Lake Barrington Shores Golf Club — Local services in Lake Barrington

I was having a lovely day yesterday until I decided to visit the Lake Barrington Shores Golf Club driving range with my friends. We had been boating and wanted to hit the range afterward. I called ahead and asked how late the driving range was open, and the person at the pro shop told me, "the pro shop closes at 7 PM, so you just need to purchase your range tokens before then." We arrived at the pro shop at 6:40, only to find it locked with no staff in sight. We waited for about 10 minutes, and then the owner of the course and his son arrived in a golf cart. I politely asked if we could buy some range tokens, but the owner curtly replied that the driving range was closed and they were not selling tokens. I explained that I had called earlier and was told to buy tokens before 7 PM, but the son quickly became agitated and demanded to know the name of the employee I spoke to (which I didn’t know and even if I did, I wouldn’t want to get an employee in trouble because of poor management).

As we were about to leave, my friend tried to make small talk, complimenting the course’s maintenance. The son rudely ignored him. When my friend asked if the green behind them was the 17th or 18th hole, the son arrogantly replied, "Why does that matter?" We left, feeling embarrassed and in disbelief at the management’s rudeness.

This wasn’t my first negative experience with the ownership. About 5 years ago, before I bought a house nearby, I worked a summer as a waiter at this golf course while in college. The owner was overseas most of the time, but during his one day on-site, he walked around with arms folded, talking to other overseas associates and ignoring the staff. The only redeeming aspect of that job was serving the patrons who came to the clubhouse. Since then, the restaurant has been closed and left empty since the fall of 2019, with only the bar occasionally being open to serve drinks, wasting what was once a nice dining experience.

Yesterday’s experience confirmed my disappointment and sadness at the reality that a potentially beautiful local golf course is being tarnished by poor management. The overseas owner, Kim, and his son do not care about golf, customer experience, or their employees; they only care about money. They invest as little as possible in the course's maintenance, including leaving the driving range closed for half the season because they didn’t want to pay to fix the netting that prevents balls from hitting passing cars.

This course could be a gem in our community, but it’s clear that it’s being mismanaged...

Booked a 10:00am PUBLIC TEE time on Lake Barrington Shores Golf Club website and followed the instructions for public visitors. Names were emailed far in advance. Show up at 9:40am to be turned away at the gate because we were not golfing with a member. Tried calling the Pro shop several times. When they finally answered they said they would not talk to security at the gate. “They were advised not to engage with security”.

The website describes the course as SEMI-PUBLIC. When I asked the security guard to call the pro shop because they were not answering he said no. Was extremely rude. I asked if he could walkie the shop he said no and they do not talk to them. I asked if there was a supervisor or someone I could talk to about the situation he said no. I pulled up the website because they still had times listed for the public in the afternoon and he wouldn’t even look at me. He said he turned away at least 10 people before we got there.

DO NOT GOLF HERE even if you do know a member. Golf shop employees were useless and the security guard was not friendly. You think if it was happening a lot throughout the day changes would be made. Drove over an hour just to be...

I was a member last year (2024) with many of my friends who played this course roughly 20 times. Friday I played what was a year ago 55$ with cart on Fridays. I payed 90$ to play this year. What did I get for this added cost? You can put out of the sand traps, they are as hard as cement. The grill was closed, so no lunch available. After the round we would go have a beer, not this time the bar was closed on a Friday afternoon. If your goal was to alienate people. Mission accomplished. You are not a 90 dollar a round...