Willow Pond at Willow Pond Golf Course

Willow Pond Golf Course sits in Rantoul, a small city in east-central Illinois approximately twenty miles north of Champaign-Urbana. Designed by Brent Wadsworth, the course serves the local golfing community in this agricultural region of the state. The flat to gently rolling terrain typical of central Illinois shapes the routing, with the property's namesake water features providing both strategic interest and visual definition to the layout.

The course reflects the practical design approach common to many municipal and daily-fee facilities in the Midwest, where playability for a range of skill levels takes precedence. Wadsworth's routing likely incorporates the natural drainage patterns and existing ponds into the strategic framework, creating risk-reward decisions on approach shots and around the greens. The open landscape characteristic of this part of Illinois means wind often becomes a significant factor in club selection and shot execution.

As a public facility in a community with strong ties to nearby Chanute Air Force Base (which closed in 1993), Willow Pond has served both local residents and the broader regional golfing population. The course provides accessible golf in an area where public options serve an important role, offering a straightforward test that emphasizes course management and solid ball-striking over the kind of dramatic elevation changes or heavily wooded corridors found in other parts of the country.