Golf courses by state
Illinois Golf Courses & Tee Times
Illinois golf runs through Chicago. The Western Golf Association, founded in 1899, is headquartered in Glenview and runs the BMW Championship and the Evans Scholars program, which has put more than 12,000 caddies through college. The Chicago District Golf Association formed on March 18, 1914, at the Chicago Athletic Club and governs amateur golf in the state, with more than 119,000 members today. Public golf has deep roots too: Chicago's Jackson Park opened in 1899 as the first municipal course west of the Alleghenies.
Tee times in Illinois are easier to get when you know when they open. Yoink watches 303 public golf courses here, grouped into 10 markets: Chicago, St. Louis, Springfield & Champaign, Peoria & Central Illinois and more. Choose a market to see every course, then get an alert when a tee time opens or someone cancels.
Illinois golf markets
Chicago
Arlington Lakes Golf Club, Arrowhead Golf Club, Arrowhead Golf Club - IL…
St. Louis
Annbriar Golf Course, Arlington Greens Golf Course, Gateway National Golf Links…
Springfield & Champaign
Atkins Golf Club, Brookhill Golf Course, Bunn Golf Course…
Peoria & Central Illinois
Harry Mussatto at Western Illinois University, Links at Jacksonville, Madison Golf Course…
Rockford & Northern Illinois
Deer Park Golf Club, Eagle Ridge Resort - North Course, Eagle Ridge Resort - The General Course…
Milwaukee
Sandy Hollow Golf Course, Sinnissippi Golf Course, Aldeen Golf Club…
Southern Illinois
Crab Orchard Golf Club, Greenview Golf Club, Kokopelli Golf Club…
Quad Cities
Golfmohr Golf Club, Highland Springs Golf Course, Saukie Golf Course…
Lafayette & West Central Indiana
Shewami Country Club, Turtle Run Golf Club
Southern Indiana
Eagle Ridge Golf Course
Who runs public golf in Illinois
The state itself plays a small role. Only two State Recreation Areas have golf: Grand Marais at Frank Holten and Eagle Creek. Most public golf belongs to local governments. The Chicago Park District runs one 18 and five nines with lower fees for city residents, and the Forest Preserves of Cook County sell an FPG Card for $41 to county residents and $51 to others. The Illinois PGA, which took its Illinois name in 1921 and has over 800 members and associates, runs the Illinois Open, a 54-hole event held since 1950. For juniors, CDGA-area Youth on Course costs $35 a year in 2026 and gets $5 walking rounds at participating courses, plus a CDGA handicap.
Public courses worth knowing in Illinois
- Cog Hill G&CC: 72-hole public facility. Dubsdread hosted the Western Open 1991-2006 and the BMW Championship 2009-2011; Golf Digest lists it among America's 100 Greatest Public courses.
- Harborside International - Starboard: Dick Nugent links course in Chicago, open since 1995; tied 9th on Golfweek's Best 2025 Illinois public-access list.
- Jackson Park Golf Course: Opened May 11, 1899, the first municipal course west of the Alleghenies.
- Fox Bend Golf Course: Oswego public course that hosted the Illinois Open in 1979, 1997 and 1999.
- Orchard Valley Golf Course: Aurora public course that hosted the Illinois Open in 1996 and 1998.
Towns with the most courses
- Rockford · 5
- Springfield · 4
- Hoffman Estates · 3
- Cary · 3
- Frankfort · 3
- Orland Park · 3
- Peoria · 3
- Wheaton · 2
- Bartlett · 2
- Lockport · 2
- Gurnee · 2
- Marengo · 2
- Bolingbrook · 2
- Mchenry · 2
- Buffalo Grove · 2
- Chicago Heights · 2
- Lemont · 2
- Woodstock · 2
- University Park · 2
- Sandwich · 2
- North Chicago · 2
- Glenview · 2
- Westmont · 2
- Northbrook · 2
Getting a tee time in Illinois
Golf in Illinois follows the seasons: spring openers and fall weekends are the busiest stretches, and summer mornings fill before afternoons.
Most public courses open their tee sheet a set number of days ahead, often 7 to 14, and many municipal courses give residents or card holders an earlier window. The best weekend-morning times usually go the day they're released. Leagues and outings take blocks of the sheet before the public ever sees them.
Booked-up doesn't mean gone. Plans change: groups cancel ahead of the course's cancellation deadline (often 24 to 48 hours out), players drop when the forecast turns, and a group that shrinks leaves an open spot. Those times quietly come back on the booking page, usually for minutes, not hours.
Yoink
Every course in Illinois on one watchlist: all 303 of them
Pick the courses you'd play and Yoink keeps an eye on all 303 courses in Illinois. You see what's open in one place, and you hear about it the moment a time that fits your day, window and group turns up, cancellations included.
Tee times in Illinois: questions
How do I get tee time cancellation alerts in Illinois?
Pick your courses in Yoink (303 in Illinois), set the days, time window and group size you want, and Yoink sends a notification when a matching time opens up. You book directly with the course.
When is golf season busiest in Illinois?
Demand peaks on spring and fall weekends. Weekend mornings are the hardest tee times to get.
When do tee time cancellations usually show up?
Mostly in the 24 to 48 hours before the tee time, as golfers cancel ahead of the course's cancellation deadline, and whenever the forecast turns.
Sources
Facts on this page come from these pages, checked 2026-09-28. Rates and booking rules change, so confirm with the course.
- new.cdga.org · association
- cdga.org · association
- youthoncourse.org · association
- ipga.com · association
- en.wikipedia.org · media
- en.wikipedia.org · media
- en.wikipedia.org · media
- dnr.illinois.gov · government
- chicagoparkdistrict.com · official
- forestpreservegolf.com · official
- chicagogolfreport.com · media
- coghillgolf.com · official
- en.wikipedia.org · media
- en.wikipedia.org · media
- harborsidegolf.com · official
- harborsidegolf.com · official
The best tee times in Illinois open up at random
Cancellations don't get announced. Yoink watches the sheets around the clock and buzzes your phone when one fits.