50 Words or Less
Located in Itasca, Illinois, just outside Chicago, Eaglewood Resort offers an array of entertainment and relaxation options, including a challenging golf course.
Introduction
Between work, family, and the countless other obligations that we all have, getting away for some relaxation can be difficult. Eaglewood Resort aims to make it easier by locating your next getaway in the heart of the Chicago suburbs.
Practice Facilities
Eaglewood Golf Course is quite compact and does not have a driving range. They do have a nice putting and chipping green which is shouting distance from the first tee.
Customer Service & Amenities
Eaglewood Resort is much more than the golf course. There’s a hotel, convention center, spa, pool, plus dining and other recreation options.
After a round, you can choose from two restaurants or a drink and a snack in the lobby bar. If golf hasn’t sated your competitive appetite, you can play bocce ball or bags on the patio. Should the weather turn sour, you can head to the six-lane bowling alley.
Lauren, my wife, chose to forgo golf in favor of a trip to The Spa at Eaglewood. A veteran of many spa trips, she rated this as one of the best she’s been to. She spoke highly of the facilities but had the most praise for the quality of the service.
Beauty & Scenery
Eaglewood Golf Course allows you to feel removed from the hustle and bustle of the surrounding area. With the exception of the hotel, there’s nothing visible on the course except trees, ponds, and rolling hills. The landscaping at Eaglewood is very beautiful without being overdone. This peaceful environment is a large part of the appeal of playing Eaglewood.
Tee Shots
At only 6,017 yards from the tips, Eaglewood’s par 72 course places an emphasis on accuracy over length. The fairways are quite narrow, but the tree lines don’t come into play unless you hit a very poor drive. There are, however, a couple sneaky water hazards that can gobble up careless tee shots.
You can play Eaglewood in a variety of ways, depending on the tee box you choose and your swing speed. There’s only one par 4 longer than 366 yards, so hitting an iron off the tee is almost always an option. Alternately, you can pretend you’re DJ and hit driver-wedge on every hole. Despite the yardages, only a couple par 4s are truly driveable because of doglegs, trees, and elevation changes.
Approaches
Eaglewood offers a substantial benefit to those playing from the fairway. The rough isn’t extremely tall, but it is thick and will rob your approach of spin control and distance. Similarly, the tree lines are sparse enough that you can attempt recovery shots, but those shots can be quite difficult.
No matter how good your tee shots are, you’ll have to deal with elevation changes on almost every approach. Elevated greens add some distance to the course and can be the undoing of golfers who aren’t paying attention.
Greens & Surrounds
Eaglewood’s defense of par starts and ends with the greens. First, they’re small – you won’t get many GIRs here without sharp iron play. Additionally, almost all of them feature substantial slopes. In some cases, segments of the green are tilted; in others, the entire green is pitched. These greens aren’t too fast, but if they were they’d be unfair given the extreme curves.
Around the greens, you’ll find plenty of thick rough. There are an average amount of bunkers, but they’re easily avoided with reasonable course management. The key to getting up and down is looking at the slopes around the cup and leaving yourself a straightforward putt.
Conclusion
Don’t let the short yardage fool you, Eaglewood Golf Course is a tough, enjoyable test that you’ll want to play more than once. When you combine the golf with the spa, dining, and more, Eaglewood Resort shows itself to be a great place to getaway without going too far.
Matt Saternus
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