Harborside International – Port Course

Went out here the day before my wedding with 16 guys. It was wet and windy but the outing was still a blast.
The carts are great with course information and an electronic scorecard. They also set up some fun games for our group like longest ball, closest to the pin, and longest putt.
Overall great experience and tough course.

It’s pretty obvious this course was designed by Chicagoland’s most prolific course architect, Dick Nugent because it’s a layout that builds as you move through the round and finishes with 4 visually exceptional holes and the hazards are fairly placed and the green complex is legit with no stupid pin placements.
It was in pretty good shape when we played it despite the daily rain we’ve experienced this June. Maybe all the rain made the greens inconsistent as they varied from medium speed to quick. My only other complaint was when we checked in and told the guy in the clubhouse that it was our first time playing Harborside and asked if he had tips which is just a way of saying «Tell us about your course.» His dry look and response was, «Enjoy the round.» Really? That’s it? Sorry to bother you, Mr. Don’t Care.
Our foursome got around in about 5 ½ hours which seems unfortunately typical these days.
The range is top-​notch and priced right. A very pleasant surprise.

I found the Unilocal reviews to be spot on and very helpful for knowing what to expect at Harborside.
Practice Facility: Real grass, very large. Definitely worth the drive if you want to get off the mats in Chicago.
Port Course: well-​maintained, especially the women’s tees. The men’s tees were a little chewed up from a busy Labor Day, but that’s not a surprise. Saw 1 other woman besides our group out there. Upside for the ladies! Unforgiving rough — can be very dense. Loads of sand traps. You’ll find yourself cussing up a storm if you don’t hit straight.
Great carts. Bartender who makes awesome bloody mary’s. What more can you ask for?

5 stars for the golf courses and 7 stars for the driving range.
You have two choices for the golf courses, both of which are very challenging (but good news … you won’t hit a tree!) and fun. Love the GPS in the carts, too.
I love the driving range. It’s half an hour from downtown and the best within that distance. $ 11 for a large bucket and you hit off grass as opposed to a mat. Perfection.
¹⁹⁹⁄₃₆₅

I liked this course. Played the starboard. Price was a little high at almost $ 100 after tax but the course was in great shape and the carts were some of the best I’ve ever seen. I wouldn’t play it all the time for that price but I was on vacation. The GPS system was great. Had views of the hole so you never had a blind shot. Never left you guessing how far the hole was from you. Even let you touch the screen to know your yardage for a layup. Yardage was right on with the gps I have a range finder and it was right on every time I checked.
The course was a links style course with no trees anywhere but had plenty of sand to make up for it. Course will play really tough if you can’t hit the ball straight. The fairways and greens were in perfect condition. Sand was also perfect. Teed off at 750 and dealt with a little wind but wasn’t to bad. Didn’t smell anything like some people say. The day I played was very very muggy but I think that’s pretty much how it is in Chicago in June. Course played a little different. Pretty much had to club down on irons and wedges to get my normal distances. I was coming up about 10 yards short on everything. Not sure if it had to do with humidity or just the air.
It takes about a half hour to get there from downtown Chicago by wacker and state st on a Wednesday morning at 640. It took over an hour to get back after the round at noon. It is about 18 miles from there.

Great course. Great views. Excellent shape and play moves well. I can’t wait to play there again.

My review is solely for the practice facility; I haven’t played the course.
The practice facility is the best public facility that I’ve been to in Chicago. I live in River North, so I typically go to the Diversey range. This practice facility puts Diversey to shame and is definitely worth the extra drive if you live in the city. It’s beautiful facility and has a great range, putting green, and short-​game area. The price are very reasonable, and, what’s even better, you don’t have to pay for parking.

I like this place for the quality of the course. I was stuck playing most of my round by myself for the expensive price of $ 70 bucks (on a rainy day in October). I usually hate that but here, it was one of the few courses you can get totally lost in how nice it is. It There is nothing they can do about the dumpy skyline views, or the water treatment stench on the front nine of starboard except lower the prices, and then it will be too crowded. Beyond that, as I am not booking any more times at Highlands of Elgin for a while I think this will do.

Came here with a buddy of mine a couple of weeks ago. Such a beautiful course on the south side of Chicago. The course itself is fairly difficult. Littered with sand traps, I found myself driving off the tee into the sand most of the day. The pro shop is very nice, and there is a small restaurant within.
I do question where the photo’s on the website came from. Must have been an amazing photographer as most of the sky line I saw was populated with factories. My only complaint is that there isn’t anywhere nearby to have a nice dinner. I used my Unilocal app to try and find a place, but all the reviews for anywhere decent said not to come go due to the high crime in the area. So stick to the food there, or drive back towards home to grab a bite to eat.

Harborside is probably the nicest public golf course that is closest to the city of Chicago. The freight of $ 95 is a little hefty, but the course provides a good challenge on its 36 hole layout (Port and Starboard). I’ve played here a few times and its rare that the wind doesn’t wear you down by the end of the round. If the wind isn’t whipping, it’s actually a pretty fair course, but with the wind, some of the holes play twice as long as they should. Of the two courses, the Port is my favorite by far due to its last 4 closing holes.
My one complaint came this morning as the course scheduled an outing on a Saturday morning. What golf course does that? So the play today was excruciatingly slow. In addition, is there going to be fall rates? It was 40 degrees today and they were charging summer rates… WTF?
Aside from this, the course is well kept and has a nice driving range and chipping area. Will definitely be back next year.

My favorite course (s) in Chicagoland. I prefer Starboard but play both often.
Greens are usually in great shape even during peak season. Also has the best practice facilities in the area. The price is steep but the convenient location allows me to look the other way on it.

Great place for a few rounds. Hard to believe it was la landfill. The club house is very decent. The proshop is also great.

Harborside is all-​around the best public course I’ve played in the Chicagoland area. As you’ll see from the pics, it is a links-​style course with 36 holes, one more beautiful than the next. Add in the wind whipping up off Lake Michigan and you’ve got yourself an experience fairly close to golf’s Scottish roots. Despite the lack of trees, the design is enough to keep even the experienced golfer challenged. And 7200 yards from the tips is no joke.
The Port course has an awesome 4-​hole closing set, including their signature «Anchor» hole 15 with the green set into a sand-​trap island shaped like, you guessed it, an anchor. Like any good links course, it is wide open but you’ll be punished if you can’t keep it in the short stuff.
The service is also pretty outstanding, especially for a public course. Bag drop, nice practice facilities, friendly clubhouse staff, a well equipped locker room and a restaurant with a great view to wrap up the day – Harborside is golf done right. $ 95 a round is a bit pricey, but worth it for the great experience it affords.

First the only downside… Its a bit expensive. $ 90+ per round. But the upside is it is totally worth it if you can afford it.
First thing that strikes you is the openness and beauty of the golf course. Green as green can be w/​panoramic views 360 degrees. It really is a site to see.
Second — one you start playing is the quality of the course. Tee boxes are level, fairways are well kept and greens roll true. The layout is great — each hole is different from the other, w/​enough angles to keep all skill players challenged. The only complaint I had was the bunkers. They were soupie or hard packed. We had just had some rain w/​in the past few days — and maybe they do not drain well, but we did not play out of them.
Service was great and the round played true to time — I was afraid it would be backed up but with 36 holes, they have plenty of space to move people around.
I would make the trip 1 – 2 this summer to play this gem.

Review is bordering 3 stars… could be 2.5 — not because of course quality but because of management:
Good course, with an exception — they do not have a 9 hole rate for weekday evenings. The majority of people who live in the city, and golf regularly, are craving 9 holes after work in the middle of summer. it can’t be done here, they are being ignorant to a market and sacrificing business — especially since this place looks like it is HURTING for people to get out there. I wish they could make the connection. Cantigny even has a 4-​hole rate after 6pm for 10 bucks. This would be PERFECT!
Further, the range attendants can be a bit snippy at times. It’s gotten better now that the days are longer. Practice facilities are nice, too.

Amazing course and it has dunes!

I def. was stressed out yesterday that I made my way to play 9 holes for 57.00 at 5:30pm. I was little hesitant because I read a review stating the staff was a little rude or inattentive.
My experience was great… Joel, the pro shop associate working that night got me out on the course and told me to have a good time and the course itself is just gorgeous.
The price is steep, but location def. plays a huge factor when choosing twilight rates btwn Harborside and Ruffled Feathers.
I def. Recommend this course if you have a guest from out of town who is an avid golfer and you don’t mind spending some money to show them what chicago has to offer!

Definitely one of the finest golf courses in the Chicago area. It’s not too far out of the middle of the city which is nice because typically places of this quality tend to be in the burbs. A links style course with wind at every hole and fescue that will make you want to pull your hair out if you hit wayward drives. The course is immaculately maintained from the tee boxes to the fairway and rough. The best part (and when I say best I say that begrudgingly because I’ve dropped many strokes because of it) are the greens. They are always in perfect shape rolling true and are lightning fast. Whatever your putting stroke is at a muni make sure you only take about 50% of that on the greens at harborside.

This is the crème de la crème of public golf courses in Chicagoland besides Dubsdread at Coghill. I’m giving it 5 stars but 3 stars for value compared to other deals I can find online.
The pros: very scenic and gorgeous, especially the skyline; meticulously maintained; very fast, undulated, and true greens; tough, long, and challenging holes from tips; nice driving range; close to the city.
The cons: PRICE! They don’t have specials or promotions so expect to pay over $ 100 during peak seasons. I’d much rather play Ruffled Feathers, Makray, or Thunderhawlk for almost half the price. It was built on top of a landfill so you can smell a slight stench if it’s windy. MOSQUITOES! Because of the landfill, this place attracts more mosquitoes, than any course I know – especially near sunset.
If you want to play somewhere very challenging or treat yourself to a pricey but very well manicured course, this is the place

When I think about Chicago golf, links courses never come to mind. Most have well groomed tree-​lined fairways with little water. Harborside couldn’t be further from the norm. Created from an old landfill, it’s amazing how a giant pile of trash can be transformed into one of the best courses in the Chicagoland area.
This links course is one hell of a way to spend a morning. Two courses, the port and starboard, provide fescue lined fairways (think British Open courses) that provides a fun challenge not normally found. Bring plenty of balls to play here; both your own… and umm plenty of golf balls too. You’ll be glad you did.
I should add that the Port course is superior to Starboard but that’s just an opinion.