skokie River merges with the North Branch of the Chicago River. There's walking and bike trails back there too in Watersmeet Woods. Wilmette has it all.

At 342 yards, the 14th is a manageable par 4. In a familiar move here, there's a fairway bunker on the left side that's gonna interfere with your best laid plans. It's 240 yads from the back tees. Feeling good about yourself? You can try to fly it, but things get tight up there, so you'll need to throw a dart.

The aforementioned Skokie and Chicago rivers can sometimes cause this hole to get wet. Last time I played here, there was a good amount of standing water; one of the photos below shows the evidence.

The green features two bunkers and sort of an uphill false front.

If you loved hole 14, just wait, there's more! Holes 14 and 15 are kindred spirits. They're both short par 4s with fairway bunkers where you want to play from. 15's bunker is on the right, rather than the left like on 14. And 15 has two of them.

So what's your take? Does familiarity breed contempt? Or conversely, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Either way, leverage what you learned from the last hole on this one. If you scored well, rinse and repeat. If not, try a different approach.

The green on 15 is more straight forward than 14. It does have two big bunkers surrounding it however. In fact, a closer examination of this hole reminds me of something else *entirely*. The way the green is shaped, along with those bunkers and the curvy fairway, remind me of Edvard Munch's iconic painting "The Scream" from 1893.

Not all holes at Wilmette feature the squared off tee boxes, but I appreciate those that do. It's a nice aesthetic. The par-3 16th, our final par-3 of the round, is blessed with them.

What you see is what you get on 16. But you see a lot of stuff, so you'll need to execute well here. Water is both short of the green and on the right. Two bunkers protect its port side. There's a large mound behind the green, then trees. If it's a brutally hot summer day and fatigue's setting in toward the end of your round, it's time to summon any remaining strength. A misfire here can ruin a perfectly good scorecard. Ideally the wind will be docile.

After tee shots, golfers approach the green from a bridge on the right of the hole. Hopefully it's not a bridge to nowhere, and you have an opportunity to score well.

Wilmette's penultimate hole is a 512 yard par-5 filled with intrigue. Only longer hitters need to be concerned about the fairway bunker from the back tees. It's 290 to front of the trap. Otherwise, your main enemy is the trees and rough in the first leg of 17.

Tension builds in the second act of this play. If you were fortunate enough to land your driver in the fairway short of the bunker, it's decision time. It's now ~220 to the front, and fairway wood is aggressive, but possible. And real risky. There's lots of water and trouble left, and the short grass gets real narrow. Laying up is of course an option, but maintain vigilance and beware the fairway bunker on your right.

Playing the 17th is like playing Minesweeper. You're walking a narrow path and trying to avoid danger everywhere.

The green is no picnic either. It runs uphill and diagonally to the left. The rough is thick around here, and a deep greenside bunker stands sentry in front of the upper part of the dance floor. 17 is truly a shotmaker's hole. Good luck and Godspeed.

Final hole of the round. You've come a long way, and it's time to finish strong. Leave it all out on the course.

The 435 yard par-4 18th is tough but fair. Most players will aim for the relative safety of the real estate between the first and second set of fairway bunkers. It takes a precision tee shot to execute. The four traps you'll greet at the midway point of 18 do their best to spoil your finishing score.

Before long, Wilmette's impressive clubhouse comes into clear view. You're due for a beverage reload up there. But stay patient. You need to perform a crisp iron approach into the green first, ideally from the right side of the fairway so you have an unobstructed view. Trees line the left side of the hole all the way up to the target. In fact a tree overhangs the green itself.

The green surface has some character, but it's manageable. At this point in the round, your flat stick is calibrated to Wilmette's speeds. You know what to expect. It's time to drain that putt and shake hands.