Red Course

Long Grove sits in the rolling lake country of northern Illinois, where the villages are small, the forest preserves are generous, and private golf has deep roots. This part of Lake County has quietly cultivated some of the Chicago area's most serious member clubs — courses that don't advertise themselves and don't need to.

A private 18-hole layout in this setting almost certainly means matured trees, genuine topographic variety for the Midwest, and the kind of deliberate pace and conditioning that comes with a dedicated membership rather than a tee sheet built around public volume. The name "Red Course" suggests this may be one of several layouts on a larger property — common among the prestige clubs of the North Shore and its inland neighbors — though the specific club and its history aren't details I can confirm here.

What the setting promises is real: four distinct seasons, firm-and-fast conditions in summer, and the particular satisfaction of a course that asks for a membership card, not a credit card.