Highland Park Golf Course

Highland Park Golf Course in Bloomington, Illinois, represents a rare American commission by the celebrated British design partnership of Harry S. Colt and Charles Hugh Alison. The course dates to the 1920s, a period when Colt and Alison were extending their international practice beyond their extensive work in the British Isles and continental Europe. Their American portfolio remained relatively small, making Highland Park a notable example of their design philosophy translated to the Midwest landscape. The routing takes advantage of the gently rolling terrain characteristic of central Illinois, with the design reflecting Colt and Alison's preference for strategic bunkering, natural contours, and greens that reward thoughtful approach play. Their work typically emphasized options for players of varying abilities while maintaining clear strategic principles—features that would have been incorporated into the original Highland Park layout. The property's mature tree growth and open parkland character provide definition to the holes while preserving sightlines and playing corridors. As a municipal facility, Highland Park serves the Bloomington community as an accessible public course with historical design pedigree. The extent to which original Colt and Alison features remain intact would depend on maintenance practices and any subsequent modifications over the decades, as is common with courses of this vintage. The layout offers golfers in the region an opportunity to experience design principles from an era when strategic architecture was becoming the dominant philosophy in American course design.