Pine Meadow Golf Club

This historic plot was the site of a 9-hole course named Libertyville Golf Club which opened in 1927. In 1930, it expanded to 18 holes. The January 17, 1930 Lake County Register claimed “the village already has an attractive nine-hole course on the rolling land two miles to the northwest, but early this year that course will be amplified into an 18-hole affair, making it one of the finest to be found.” In 1985, on this land leased from the Archdiocese of Chicago and the University of St. Mary (which is directly south of the course), Pine Meadow Golf Club was built. An estimated $3 million was spent on renovations to the property by the Jemsek family, who also own Cog Hill and St. Andrews. The course opened to rave reviews and has won numerous awards, both for the golf course and the practice facility.

The course is beautiful as it is challenging. At 7,221 yards, with a course rating of 74.8 and slope of 139, it’s in the same company as The Glen Club, Mistwood, and Village Links of Glen Ellyn. The course is spread out enough that each hole feels like its own entity, a singular puzzle to be solved. The greens aren’t lightning quick but are really nuanced and tough to read properly. Among the challenging elements on the course is the amount of water supplied by Saint Marys Lake south of the course. There are no jarring elevation changes but hills dot the landscape and spice things up. The 15th green in particular was extremely challenging when I played here last, with the pin in the middle of a steep slope that rejected most offerings and felt borderline unfair.

Pine Meadow’s practice area is truly excellent, with a huge driving range (technically two of them!) and multiple practice greens and bunkers. You could practice different shots all day here if you wanted to. The clubhouse looks modest from the outside and houses the pro shop and a restaurant. The pro shop is not large, but they pack as much merch in there as they can, particularly a lot of shirts. The restaurant is called the Pine Meadow Grill and has standard bar food. As the reader may know, I take my hot dogs seriously. When I last visited, the hot dog cost $9.00, way too expensive in my opinion, even though it came with chips. The only other course in Chicagoland I’ve visited with hot dogs that expensive is The Glen Club, but green fees there are double what Pine Meadow charges. And that concludes my only (small) gripe about Pine Meadow, a superb golf course I can’t wait to play again.