Olympia Fields Country Club is a bastion of championship golf with the North and South Courses offering all one can handle in every facet of shotmaking. The North is a Willie Park design that has been beefed up to U.S. Open standards. The Park charm is on full display on holes 3 through 7 and then on 12, 13, 14 and 15. The topography is absolutely perfect for good golf as a meandering stream accents the property and natural tufts, valleys and rises tend themselves to ideal routing and green complexes.
These material land forms are cleverly used on number three as a semi blind tee shot is hit over a fifteen food drop to a sunken fairway and then a second shot over the creek to a green porched some thirty feet above the fairway. The hole is an absolute beauty, including the vintage bridges that cross the bubbling stream. Likewise, the back nine uses the varying terrain to great effect, namely the dogleg 12th over the stream, the short 13th to an elevated green, the spectacular 114ththat has the look of hitting between wooded dunes and the par-5 fifteenth turning to the right around the same ridge. In sum, an awesome golf course, fun on a Thursday morning, yet a wrenching test on a US Open weekend.
The South Course at Olympia Fields Country Club is a pure joy for 18 holes. Originally designed by Tom Bedelow, the South underwent a head to toe renaissance under the watch of Steve Smyers. Clearly, the South course is underrated in the rankings and is in the shadow of the North, but this course is a terrific track. Again, undulating land forms and serpentine streams make for perfect routing plans and Bendelow/Smyers used the land to perfection. Right from the start on 1,2 and 3, it’s a dream compliment to the North. On one, a gentle dogleg left yields to a sloping green well-guarded by bunkers and a dramatic false front. Number two is a blast requiring a precision second across the stream to a wide, but narrow green. The back nine has an unforgettable string of holes, but the green at 16 is a stroke of genius. Despite a short approach, the price to pay for even a slightly wayward pitch is lethal. The straight drop to the right of the green is over thirty feet, but stairs are mercifully provided. If an approach is yanked, the deep bunkers await and the pitched narrow green discourages any up and ins. The South has plenty of teeth and could host any championship at any level, but it has a kinder and gentler aftertaste. Thirty six holes at Olympia Fields Country Club is right at the top of the one day, one venue list in the entire world of golf.
Ben