Shoreacres

Favorite Hole

No. 11, par 4, 346 yards

Simply put, No. 11 is one of the world’s greatest holes and a representation of what makes Shoreacres a special golf course. A deep ravine cuts in front of the tee box and along the right side of the fairway, then back in front of the green. It’s an astounding natural feature. Shots that stray right and into the ravine are playable but arduous, as they create a blind shot from 30 feet below the green surface. Straying left and into the trees avoids the ravine but often forces a layup short of the ravine and green. Finding the fairway off the tee leaves a short approach, but you still can’t miss short.

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Overall Thoughts

Most Chicago-area golf courses are not blessed with dramatic terrain. The Shoreacres property, however, boasts two unforgettable features: the lake that the stunning David Adler-designed clubhouse overlooks and the ravines that Seth Raynor expertly used in his routing. The course sits just inland from Lake Michigan, along an intricate ravine system carved by glaciers. These ravines are deep and can be hundreds of yards wide. They are beautiful but terrifying hazards, functioning much like ocean cliffs.

The ravines occupy 13 of Shoreacres' 18 holes. On Nos. 2, 13, 14, and 15, they appear on the left side of the holes. The second, Shoreacres’ Cape hole, is a short par 4 where players encounter a ravine for the first time. Playing close to the hazard down the left yields the best angle from which to approach the green and avoid a small creek running around it. The more the player avoids that left side, the more the creek comes into play.

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On Nos. 4, 7, 10, and 11, ravines defend the right side of the holes, but the danger is varied. On the fourth hole, for example, a small ravine with a stream cutting through it ends about 100 yards from the green. Meanwhile, the 10th features a deep ravine that acts as the primary strategic feature off the tee for Shoreacres’ Road Hole. The more you bite off of the ravine, the better your angle into the sharply angled green. 

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The ravine system also makes for a number of forced carries, which means Shoreacres is a very aerial course. These forced carries turn up in different spots on the holes. Some are off the tee, as on the 11th, demanding a strong tee shot. On other holes, like the fifth, the carry arrives in the middle of a long par 4, placing an emphasis on not only executing the tee shot but also advancing over the hazard. That same ravine slices through the middle of the 15th hole, creating a similar dynamic, this time on a par 5. 

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The course even ventures into a ravine. On the terrific back nine, the short par-3 12th hole plays down some 30 feet to a heavily contoured green. From there, the 13th plays back up and out of the ravine, which then wraps around the left side of the green. Because of its relationship with the property’s ravine system, this stretch from Nos. 10 to 15 is among the most dramatic anywhere.

Shoreacres’ five holes without a ravine presence are Nos. 1, 3, 6, 9, and 18. Here, Raynor opted for bunkers and greens with bold features. The first has a deep cross bunker; the third, a Leven template, features a big mound obscuring half of the green; the sixth has a massive Biarritz green; and Nos. 9 and 18 share a series of bunkers that eat into the fairways and define multiple strategic options.

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Shoreacres’ land, Raynor’s routing, and the world-class presentation from the club’s grounds crew put this course in rarefied air. Plus, the club continues to make enhancements, elevating Shoreacres among the best in golf.

2 Eggs

(How We Rate Courses)

On a given day, there are few courses I would choose to play over Shoreacres. One potential critique of the course is that much of the topographical interest occurs outside of the playing surfaces. If you hit the fairway, you tend to get a perfectly flat lie. There are also a few remaining to-dos on the restoration front, including continued tree removal and the re-creation of the ravine short of the eighth green, where a pond sits today.

Course Tour

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