Sydney R. Marovitz Golf Course

All my experiences took place Sunday AM Memorial Day weekend, between 6:15-9am. 6:39am tee time started right on time. Played early morning. Walked 9, 2.25hrs, there were only 2 of us, but the 4 some kept a good pace out in front of us. Greens were money, rolled probably 9-10, great undulations and a lot bigger than I expected, very nice condition for a Muni in my opinion, (I fixed a few ball marks but it wasn’t played out in my opinion), and I have played a lot of the cheapest from coast to coast. Nice mature trees. I think it is a steal to walk 9 holes of golf in Chicago for $30! And parking is cheap for the golf course too. Shorty walk to the Cool old clubhouse (you can drop your clubs too). Looks like they have a very nice short game practice area/facility for First Tee, next door. But they have a nice size putting green to check your speed next to the first tee. I really enjoyed the course and layout. It was fun. Only complaint is the bunkering. They are big and they are a great feature. They even have enough, nice, sand in them. They are just not being maintained properly. They need to be compacted and grated so the sand is more consistent across the whole bunker. Great value if your looking to sneak in 9. Could get away with driver or 3 wood, putter, and minimal iron set if you wanted.

Terrible architecture. Greens are too soft/slow for it to be fun. Pace of play is horrendous. Don't play here! Pine tree in front of a fairway bunker. This is the most egregious type of bad golf architecture! It could be one of the best par 5s in the state simply because of the location and instead you have this monstrosity. Take it away!!

Wow this course is in epic condition. Very well maintained from tee box to greens. This place is a 9 hole gem on the Chicago Lakefront. It's challenging and forgiving with one water hole. It's a perfect walk with almost no changes in elevation. Note this course plays very differently depending on the wind and weather conditions in Chicago. Nice work by the crew and staff managing the place. - Joe

Course sucks badly, can't understate it. Green speed is comically slow. I guess the CPD just decides they can't rent carts after a certain time because it must take them 12 hours to quickly wipe them down with WetNaps to prep for the next day. Getting in and out is a nightmare obviously. Then find out they "have no carts" and have to walk with my full cart bag after it took me an hour to travel only 3 miles north to get here. Never going back, more of a waste of time than money. Course sucks badly.

Sydney Marovitz is a chicago staple. Being the only easily accessible course from downtown chicago, the combination of skyline and Lake Michigan views create a truly unique golf experience. The nine holes are adequately maintained. It’s a relatively short course and does pose a challenge at times. Abysmal shots could potentially find a pedestrian walking nearby…that’s part of having a golf course in the heart of a major city I suppose. Our experience with the staff was a overwhelmingly positive. It’s not particularly cheap, but that’s to be expected and it’s still absolutely worth playing.

I visited this course with a couple of friends. The course was average for several reasons. First, the landscaping could use more upkeep. Second, the course should install large boundary nets that would protect traffic and pedestrians. I was constantly worried that a stray ball would cause injury to someone. Besides those reasons, the course was beautiful and provided a fun day of golf.