Kemper Lakes Golf Club

Few public-access courses in the Chicago area carry the historical weight that Kemper Lakes does. Designed by Ken Killian and Dick Nugent and opened in 1979, the course earned immediate national attention and cemented its reputation when it hosted the 1989 PGA Championship — the last major championship played on a public-access course in the United States, where Payne Stewart claimed his first major title. That alone gives Kemper Lakes a place in golf history that most courses could never claim.

The design weaves through a series of lakes and wetlands that define both the visual drama and the strategic demands of the round. Water comes into play on nearly every hole, rewarding patience and penalizing ambition in equal measure. The finishing stretch is particularly demanding, and the course has long been regarded as one of the finest and most challenging tests in the Chicago metropolitan area.

Long Grove itself sits in the northern suburbs of Lake County, a region of flat prairie punctuated by preserved natural areas. The setting feels surprisingly expansive for a course this close to the city.