Cog Hill Golf & Country Club — Restaurant in Lemont Township

“A Name Becomes a Destination” I decided to play Cog Hill #4, nicknamed “Dubsdread” (derived from dub, or a poor golfer, should beware) to see if it held up to its reputation. I’m a senior dubber myself but the white tees are 6382 and playable for my game. Overall this is a gorgeous course with plenty of landscape character (ravines, mature woods, elegant bunker complexes, lakes and breathtaking elevated views). It has purposely rough edges like famous links courses, with high grass eyebrows around fairway bunkers, unencumbered natural IL flora in between tee boxes and along fairways, almost like your rich, hirsute uncle forgot to shave his nose and ears. But #4 pulls it off. Despite the warning to dubbers, I found the fairways generous and the million bunkers mostly avoidable. Luke Donald said he doesn’t like the Rees Jones redesign that was done in 2008, including the deeper bunkers. I’m an average sand player and I got out of a 5’, 6’ and 8’ deep bunker on the first try so they’re not unfair. Michelson and Stricker complained about the course after the redesign and that may have contributed to the PGA pulling major tournaments from Cog Hill. But for an average golfer like me, the course is both stunningly beautiful and playable.

I like it’s history too. Course #1 opened on the 4th of July weekend in 1927. The course was carved out of the Des Plaines River Valley property that was shaped by the last Wisconsin glacier 75,000-11,000 years ago. You know, around when golf was invented. 😊 Big rolling hills had to be sculpted by horse-drawn blades back then. The Coghill brothers gave the course their name which stuck after a caddie named Joe Jemsek saved all his money and eventually bought it from the Coghills in 1951. And so the brother’s name became a golf destination. Over the years the Jemsek family (still managing the course today) turned #4 (opened in 1964) into a world class golf destination and home to many National Championships. Tiger Woods still holds the course record (62, 30 strokes less than my score 🙈). There are cool, giant air fans on several greens too left over from an era before the underground SubAir system was added (see pics). I have a little history myself with Dubsdread. In 2005 I was lucky enough to play in the Western Open ProAm and I got to use the same locker room as the pros. As I opened the door a distracted Jim Furyk literally ran into me. As if I’d known him a long time I said “oh, so sorry Jim!” He said “wasn’t your fault.” I said “Go win it all!” And he thanked me, and then he did. Jim Furyk, 2005 Western Open Champion, by way of my good luck bump-in. 🤣

My only criticisms stem from the current construction and redesign of hole #3 which disrupts the front 9. When you book online you’ll see the warning about construction and use of an “alternate hole.” No discount offered for this disruption and I think that is a little slim shady, especially after shelling out $149 to play. And the greens are almost all elevated complexes completely surrounded by vast squirt-shaped bunkers. Very difficult to get up and down. Especially because the speed was moderate and difficult to get used too. A little more speed would drop more pure putts instead of leaving them just short. Many of the cart paths also need repair.

I highly recommend Cog Hill’s Dubsdread #4 and hope you get an opportunity to experience this beautiful golf destination. You should also try the “Ravines” course #2 for great beauty and a challenge at a much lower cost ($55 including cart). So don’t let the dread in the name scare you off of this...

I took my father out to Cog Hill No.4: Dubs. He had never been and I thought since he had recently retired it would be a fun experience. Mind you he lives 2.5 hours away and made the drive. I have never written a review on Google but felt compelled based on my experience.I hope the people at Cog Hill read this because I’m not coming back, and I hope others will think twice about this if they’re hoping to get service and a real high level golf experience. Truly shocking from a place that has hosted PGA Tour events.

Let me start with the good: the course was well maintained, greens rolled smooth and true, and overall a challenging test of golf that requires quality ball striking and control. It taxes your physically and mentally. I’ve played before and it’s a little easier the second time around just because you understand where you can miss which is really anywhere.

Is it worth $155 solely based on the course condition and layout? Probably not quite that much... $115- $130, but I get it’s got some history so, ok. TPC Deere Run, Mistwood, The Glen Club, or Cantigny are PUBLIC, are more fun in my opinion, in the same shape, less expensive, and offer a much more upscale experience from clubhouse, food, range, etc.

Now, let’s talk about the bad... there’s a lot. We booked a tee time for 1:20 three days ago. I arrive at the course and the place is swamped. It appears there’s an outing which doesn’t necessarily surprise me but I didn’t think it would be on No.4. I head to the club house which I can’t even get in the front door because of the Pipefitters Union outing. I go in and the person in the club house informs me that we’ll need to go off number 10 tee so we can stay ahead of the outing that he informs me they booked AFTER they took my tee time. Ok, no big deal, people start on back 9’s regularly.

Now, being as this is $155 round, you receive complimentary warm up balls. So I Grab my cart and the seats have rips, no scorecard, no tees... I guess there’s GPS so that’s something.

Ihead down to the range where I get balls but am told that I need to move down the other range there because the outing would be hitting from the nicer range. The range I hit on was a joke... it was so chewed up that me and another guy just laughed as we searched for an actual piece of grass to hit off. For $155, let me hit off some grass.

After warming up, we head to the 10 tee around 1:10 to get started. Upon arriving, there’s already one group off, and another waiting. I talk to them and they say they’re a part of the outing. I ask what time they’re supposed to be going out and they don’t really have a set time. There’s no one there from the clubhouse; no starter at the tee to govern traffic. They said they won’t me out because the people in front of them already went. So, I’M forced to figure out what’s happening and run back to the clubhouse. They tell me that my playing partner was told that we needed to tee off at 1:00 if we wanted to get out ahead of them which he must not have heard but beyond that, it’s absurd. They literally changed the tee time between when I checked and when he did giving him no time to really warm up. This is reputable, $155 round, not Jonny down at the local muni.

So after discussing this, we’re told to drive to 11 tee. While waiting to hit, the group from the outing comes up and already waiting on us. Three times then during our first 9 they hit into us which was a treat.Also, never saw one drink cart except when it was tending to the outing. Never came...

TLDR: Don't play Dubsdread right now. Premium Course, Premium Price, Underwhelming Amenities, Renovating Bunkers (Aug 2023)

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I play at Cog Hill quite a bit. Early season on 1/3, their many scramble events, Ravines (Course 2), and every year I make sure I get to Dubsdread at least once.

I was disappointed yesterday when playing Dubsdread. The greens fee is $170 for a weekend morning. While this is on the upper end, it's not obscenely pricy for a fantastic layout that holds the history of the legends that have walked it. Content to pay that based on prior experiences at Dubs.

We had an early tee time and wanted to grab some balls beforehand. This is when it started to go downhill. Playing this course in the past, I had known range balls were included for Dubsdread, and this is on par with premium courses to have complimentary range balls. Well.. I guess that changed recently.

Range balls are no longer complimentary with your Dubsdread tee time. While it's not like the $9 bucket (45 balls) broke the bank, it's a detail that felt a bit 'cheap' from a premium course, especially for a $170 rate.

Practice greens and short game area were in great shape. No sand in the practice bunker - a bummer due to the famed bunkers the course has. Would have been nice to get some practice there. Sadly, this would be a precursor to a later issue.

Now onto the course itself. I really love this layout. Fairways/rough/greens were well maintained and in great shape. However, when I took a divot on the first hole and went to fill it with sand... none on the carts. Strange, but okay. Grabbed my beaver pelt and put it back in the divot. These are bent grass fairways, so maybe the roots will re-grow and connect once it's placed back. I am no expert there.

The real issue with the course is the sand traps. I found myself in one early on. No problem.. I love sand shots, and that's partly the reason I am out here at Dubs. Well.. there is almost no sand in the bunkers. Extremely firm, visible ground/netting patches.

These are tricky bunkers to get out of as is - since they're so elevated - and become much more so when there's minimal sand in them. Some were better than others, but majority of greenside bunkers were near empty.

Turns out they are in the processes of renovating them.. fine by me. I hope they are better next year.. but that needs to be considered in the rate. If you are reading this, know that for 2023 they will likely not be ready.

It was a scorcher in Mid-August. I counted 1 water fountain the entire time I was there. It's one that fills up a water bottle and was on hole 4 green. Simply put.. there needs to be more water on the course. There is a halfway house between 7/8, and then the clubhouse between 9/10. Good luck if you get thirsty on the back 9 and are out of water. This is an easy fix to put out water coolers.

This could have been remedied by a beverage cart, which we didn't see until the 18th green. We did start early (before 8am), but still would have expected to see beverage cart service at some point for a premium course.

Side Note: if you have an early tee time at Dubs/Ravines - don't plan for breakfast there. There is no grill at the clubhouse when you check in for 2/4 - so your best bet will be a microwaved Jimmy Dean sandwich, don't expect a fresh breakfast burrito/sandwich/etc that you may find at other premium courses...