Original 18

Lake County, Illinois has long been golf country — the flat-to-gently-rolling terrain north of Chicago supports dozens of courses, and the area draws serious players from the city looking for a quick escape without the drive to Wisconsin. Ivanhoe sits in this corridor, a small community in the heart of a region where golf is woven into the suburban fabric.

The name "Original 18" suggests a course with some history behind it — a layout that predates the waves of redesign and renovation that reshaped so many Midwest tracks in the late 20th century. Whether that speaks to a founding philosophy, a preserved routing, or simply a point of local pride, it implies a certain straightforwardness that modern courses sometimes trade away in favor of spectacle.

A par-72 layout in this part of Illinois typically offers a mix of open, wind-exposed holes and tree-lined corridors where course management matters more than raw power. Lake County golf tends to reward players who work the ball and read the land — modest terrain, genuine challenge.