The best courses you can play in Des Plaines, Illinois
Course Vaults is a golf course logging app where members have logged 8,848 rounds in Illinois and rate what they played. These are the 25 highest-rated public courses within about 25 miles of Des Plaines, Illinois, ranked by those community scores.

The Highlands of Elgin
Elgin, IL, USAPublicLarry Packard
- 4.3Conditions
- 4.1Layout
- 4.5Value
- 4.0Scenery
- 3.5Facilities
Great $50 walk. Fescue is overly penal. Impossible to find the ball even if it’s six inches in, despite the fescue being only a couple inches tall. I don’t need to be able to play it but I’d like to at least find it when i know exactly where it went
Written by
@Joemcinerney
- Links
- Hidden gem
- Underrated

Prairie Landing Golf Club
West Chicago, IL, USAPublicRobert Trent Jones, Jr.
- 3.5Conditions
- 4.0Layout
- 3.7Value
- 3.3Scenery
- 4.0Facilities
Enjoyable course, great practice facilities. Front 9 much more links than the back but still fun. Worth playing on a regular basis. Blows away many comparable priced public courses in the Chicagoland area
Written by
@007
- Driving range
- Bar
- Links

Tournament/Baer
Schaumburg Golf Club
Schaumburg, IL, USAPublic
- 4.0Conditions
- 3.8Layout
- 4.0Value
- 3.0Scenery
- 3.5Facilities
- Hidden gem
- Walkable
- Driving range

Woodside/Hillside
Cantigny Golf
Wheaton, IL, USAPublicRoger Packard
- 4.0Conditions
- 4.7Layout
- 4.5Value
- 3.0Scenery
- 3.6Facilities
- Must play
- Pristine
- Driving range

Sunset Valley Golf Course
Highland Park, IL, USAPublic
- 4.3Conditions
- 3.6Layout
- 4.7Value
- 3.0Scenery
- 3.4Facilities
Best value and one of the best walks in Chicago public golf. Course is a bit repetitive/straight, but there is enough detail in the greens and green surrounds to keep things interesting
Written by
@Njz1719
- Great value
- Walkable
- Hidden gem

The Preserve at Oak Meadows
Addison, IL, USAPublic
- 4.0Conditions
- 4.3Layout
- 2.8Value
- 3.3Scenery
- 3.5Facilities
The Preserve is one of the better public courses in the Chicago area — definitely a fun spot to tee it up. The practice area is great for warming up, with a nice range and short game setup that sets the tone for the round.
Written by
@TGUN312
- Driving range
- Grass range
- Putting area

Woodside/Lakesise
Cantigny Golf
Wheaton, IL, USAPublicRoger Packard
- 4.5Conditions
- 4.0Layout
- 3.0Value
- 4.0Scenery
- 3.8Facilities
Stonewall Orchard Golf Club
Grays Lake, IL, USAPublicArthur Hills
- 4.0Conditions
- 4.0Layout
- 3.0Value
- 3.3Scenery
- 3.7Facilities
- Driving range
- Hidden gem
- Underrated

Hillside
Cantigny Golf
Wheaton, IL, USAPublicRoger Packard
- 3.5Conditions
- 3.0Layout
- 3.0Value
- 3.0Scenery
- 3.8Facilities
…the only real challenging hole on this nine is hole 6, which requires a long and precise drive to set up an approach to a long but narrow island green that typically plays into a crosswind, making for a challenging approach.
Written by
@NoBog3ys
- Driving range
- Putting area
- Challenging

The Glen Club
Glenview, IL, USAPublicTom Fazio
- 4.6Conditions
- 3.7Layout
- 3.6Value
- 2.8Scenery
- 3.8Facilities
- Driving range
- Restaurant
- Halfway house

18 Hole
Village Links of Glen Ellyn
Glen Ellyn, IL, USAPublicDavid Gill
- 3.0Conditions
- 3.5Layout
- 4.0Value
- 3.5Scenery
- 3.2Facilities
- Parkland
- Bar
- Walkable

Makray Memorial Golf Club
Barrington, IL, USAPublicBob Lohmann
- 3.0Conditions
- 3.3Layout
- 2.7Value
- 3.0Scenery
- 3.9Facilities
- Pristine
- Views

Mt. Prospect Golf Club
Mt. Prospect, IL, USAPublicDavid Esler
- 4.0Conditions
- 4.0Layout
- 4.7Value
- 3.2Scenery
- 3.6Facilities
- Hidden gem
- Great value
- Driving range

South/East
Arrowhead Golf Club
Wheaton, IL, USAPublicStanley Pelchar
- 4.0Conditions
- 3.0Layout
- 3.0Value
- 3.0Scenery
- 3.3Facilities

Bittersweet Golf Club
Gurnee, IL, USAPublicHarry Vignocchi & Jack Porter
- 4.0Conditions
- 3.0Layout
- 3.0Value
- 3.0Scenery
- 3.0Facilities
- Challenging
- Driving range
- Putting area

Chalet Hills Golf Club
Cary, IL, USAPublicKen Killian
- 4.0Conditions
- 4.0Layout
- 4.0Value
- 3.0Scenery
- 3.5Facilities

Pine Meadow Golf Club
Mundelein, IL, USAPublicJoe Lee & Rocky Roquemore
- 4.0Conditions
- 4.5Layout
- 3.0Value
- 4.0Scenery
- 3.3Facilities
- Driving range
- Hidden gem
- Great value

Glenview Park Golf Club
Glenview, IL, USAPublicJoseph A. Roseman
- 4.0Conditions
- 3.0Layout
- 3.0Value
- 3.0Scenery
- 2.5Facilities

Foxford Hills Golf Club
Cary, IL, USAPublicTim Nugent
- 3.0Conditions
- 4.0Layout
- 3.5Value
- 3.0Scenery
- 3.4Facilities

Deerfield Golf Club
Riverwoods, IL, USAPublicLarry Packard
- 4.0Conditions
- 3.3Layout
- 3.7Value
- 3.0Scenery
- 3.1Facilities
- Walkable

Regulation
Winnetka Golf Club
Winnetka, IL, USAPublicC. D. Wagstaff & William Langford
- 4.0Conditions
- 3.0Layout
- 3.3Value
- 2.7Scenery
- 3.4Facilities
The course is much better after the renovation, but the layout still sucks. It’s way over treed and has way too much water to be enjoyable. Maybe if I played it a few more times I’d get where not to hit it better. But right now it’s just incredibly penal and not fun.
Written by
@Njz1719
- Walkable
- Challenging
- Fast greens

Randall Oaks Golf Club and Banquets
Dundee, IL, USAPublic
- 4.0Conditions
- 3.5Layout
- 4.5Value
- 3.0Scenery
- 3.6Facilities
- Fast greens
- Hidden gem
- Underrated

Bridges of Poplar Creek Country Club
Hoffman Estates, IL, USAPublicKen Killiaick Nugent
- 3.5Conditions
- 3.0Layout
- 3.0Value
- 3.0Scenery
- 3.0Facilities
I think would be higher if played during the peak season and not mid October. Still a great track with some challenging holes. 1 and 2 are probably the hardest starting holes I’ve played. Great set of par 3s and some long par 5s. Going to need to revisit
Written by
@freak5

Fox Run Golf Links
Elk Grove Village, IL, USAPublicBill Newcomb
- 4.0Conditions
- 3.0Layout
- 3.5Value
- 3.0Scenery
- 2.8Facilities
- Great value
- Cart attendant

Traditions at Chevy Chase Country Club
Wheeling, IL, USAPublicTom Bendelow & Bob Lohmann
- 4.0Conditions
- 2.8Layout
- 3.6Value
- 2.5Scenery
- 3.0Facilities
- Hidden gem
- Restaurant
- Bar
How we rank
Course Vaults ranks public golf courses by Course Vaults Score (CV score), a community rating from golfers who have played and rated each course. Only open courses with at least 5 explicit ratings qualify, and this list is limited to public or guest-friendly courses. City pages include public golf courses within about 25 miles of Des Plaines, so nearby suburbs can appear on the same list. Rankings refresh about hourly as new ratings come in; each page shows when it was last generated.
FAQ
Common questions about public course rankings in Des Plaines, Illinois.
The top public golf courses in Des Plaines, Illinois on Course Vaults are led by The Highlands of Elgin with a Course Vaults score of 7.9. This page ranks 25 courses, including The Highlands of Elgin, Prairie Landing Golf Club, Schaumburg Golf Club.
Course Vaults ranks public golf courses by Course Vaults Score (CV score), a community rating from golfers who have played and rated each course. Only open courses with at least 5 explicit ratings qualify, and this list is limited to public or guest-friendly courses. City pages include public golf courses within about 25 miles of Des Plaines, so nearby suburbs can appear on the same list. Rankings refresh about hourly as new ratings come in; each page shows when it was last generated.
Yes. The Des Plaines, Illinois list includes public golf courses within about 25 miles of Des Plaines, not only courses whose city field is an exact match. Nearby suburbs can appear when they fall inside that metro radius.
The Highlands of Elgin is currently #1 among public courses in and around Des Plaines, Illinois on Course Vaults at 7.9 out of 10.
This ranking was last refreshed Nov 12, 2026, 3:52 AM EST. The page revalidates about every hour as golfers add new explicit ratings that meet the 5-rating minimum.
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