Waters Edge Golf Course

We played this course when it first opened. We could not believe that there would be such a beautiful course in this area. Have not been back in a while but it is on the list for 2016. Some holes are more challenging then others, just enjoy the game, don’t worry about the score.

Played there several yrs ago and found it challenging and well maintained. Hadn’t been back since it’s a long way from home. Played again Aug 5^th and had an overall bad experience. On a beautiful day when the fairways were perfectly dry, they instituted a 90 deg cart rule. On many holes they severely restricted cart access which required long walks to the ball. On top of that the rough was a mess and there were dead leaves everywhere which meant long searches for balls that were hit close to the fairway. This really slowed down play. So they had a ranger driving around hassling everyone to play faster. The twosome behind us hit into us and then apologized stating they were being pushed by the ranger. This ranger followed everyone around like a cop for 9 holes. They charged us $ 38 senior rate for this unpleasant experience. We can play George Dunn National for $ 35 and it’s a beautiful, challenging, manicured course.

Played this course last weekend. I’m giving it 2 stars because the actual course was fine, not awful but not great either. If you’re in Chicago just play Jackson Park and save yourself $ 20.
My issue was w/​the management crew of the course. When checking in, the guy at the counter refused to honor my
rate, which was $ 3 dollars less than what he was charging me. It wasn’t a big deal, but just kinda crappy. He said he’d honor my rate if I could find the email that said it was the $ 3 cheaper rate, like I was gonna lie to him about it to save $ 3 damn dollars. Come on.
Then he told us we’d have to walk to the practice green because all of the golf carts they had ready were for people with tee times before our group. There were like 6 carts, and we were teeing off in 15 minutes. So we put our bags on a cart anyway, and he comes out and yells at us that these carts are for other groups. OK! So we walk all the way over to the practice green — mind you I’m with my 60+ year old father in law who struggles w/​planters fasciitis. Thanks Waters Edge. We get on to the practice green, and my father in law is leisurely chipping just off the green. SOFT pitch softs /​not taking ANY grass. The starter JOGS over to us and immediately yells at him to stop chipping. He says chipping isn’t allowed on the putting green, but we can chip at the range, which is another football field away; we still have no cart at this point, thanks again. To be fair I DID notice a sign that said chipping was not allowed, but he’s a senior golfer and there was no one else on the putting green. He was causing no harm to anything.
So 15 minutes go by and we have to now walk back to the clubhouse to pick up a cart. OF COURSE none of the carts the guy at the front desk said were for other groups going out before us had actually been taken. It would have been nice if they just at least offered to drop a cart off closer to our tee-​time. We finally get a cart and drive up to the 1^st hole and there is then a bunch on confusion as to who was to tee off first. Another group was looping back from the 18^th hole and a timing snafu ensued.
All in, I’m not a tough customer to please. There are a TON of courses in Chicago to play, and you’d think with all the options staff at Water’s Edge would just have a little common sense in how they treat their customers. If anyone asks me about this course I will tell them to avoid it. Hopefully they read this review and it makes them realize how important customer service is at a mid-​range quality (AT BEST) golf course in Chicago.
Sidenote: the younger guy cleaning the carts was awesome.

Great course, well kept public course, nice variety of hazards, just the right amount of difficulty for the average golfer. I golf here frequently and always enjoy it. Only downside is the club house food is sub par

Water’s Edge has a very nice little restaurant too. Three of us had lunch the other afternoon and were pleasantly surprised by delicious Chicken Rice soup, a great BBQ pork sandwich, and two perfectly done flat iron steaks. The steaks came with a nice assortment of vegetables and red potatoes. Very nice.

Amazing gem of a track. For the better players from the back tees it plays long, challenging and fair, for seniors, juniors, ladies, and those starting out, the course is the best value and fairest challenge within 50 miles. 1999 «Arnold Palmeresque» design with risk/​reward holes that leave one wondering when the next time they can get a tee time? Knowledgeable and friendly staff are more than happy to book your next foursome. The grounds crew does an amazing job keeping the course in pristine condition year round. Excellent food in the clubhouse. Try the pot roast sandwich, quesadilla, and have a 312 on tap.

Very good golf course. I always find this golf course both fair and challenging. Good routing of holes and a nice variety of hazards to catch an errant or poorly struck shot. Warning — you will see blue jeans on this golf course and the pace of play can get dreadfully slow (5 hours, 20 minutes for today’s round).
Great course, just a little rough around the edges.

Great course! I thought there was a good mix of challenging holes and the course was well maintained. The staff was friendly and helpful. I had a really fun time.

Course is better thn it has been in years past, emplyees are very nice. Last year the food service was great, great steaks, burgers, great fries. Not any longer, I was there today and the food was very bland and mediocre. I used to go twice a week for lunch but will only gold there now. As I said the course has gotten better and it is challenging.

Great course, has range, service on the course lacking. I went to the range today, no balls. I’ve never seen that before. Wasn’t a great experience waiting for a 15 yr old kid to go collect balls from the range so I could warm up. We rarely saw the cart service, though if you can find one, they’re great. Could be smarter managed, but the course is undeniably nice and a challenge. Fun to watch all the wedding parties near 17 taking pictures by the municipal waterfalls.

Great golf course for a **ehh Hemmmm** municipal course. Perfect mixture of different challenges as well as a few straight forward holes.
I have played here many times and will continue to do so; so long as their prices do not get any higher. Oh yeah, The carts have GPS. Attn Management: PLEASE DO NOT RAISE THE RATES ANY HIGHER!