CaddieTrail Guide
Illinois is one of the deepest golf states in America and almost all of it sits within 90 minutes of Chicago. Chicago Golf Club, Shoreacres, and Medinah No. 3 open a list that is as formidable as any state in the country.
Illinois is one of the deepest golf states in America, and almost all of it is within 90 minutes of downtown Chicago. The state opens with three of the most storied courses in American golf — Chicago Golf Club, the country's first 18-hole layout; Shoreacres, Seth Raynor's ravine masterpiece on Lake Michigan; and Medinah No. 3, freshly overhauled by the OCM firm for the 2026 Presidents Cup. Canyata, a private estate course in rural east-central Illinois, rounds out one of the most formidable top-four lineups of any state in the country.
#1 on trail
Chicago Golf ClubWheaton, Illinois
America's first 18-hole course, designed by C.B. Macdonald in 1895. This private Wheaton layout shaped U.S. golf architecture and hosted three early U.S. Opens.
#2 on trail
ShoreacresLake Bluff, Illinois
Seth Raynor's 1921 masterpiece on Chicago's North Shore features dramatic ravines cutting through nearly every hole. One of the purest golden-age designs in the Midwest.
#3 on trail
Medinah Country Club (No. 3)Medinah, Illinois
Private Illinois club outside Chicago that has hosted three U.S. Opens and three PGA Championships. No. 3 Course was redesigned by Rees Jones for the 1990s majors and is being overhauled by OCM for the 2026 Presidents Cup. Site of Europe's miraculous 2012 Ryder Cup comeback.
#4 on trail
Canyata Golf ClubSchuyler, Nebraska
Designed by Michael Benkusky and opened in 2001 (with the full 18 holes completed in 2004), this private 18-hole layout in Marshall, Illinois cuts through rugged terrain with dramatic elevation and canyon-carved holes.
#5 on trail
Butler National Golf ClubOak Brook, Illinois
George Fazio-designed private layout in Oak Brook that hosted the Western Open seventeen times. Wooded terrain, demanding length, and zero margin for error define this uncompromising 1974 design.
#6 on trail
Olympia Fields (North)Olympia Fields, Illinois
Willie Park Jr. designed this 1922 parkland layout south of Chicago, featuring tree-lined fairways and undulating greens. The North Course has hosted four U.S. Opens, most recently in 2003 when Jim Furyk claimed the title.
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