Est. 1916 · Donald Ross (original, 1916); redesigned by C.H. Alison of Colt & Alison in the 1920s
Why we love this place
We love Bob O'Link for how it layers a century of great design into one walk: Donald Ross's bones, Colt & Alison's touch, and a thoughtful modern restoration. It's a quiet, tree-lined North Shore parkland course that rewards precision over power, and its deep sense of tradition makes every round feel like a small piece of golf history.
Via Top 100 Golf Courses
About Bob O'Link Golf Club
Bob O'Link Golf Club opened in 1916 in Highland Park, Illinois, on Chicago's North Shore, with an original course laid out by Donald Ross on a compact site of roughly 125 acres. After the club acquired additional land in the 1920s, it engaged C.H. Alison of the English firm Colt & Alison to expand and rework the layout, which reopened in 1925; only a handful of Ross's original greens survive. The club is known as one of the small number of remaining men-only clubs in the United States. A 2014 restoration, prompted by severe winter turf loss, saw architect Jim Urbina overhaul the course, removing hundreds of trees, rebuilding drainage and irrigation, and converting the greens from Poa to bentgrass. Today the par-72 course plays to roughly 6,700 yards and remains one of the region's most private and admired parkland tests.
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