Lake Bluff Golf Club

	Lake Bluff Golf Club Tee Par Yardage Course Slope Black 72 6,589 71.3 124 White 72 6,195 69.5 120 Gold 72 5,856 67 114 Red 72 4,969 68.5 112
I was fortunate to have a day off early in the season and got to play the Lake Bluff Golf Course yesterday.  When I first pulled up to the course (which, incidentilly is a bit hard to find), my first impresion was uh-oh this course looks tight.  I went inside the quaint clubhouse which surprisingly for this area does not appear to be much more than an oversized trailer.   The clubhouse is however well stocked.  I payed my $42 green/cart fee (This was the fee without a coupon.)  I had signed up for my tee time online and knew I was paired with a twosome. I headed to the putting green and wanted to get in some practice in the 20 minutes I had before teeing off.  I kept an eye on the first tee as there was no started in the starter gazebo.  Within a few minutes there were a couple guys on the tee, I went to see if it was my pairing for the day, it was and we were off!  We played the White tees which was fine for early in the season.
Hole #1	The first hole is pretty straight forward.  Trees line both sides of the fairway and there is a little creek that runs throughout the course that does not come into play much.  Typical for me, I ended up in the grove of trees on the left.  My second shot was blocked, but I ended up going for it anyway, richoceting off a tree and back to the fairway.  My first impression of the greens is that they are firm and fast, but do roll fairly true.
Hole #2	Hole 2 is the first of 4 par 5s. At only 472, it should be a breeze to get home in 2.  Unless you spray your driver.  In which case you'll end up in one of the neighboring fairways and blocked out by trees.  Remember what I said about this course being tight!  A few sand traps on this hole, but should be nothing to worry about.  Just hit it straight and it should be a good scoring opportunity.
Hole #3	Hole #3 is extremely short.  At this point, I'm starting to realize that the yardages on this course are way off!  While the scorecard says it's 315, I doubt it.  I cleared the trap on the right with a 3 wood and had about 40 yards into the green.  Just a 60 degree wedge to the green and 3 putts later (remember what I said about the grens being firm) it was on to the par 3 fouth hole.
Hole #4	A pretty easy par 3.  Other than the two bunkers the protect the green, there's really no trouble to find here.  I used a 6 iron into the wind and was hole high.
Hole #5	The longer of the par 5s on the front 9.  It bends slightly to the right and a good drive will roll through the fairway making it difficult to reach in two.  This hole should provide a birdie opportunity.  Tip: Keep your approach to the center or right side of the fairway if you want a shot at this green in two.  The dogleg is just enough to keep you from reaching in two if you blow it through the fairway.
Hole #6	I am not a fan of a course designed that includes a par 3, par 5, par 3 sequence which is the pattern of holes 4-6.  This is a pretty par 3 over a pond and protected by a large tree on the left.  There's also a sliver of a bunker along the left edge of this slightly elevated green.  TIP: Stay out of the sand on this course.  It's more like a clay dirt mixture than sand and you'll want to treat any sand shots like a pitch if the lip is low enough.
Hole #7	A sharp dogleg to the right, with a grove of trees at the bend that will put you in jail.  I cut the dogleg, ended up in the trees and was able to get out and on the green with a punch 3 wood that I used almost like a putter to roll through the sand trap and to the back of the green.
Hole #8	Another tight thin hole, but fairly straight ahead.  There is a greenside bunker on the right side you will want to avoid.  Note: I use GolfLogix on my blackberry for my yardages and it was apparent that this course was redesigned recently and that the holes had been moved around.  Unfortunately, this meant my yardages and statistics were being thrown off.  I decided to abandon the digital yardage indicators the rest of the way in, instead playing by instinct and trying to trust the traditional yardage markers.
Hole #9	Another hole that slightly doglegs to the right.  There is a bunker down the right side, but you should not be here anyway if you want to get home in two.  If your into the wind here, expect to play it like a par 5 and take your lumps.  I ended up in the small bunker up the left side on my aproach and I thought sure I was going to end up in the parking lot.  This course will play head games with your distance control.  I don't know if this is a side effect of the tight nature of the course, but it looks a lot shorter than it is.
Hole #10	After making the turn having gone out in 51, I was thinking I may have a shot to break 100 for the first time this season.  Well, get ready for a back nine that really makes you think! A lot of the back nine rquires that you check your driver and ego at the door.  Hole 10, is a major dogleg to the left., but if you even think of taking it left you'll end up in another grove of trees.  Yet, if you use driver and go straight, you'll likely end up where I did (in the maintnance parking lot) and quickly hitting 3 off the tee.  Tip: Use a mid to long iron and get yourself a mid-iron to the downhill green that is protected on the lef by a bunker.
Hole #11	Yet, another dogleg to the right.  Slicers beware.  If you push your shot right, be ready to take your lumps.  If you don't end up in the forest you'll be chipping back to the fairway, if not you may actually need to take a drop and play the shot backwards to the fairway.  The woods literally jut out far enough to completely cut you off from the fairway.  Take it left!
Hole #12	The first straight ahead par 4 on the back nine.  OB is on the right and behind the green.  There are also 3 bunkers on this whole, but I fail to see how they come into play, unless you really yank one.  Perhaps, the are remnants of a previous design?
Hole #13	The 13th hole is a challenge.  Especially in the cross wind we had to deal with.  I was surprised when a member of my group actually pulled driver for 180 yards.  It made me rethink the 4 iron I had in hand and actually took a low 3 wood into the green.  Remember what I said about needing to think on the back nine?  Once again, bunkers left and right protecting the green (again it only seems to be protection from yanked shots).  The creek comes into play on this one if you top your shot and there is actually a bern one either side of it making it difficult to see the whole green.  There is also a little babbling brook behind the green if you carry it too far.  Surprisingly, this was the only par I made for the round.
Hole #14	Another bizarre hole where driver is dangerous. Take out whatever will keep you in the 220 yard range, unless your a big hitter and can carry it 260.  The creek cuts diagonally through the fairway and seriously comes into play here and narrows the fairway more and more as you look from left to right.  Plenty of room behind the elevated green if you miss long. TIP: It also looks like if you slice hard, there is bailout area across the creek that is hidden by woods on the right.  You'd still have to carry about 230.
Hole #15	A long narrow par 5.  Probably want to use a 3 woods and treat this as a true 3 shot par five.  Your dead left and while the right side does open up a little you would be flirting with O.B.  Your best bet is the middle of the fairway.  No hazards to speak of that I could see. Note: The day we played the regular green was closed do to winter damage.  The regular green does have a sand trap next to it on the right, but even when the green is open if you find yourself in this trap, you reallly mishit one.
Hole #16	The last par 3, but not your last scoring opportunity.  At only 137 yards, it is the shortest par 3 on the course.  There is a bunker short left that hugs the green.  There is a steep drop of behind the green.  This was one of my favorite holes on the course, perhaps because it's one of the few holes that actually does not play with your depth perception.
Hole #17	Another dogleg to the right and another hole that doesn't look like it belongs on a golf course.  Take it left or you will be completely blocked on your second shot.  Take it too far left and you may find ta small trap. There is a lake about 100 yards short and right of the green, that can mess with your mind on your second or 3rd shot depending on how you play the hole.  There is also a bunker on the right side of the green.
Hole #18	This was describe to me by me playing companions as "something a little different."  I'd say.  It looks like they decided to make this a severe dogleg left in order to add a driving range.  You could take it straight out with a 3 or 5 wood and be somewhat safe, but don't pull out the driver and go down the middle or right side -unless you want to be in the bunker.  If you can carry a drive 220 and get it high enough, cut the dogleg. You may just end up in a greenside bunker.  The most aggressive line here is staight down the left side of the fairway you could end up with a 50 yard chip wihout any danger of ending up in a bunker like I did.  I read some other reviews that mention the change in this hole destoyed it, but I like the fact that it's one of the few holes on the course that allows you to make decisions. NOTE: This hole is at the end of the driving range.  Occassionally, you will see a yellow ball scooting by the sneaks off the range, they should have a sign warning you of this.