Chicago Heights Park District - West Course

The West Course at Chicago Heights Park District is a public facility designed by Tom Bendelow, the prolific Scottish-born architect who shaped hundreds of American golf courses in the early twentieth century. Bendelow, who worked for A.G. Spalding and later independently, brought golf to communities across the Midwest during the sport's expansion era, typically creating playable layouts on modest budgets for municipal and daily-fee players. His designs from this period generally featured straightforward routing adapted to available land, with an emphasis on accessibility rather than championship length or severe hazards. Chicago Heights sits in the southern suburbs of metropolitan Chicago, an industrial area that developed rapidly in the early 1900s. The park district operates this course as a public amenity, serving local golfers in a region where Bendelow's influence was particularly strong—he laid out numerous courses throughout Illinois and neighboring states during his most active years. The terrain in this part of the Chicago area is relatively flat, characteristic of the glacial plain that defines much of northeastern Illinois. As a Bendelow municipal design, the West Course likely reflects his practical approach: a routing that makes efficient use of the property, greens that reward accurate approach play, and a layout that accommodates players of varying abilities. The course serves as a neighborhood facility where the focus remains on providing accessible golf rather than tournament-level challenge or elaborate features.