Bob O'Link Golf Club (North)

Highland Park sits on Chicago's affluent North Shore, a stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline where the suburbs give way to ravines, mature hardwoods, and the kind of understated civic pride that has sustained strong public golf for generations. The area's topography — carved by glacial activity and cut through by the North Branch of the Chicago River watershed — tends to produce golf courses with genuine variety and natural character, a welcome contrast to the flatter prairie layouts found further inland.

North is one of Highland Park's municipal courses, part of a two-course setup that has long served as a community anchor for golfers at every level. Municipal golf on the North Shore occupies a particular niche: the clientele is knowledgeable, the greens committees are engaged, and the expectation of quality tends to keep even everyday public tracks well-maintained and thoughtfully managed.

Without knowing the specific design pedigree or hole routing, what can be said with confidence is that playing here puts you in one of the more golf-rich corridors in the Midwest — a region that takes the game seriously year-round, right up until Lake Michigan's winters make the point for it.