Like Wine, Gleneagles is Improving with Age
Our two, 18-hole championship courses at Gleneagles are called the Red or Lakes course and the White or Woodlands course. Red and white, like wine. And like wine, Lakes and Woodands continue to mellow and improve with age!
As you play, there is little co-mingling of the two courses. Each is a stand-alone jewel, with unique characteristics and nuances. But together they offer a unique opportunity for you to host a 288-player shotgun outing with relative ease.
Red and White!
Built in 1924, Gleneagles two 18-hole championship offerings to the Chicagoland area are traditional golf courses. Any changes conform to the original architectural intent of designer Charles Maddox. They average 6,300 yards apiece.
- You’ll play traditional greens and fairways. Trees come into play. Neither course is difficult to play if you keep it in the fairway.
- As more golfers come to realize, traditional courses are a pleasure to play. The trend is going back to this kind of course. We were here all the time!
- We offer a unique atmosphere for golf in Chicago: relaxed, casual and friendly.
- The terrain at Gleneagles is fairly undulating, moderately contoured with a few steep hills. You’re playing bent grass on tees, greens and fairways; the roughs are bluegrass.
Rating/Slope
- Red/Lakes: averages about 68, slope of about 114
- White/Woodlands: about 70 and about 121.
Let’s Play, Shall We?
The clubhouse at Gleneagles is located in the middle of the property and the facilities are available year round. As you leave the clubhouse, you’re 100 feet to the Golf Shop, which is situated between both first tees: with carts, tees, shop-all, right there. Topography on both courses is undulating and scenic.
#1 on the White “Woodlands” Course offers you a par-4, 340 yard start to your game. At about 190 yards, the fairway slopes toward the green.
If you get it over the slope, you’re an eight- or nine-iron to the green. The green rests on a hill, so you’re uphill again. And it’s well-sloped, so keep it under the pin to avoid bunkers on both sides and behind.
Over on the Red “Lakes” Course, #1 is a par-4, 300-yard entry. The fairway slopes to the green to about 150 yards from the green and the green is elevated.
You have a complete picture of the hole from the tee. Red #1 is tree-lined to the left. A 225-240 drive leaves you with a nine-iron or wedge to highly-elevated green with a flat surface, with bunkers on the right and in the back.
Best Par-5…
is the White #9, which is 512 yards from the white tees. It’s a tree-lined fairway with bunkers on right hand side 165 yards out. There’s a tree 60 yards in front of the green that comes into play; a difficult, sloping green. Mike says, “It’s critical on your third shot that the ball be under the pin.” With bunkers right and left of the green, if you shoot over the green, you could end up 20-30 yards away.
Best Par-3:
Red #16 is a fine par-3, 170 yards, with an elevated, elongated-width green and a pond in front of the green. Prevailing westerly winds may come into play.
Sixteen is a difficult green to hit but a relatively easy green to putt.
Most Challenging Hole: Red #17.
The Red/Lakes #17 is a long par-4: 460 yards from the blacks, with out-of-bounds to the left and trees on the right. About 150 yards from the green lies a pond; your tee shot must be forward placed, or you can go short and play it over the lake.
The green is to the left-center of the fairway, moderately elevated with a gentle slope and you’ll want to avoid the bunkers on both sides. What else can Mike say but, “It’s really a tough hole.”
Our Most Challenging Green is Woodlands #15.
Woodlands is the white course and you may be tempted to put up the white flag on this green! This difficult hole slopes in two directions and as if that weren’t enough, it’s elevated! Ball placement relative to the pin is of the utmost importance.
Redemption? Maybe …
Getting off the Gleneagles courses is a little tougher than getting on!
Finishing your round on the Red/Lakes course (you just read about the challenges on 16 and 17) the par-4 18th finish to Red is no picnic! Length is not an issue, but drive placement is. Your second shot requires a medium to short-iron to an elevated green, which is visible from the fairway but the pin often times is not. It’s elevated from left to right and down, so ball placement is critical. A challenging end to the day on the Red Course.
Finishing your White/Woodlands round is a bit of a breather compared to the Red/Lakes course. You get past #15, with the hardest green on the two courses, now you move to #16, a par-4 driving into a rising fairway with two bunkers on either side of the fairway. Then you have a flat green, which is easy to putt.
Then #17 is a par-3, 200-yard, moderate length, fairly level hole that’s easy to hit and easy to putt. And #18 is a par-4 hole treed to the left, requiring a straight drive or a drive with slight draw around a left-leaning gentle dogleg. The green is somewhat elevated but flat, receptive to your shot and easily hit.
Overall, if you’re concerned about doglegs, Red/Lakes #5 is the only true dogleg at Gleneagles.
“Gleneagles … is the toughest, easiest-looking course I ever played!” – Sam Snead