Poplar Creek Country Club in Hoffman Estates, Illinois only plays to 6,321 from the back tees, but don’t let that fool you; what it lacks in raw distance, it makes up for with tight fairways, interesting greens, and the chance to use every club in your bag. For those reasons, I think this is a great track. If you’re interested in playing the game, you’ll love it. If you’re interested in bombing your driver on 14 of 18 holes, it may not be for you.
Poplar Creek Country Club has a great range, complete with a practice bunker, chipping area, and two practice greens (one by the range, and one by the first tee), so definitely show up early and warm up a little before your round.
The course starts out with a pretty straight par 5, and at only 517 yards from the tips (which I usually play), it’s definitely reachable. Be wary of the big bunker on the right, and OB to the left. If you can avoid both, you probably have a chance at going for it. The green is flanked by bunkers, but there is a little room if you overshoot, although you’ll be chipping downhill.
The second is a healthy (203 yards) par three, with a huge green. The distance can vary by 40 yards here, so be sure to pick the right club. A fade is preferred, based on the design of the green, and the bunkers up the right side.
The fifth is an interesting short par 4. You have the opportunity of hitting over the bunker on the right, and having a wedge into the green (which is basically an upside-down cereal bowl), or you can hit to the left of the trap and have a longer iron, which will be harder to stick. I’d base my decision on the wind, and your confidence in the driver. As I said, this course is tight, so if you take driver, remember that left is OB, and right is all trees.
The sixth is a potential birdie hole. A well-placed drive (really a hybrid or 3-wood is plenty) will leave you around a hundred yards, and possibly less.
The green has a large bunker in front of it, but from 100 or less, carrying it shouldn’t be too bad. The green itself is the hardest part of the hole, so focus on hitting the right distance, and stick your approach close. Good luck!
The eighth is another lengthy par 3 (201 yards). Even though it’s over water, the green is larger than it appears from the tee. Test the wind, and pick a club that will hit the center of the green, and you should walk away with a par.
The turn is made right at the clubhouse, and there’s a snackbar reachable from outside, which is nice. The men’s restroom is also accessible, from a door to the left of the snackbar. The women are out of luck; they have to go inside to find a restroom, which isn’t the best thing, but Poplar Creek is playing to its base (men).
The 10th is a relatively straight-forward par 4. My only advice here is to keep the ball in the fairway, or to the left. The right side borders the range, so there are lots of errant range balls laying around, making it more difficult than normal to locate your ball. In addition, there are trees in the way for an approach from the right, so definitely keep it left, or left-center.
The 11th is a very short hole, so hitting driver is probably out of the question. What I want to make sure you take notice of is the length of this green. From the fairway, it’s hard to see just how long and thin it is, so here’s a picture of the GPS system, to make it clear.
Twelve is a potential birdie hole, even though it’s completely uphill. If you feel confident you won’t pull it left, feel free to bomb a driver. Lots of room in the fairway, and if you really slice it, you’ll be in the 14th fairway, which will still leave you a shot into the green, so hit away!
The fourteenth is a personal favorite. For me, it’s a great hole to tee off with my hybrid. If I catch it pure, I’m left with about 100-110 to a green that slopes severely (and I mean severely) back to front. A driver may carry the thin strip of water, but it’s never worth it to me. Hit a hybrid and a wedge, and better short than long.
The fifteenth is a short par 4, but accuracy is everything off the tee here. If you want to have any kind of approach into this uphill green, trust me; pay attention to the design of this hole, put the driver away, and focus on accuracy. The landing area is pretty fat, but if you take driver, it’s probably too much, leaving lots of trouble (water, OB, trees, etc.)
Seventeen is an uphill, 520 yard par 5 that is reachable with a great tee shot. Again, there’s trouble left, but the 18th fairway is to the right, so if you feel good about not hitting a draw/hook, let this one fly.
The approach is uphill, but there’s a little room behind it, and bunkers on each side so if your short game is on, definitely go for this one in two.
The course finishes with a dogleg left par 4. The tee shot is the hard part here. It needs to be long enough so you have a clear approach into the green, but not so long that it runs into the bunkers on the right. Like I originally said, you’ll be using every club in your bag here!
Your second shot is pretty straight-forward. Keep in mind it’s slightly uphill, but other than that, go for it. If the approach is unhindered, you just might finish with a birdie.
This course is not the longest; it’s not even close, but I’ve played enough to see the value in sharpening every club, and if you understand what I mean by that, then this course is worth a round. The staff is always courteous, the beverage cart appears frequently, and rangers really patrol, rather than just waving at you as you play a 5 hour round. Give it a shot, and if you play here, leave a comment below on your thoughts.
Visit my Flickr page for more Poplar Creek Country Club pictures and photos.
Other Illinois Golf Course Reviews:
Medinah Country Club, Medinah, Illinois
North Course, Eagle Ridge Resort, Galena, Illinois
Foxford Hills Golf Club, Cary, Illinois
Cantigny Golf Course, Wheaton, Illinois
Big Run Golf Club, Lockport, Illinois
Highland Woods Golf Course, Hoffman Estates, Illinois
Harborside International Golf, Port Course, Chicago, Illinois
The General Golf Course, Eagle Ridge Resort, Galena, Illinois
Makray Memorial Golf Club, Barrington, Illinois
Whisper Creek Golf Club, Huntley, Illinois
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
It’s short – but lots of water and looks fairly tight. Nice shape!
I read your reviews and like to rely on them when maiking tee times. But you lost some credibility here with this review of Poplar Creek. The greens are aweful (I’ve played here over a dozen times), the tees and greens are right on top of each other, and they crammed 18 holes into an area that can barely fit 12. This course is not only dangerous to golfers, but also to the poeple that drive and live literally a dozen yards off of 8-10 of the fairways. The people that honk while you tee off at every other hole is a nice touch I could do without as well. go to Hilldale instead. 1/2 mile away, great conditions, great rates and a MUCH better golf experience. Stay away from this pasture.
Landshark: That’s actually sad to hear. Please bear in mind that my review was from August 2008. At that time, it was a good course at a good price in the Burbs. It was very close to my home, and was actually tougher to get a reasonable weekend tee time than other, nearby courses. If your comments are true, then it sounds like it hasn’t been kept up as well as it used to be, which is a bummer. Their greens used to be a high point!