Sydney R. Marovitz Golf Course

Great 9 hole course in the city. Price is great and the cart girl (I believe her name is Mary) is always there when you need a cold refreshment. She is always in a good mood and makes the course more enjoyable. The only complaint would be the pace of play, but for the price and location it is a great public course.

Beautiful course on the lakefront. Surprisingly not easy for a 9-​hole course. Well maintained. Could be better… only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars. It’s very conveniently located, & not overpriced (even though it could be, since they monopol (ize?) the market on the lakefront). Very helpful staff & grounds crew. However, if you’re a golf snob, not a good place for you.

Pros: Good location, very convenient if you live in the city. The views are great. The price is very reasonable, especially if you have the city Player’s card. Fairways are in decent shape, tee boxes aren’t awful. The course itself is challenging enough. Water and portable bathrooms available on the course. Staff is friendly.
Cons: Pace of play is awful if you go after work. We’re talking 3.5 hours for 9 holes. There is no accountability… I have seen 5-​somes go off the first tee with each member taking multiple shots. The starter just watched them and didn’t say anything. Also the sand traps are horrendous, they’re like concrete.

I’ll up my rating from 2 to 3 because the morning speed slot golf is a good deal and you can play much faster. I’ve played several times this summer before work Mon-​Thur and it’s solid.
However, to build on my original complaint — slow pace of play — my buddy dragged me out here a few weeks ago on a Sunday morning and the round took almost four hours. There was a group two holes ahead of us that had five people golfing and they would just stand around on the green texting. The guy riding around on the cart «policing» the course did nothing at all to help the situation. You need to tell slow players to pick up the pace and not ruin the day for literally everyone behind the slow group. You’re well within your rights to give them the business.

Great value for the money, especially the Monday through Wednesday «Speed Slots» for $ 15.

Slow and Stacked. The outing this morning was a waste of time. Purchased a 7:08 tee time and didn’t tee off until 7:16. Was grouped with 2 seniors last minute. Went from a 2 person business outing to a slow and awkward 4some.
Was told by Pam that there would be a Marshall out to keep pace and never saw one.
17 minutes a hole is way too long. Had to cut our outing short. Only got 6 holes in and had to leave.
Don’t go to this place if you are a frequent golfer that enjoys hitting every 2 – 3 minutes to keep your swing.

Great course for the price, it’s the best shape I’ve seen in 20 years. I play regularly at Marovitz, Aaron and his staff have made the golf here a great experience. Greens and fairways have improved by leaps and bounds… nice job by the greenskeeper! Keep up the the nice work.
The Clock Tower café is a great way to unwind with a cold beer after the round… food pretty good too!

This might be my new go-​to course! Great views of the lake and greens in decent shape. My one complaint is at night there were quite a few raccoons that came out. Other than that friendly staff and super attentive cart girl.

Preety awesome time.

Get there early Monday-​Thursday and be done in less than 2 hours. Great views and always friendly staff. Course is easy but helps with pace of play. Weekly trip for me.

The pace of play is inconsistent. I’ve played as fast as 90 minutes and as slow as 4 hours. There’s no reason why there should be a 20 minute wait at each hole. Where’s the rangers?
But on the plus side their manager (chris?) is patient and helpful and the lovely cart girl (Mary of course) is there along the way with endless drinks and a smile lol and even brings groups food from the course restaurant on days when people complain about it taking days to complete a 9 hole course! The course looks better now that the fence is down and u can see the lake!

Tried the simulator today. What a fun time! And the GM Aaron Konold is off the charts nice and makes the experience a must do!

Five of us tried out the indoor golf simulator last weekend and enjoyed ourselves very much. It simulates many driving ranges as well as famous golf courses. The room is still being setup, but already has drinks available and good seating.
I’m trying to use the winter to add some distance to my swing, so I appreciates some of the stats that the simulator gives such as club head speed, club head angle at impact, etc.
We’ll be back there on Saturday :)

I work from home, so during peak season I try to golf at least 3 times a week. I live very close, so needless to say it’s very convenient to have this course right here.
This course has to be one of the busiest 9 hole courses in America. If you’re looking for a round in the summer and it’s the weekend, look elsewhere. And, if you’re lucky enough to get on, you could be looking at a 3 – 4 hour 9 holes.
That said, if you can get out on weekdays then this course is worth a look. It has a couple holes that will challenge any golfer, but for the most part it’s pretty easy to score. Ever since they redid the bunkers, the entire course looks like it’s in better shape. I often show up as a single and am quickly paired up or put in a 4 some, and I enjoy meeting new people so it’s no problem.
The location couldn’t be better and the large crowds certainly shows the popularity. It’s a common occurrence to see a first time golfer out here, so the pace isn’t the best. But, if you’re looking to get out during the week, then I’d recommend giving it a try. If you’re looking to get out during the weekend at 11am, I’d look elsewhere.

I struggled with whether to give this course 3 or 4 stars, but I decided to go up and explain why…
Yes, course play is very slow. Yes, the sand trips are mostly dirt traps. Yes, the course is a little chewed up. But it’s also cheap, is in fine shape and about 10 minutes from my house. The staff here are also very nice. On Sunday mornings the drink cart has Bloody Mary’s on tap — it’s not the best bloody ever, but it does the trick.
When you consider the options for golfing if you live in Chicago, Sydney’s stock rises (at least in my book). It’s in better condition than Jackson Park, not as far or as expensive as Harborside.
For the money, Sydney is great if you have the right expectations. Just plan on 2hr45 to 3hr15 to finish your round, unless you start first thing in the morning.
if you want full-​service, perfectly manicured course with a good pace, go elsewhere.
Between the fact it is a LONG 9 holes and it attracts a lot of hackers, I wish they would space the tee times more like 12 – 15 mins apart. There are no rangers to keep the course on pace. One last thing to keep in mind — many of the holes appear to be much shorter than the marked yardage. The cards don’t match the signs, and GPS sometimes shows a shorter #. The holes are all so long that it isn’t going to screw you up, just don’t get excited thinking you hit a 250yrd drive because you’re doing math based on the 250 yrd marker :)
PS. look forward to the day the fences come down and the lake views are restored.

I know it’s the beginning of the season and everyone’s PUMPED to play, but the number of golfers on this course makes the entire game rushed and cramped. Our tee time was pushed back 30 minutes and it took us 3.5 hours (if not longer) to finish our 9-​hole round. Ridiculous. I felt so pressured from the people behind us (but why! there were two groups ahead of us waiting for people ahead of them!) that my swing suffered greatly. I ended up with an embarrassing par total because I couldn’t relax.
Grounds are OK; tons of marks from the balls. The lake and skyline are the best parts. It’s a public course… what more can I say?

Difficult to enjoy a round here, primarily based on the pace of play. Played it once in the 1990s and it was dreadfully slow, and the pace has not improved in 2013. The layout is fine and offers a challenge, but the track is very public feeling… greens with ball marks, bunkers unraked, and miserably slow play. Bonus point for some good views of the lake, but nothing too positive happening here.

I played this course last summer, and the experience was ok. Having played mostly in the suburbs, I guess I was spoiled with well-​manicured courses. The same cannot be said for CPDG courses. The fairways were very dry, the sand was hard and clumpy, and the greens were very slow. In my opinion, a course of this quality should be much cheaper. But living in the city, our options are limited.

Wow — I can’t believe this place is rated at 3.5 stars. I’m from Phoenix, so maybe my idea of a round of golf is different from whats expected in Chicago. We made a tee time, but it was not in their system. No worries, they got us paired up with a nice older couple. They had 2 sets of range clubs, one set was $ 15 and the other was $ 30. I wouldn’t have rented either set if I had any other options. I went with the $ 30 set because I’m a 8 handicap and was hoping for a decent set of clubs. What I got was a driver, 3 wood, 3-​pw and a putter. NO sand wedge or L wedge. Even worse the shafts were senior flex — I’m 31.
The course is right on the lake and has some nice views. The course itself is very disappointing, was in horrible condition, greens were just airated, no sand in bunkers, way too much sand in others. The greens were some of the slowest I have ever seen. The pace of play was probably what put me over the top — at 3 hours for 9 holes I think it was the longest 9 holes I’ve ever played.

This is the closest golf course to where I live, so I have played many times, but unfortunately the cons far outweigh the pros. On the positive size the course features some great views of Lake Michigan — on a couple of holes you are real close to the Lake. Also the course features some very long holes, not bad for a course in the heart of the city where space is at a premium.
Now the cons. If the weather is decent outside this course tends to be way too crowded. I am not sure if they space the tee times too close together or if there is an unusual number of slow golfers that come here, but the course generally plays as slow as molasses. It is a nine hole course and sometimes it takes well over three hours to play. The new management got rid of the twilight rate last year (I am not sure if they have it back for this year). That was a real bummer as after work I liked playing 5 – 6 holes before it got dark, but no way am I playing full price (the course is a bit pricey for a nine holes). Also, aside from a cool water hole, the rest of the holes are not at all creative and become a bit boring after you have played the course more than a few times.
I’ll probably still play here occasionally because it is so close, but the more different courses I have played across Chicagoland, the less appealing Marovitz Golf Course becomes.