Review of Marengo Ridge Golf Course in Marengo, Illinois

Tucked away about fifteen minutes west of Elgin is the sleepy 18 hole course of Marengo Ridge. The course is located at 9106 Harmon Hill Road, just off US route 20. The slope rating of 129 does not do its justice when experiencing several elevated tee box shots which offer picturesque views of northern Illinois farms and deep valleys. I personally like this escape from some of the flatter residential park district courses in the Chicago suburbs.

The par 72 eighteen hole course runs a distance of about 6,632 yards of which several holes play relatively short given the extreme 90 degree dog legs. Our foursome had the extreme luxury of including a friend that had played this course several times. Without the aid of our Marengo Ridge course veteran, I could only imagine how much trouble a first timer could get themselves into. My scorecard was grateful to have the services of our "guide" for which he was compensated with a beverage back at the clubhouse.

Marengo Ridge Golf Course - Fairways and Greens

The fairways consist of blue grass and were kept very short when I played this course back in June. The hazards are numerous with several trees and sand traps to boot. The sand traps are somewhat lacking in care as the sand was very patted down with a few pebbles sprinkled throughout. There were a few holes of which I fell victim to these rocky hard bunkers and had to use my putter instead of wedge to escape the trap. The greens keeper could definitely add some fresh sand or at least rake and loosen up the existing sand and sift out the rocks in the process.

The greens were in very good shape and played slower than what I am accustomed to. We played our round going into a week without rain, though encountered a good downpour at about the ninth hole. The course architect, William Spear, did his best to mix in traps and water hazards throughout this course as there are a few holes that have meandering creeks and ponds adding challenge to your game.

Marengo Ridge Golf Course - Amenities

One of the most impressive amenities on this course was the GPS feature on the golf carts. The distance reads were extremely helpful as I was a first timer on this course. For the price and the location, I would have never expected a GPS feature at Marengo Ridge.

The club house was in full swing as we had a lightening delay midway though our round. I was actually surprised it took several close lightening hits during the span of about fifteen minutes to get the ranger out on the course chasing people back to the clubhouse. The group got back to the pro-shop/restaurant for some freshly brewed coffee and bloody marys. The service was excellent and the counter service was very friendly.

As we were allowed to go back on to the course we got through the back nine in about two and half hours and we encountered no further rain or lightning. The beverage cart service was very timely providing us with much needed Gatorade with friendly service.