I demand a reseeding to get Elks #12 on this list
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Chicagoland. Elks would be there if we did state rankings (so would Deere Run).
We’re drawing the line at Joliet lol
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My final 4: (before controversy breaks out, I didn’t do any googling it was based on if I remembered the hole from playing it)
Big run 13 F***ing long and I love it
Seven bridges 15
Bartlett Hills 18 (played a HS sectional there and things got rowdy on the porch watching groups come in)
Highlands of Elgin 4
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I have not played too many on this list.
Stonewall #9. Good hole, better than SV#4
Ravisloe #15. Excellent, probably my favorite on this list.
Cog Hill Ravines. Tough fight against Ravi. Most memorable par 3 there fer sure.
Canal Shores #9. Truly unique, tiny green though.
Poplar Creek #17. I always play this hole well so it scores high.
Shepherds #8. Green is too severe, no thanks
Mt. Prospect #7. Winner on right side imo
Highlands #4. Terrible shank memories, but i’ve vanquished them. The par 3 across the pond is much stronger.
Makray #4. puke
Bowes Creek #14. Fantastic hole.
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Stonewall #4 is so good because of that slope, some awful looking shots can turn out good. Some good shots turn out fantastic.
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Honorable mentions that came to mind
Tanna farms #1 gotta love starting on a island green
Highlands #15 semi island green
Shout out to the Gold Standard 17 @ sawgrass as inspiration
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No 16 at MP?
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Witness my glorious success. No googling, pure romance and memory picks.
Stonewall’s 9th is just so damn good…even though I made a 9 during our high school sectional tournament there. Fun mid/short iron shot down the hill to a peninsula green in front of the clubhouse. Awesome view.
Steeple Chase’s 11th is the hero shot of all hero shots. Full carry higher iron (with a new tee box further up the hill to lengthen it). Hit the ball over the water. That’s it. That’s the shot.
Bartlett Hills has the most underrated closing hole in Illinois. 160yd par 3 down hill over a pond right in front of the bar. 2 tiered green back to front, with a 100% chance of getting chirped by the people on the balcony. So much fun.
Highlands of Elgin with the quarry has the terrain to carry it to the final four alone. Then you add in the false front and the fact that you can hit 5ir-GW depending on the wind, and it’s the best public par 3 in Chicagoland.
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I think 7 is the better hole. 16 is fun, but that green is THIN with no room for a hole that plays almost 200yds
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You mean 5? That hole SUCKS. I hate the 5th haha
No room to miss anywhere, and the green has a knob in the middle of it at 220yds that funnels shots off the green. Kind of unfair IMO
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Wait, you shit on #4 but like #16?
But yeah, #7 is probably the best par 3 at MP. Although I think #10 might be the best hole on the course.
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15 is a really fun par 3…definitely in the NIT bracket along with Bowes 3, and Dubsdread 12
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Ehhhh I think 7 has more variety, but 10 is really fun too (NIT bracket)
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I’ll concede that 7 is probably the right choice. But 10 looks so easy and straightforward but the sightlines are so deceiving and the green is wicked, so you think you have this easy tee shot but you actually need to be exceptionally accurate or you’re praying for a 2-putt.
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As someone who has worked on Makray’s maintenance crew and have played there for a decade, you were too kind with your comments.
That hole S U C K S
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It’s the green. It doesn’t work. The only pin that is reasonable is way back and it just make the hole that much harder. This is one of the only holes I’ve played where laying up on a par 3 seems like the best option. Only times I’ve ever parred it is when I miss short. I’ve only played the back twice but I think the first par 3 on the back is the strongest par 3. Hole 7 is also decent but the green is impossible in summer, but I guess that’s just makray in general. Granted, it’s a fun course to walk 9 and test your game on a weekday since it’s closest to my house. Anytime I hit the green on 9 I feel really good.
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(Offended Settler’s #16 made tourney, takes ball, goes home)
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I’d love to jump in on the 5iron this Friday if you still have a spot.
My suggestion for mid to high handicap players is to legitimately try to land the ball on that front shelf and have it funnel into the middle section, only realistic option of hitting the green. If you land in the right half of the green in that middle section and top shelf, you’ll roll into the fescue most times. And most players who play Makray can’t pull off the super gentle flop shot from the left rough. Best shots I’ve seen are right handed players who sling draws that start at the water then land in the middle valley section and roll up to that back pin. That hole made me develop a cut 8 iron (I’m lefty) that I would spin back and left, doesn’t really apply to any other hole on the planet.
In high school our coaches always said if you’re +1 or +2 through 4 you are in fantastic shape lol
Also my only hole in one was on 7 so I obviously love it.
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On behalf of the breakfast ball bois the omission of the signature sixth hole at Syd is appalling.
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