Cog Hill Ranked Among 100 ‘Greatest’ Public Golf Courses In U.S.

PALOS PARK, IL — Chicagoland golfers already know how great Palos Park’s Cog Hill is, but now we can officially boast that it’s one of the “greatest” public golf courses in America. That’s according to the folks at Golf Digest, who recently released their top 100 rankings.

The newly annexed Cog Hill earned a spot on the list, which included world-famous courses such as Pebble Beach Golf Links and Torrey Pines Golf Course in California. Golf Digest has ranked Cog Hill since 2003. Cog Hill was ranked No. 8 on the “100 Greatest” list in 2004. Here’s what the experts have to say about Cog Hill No. 4:

"Some tour pros were critical of Rees Jones's remodeling of Cog Hill No. 4, insisting it's too hard for high handicappers. What did they expect? Its nickname is, after all, Dubsdread. And there are three easier courses at Cog Hill for high handicappers. Original owner Joe Jemsek wanted a ball-busting championship course when it was built back in the mid-1960s. Jones's renovation was true to the philosophy of original architect Dick Wilson, who liked to pinch fairways with bunkers and surround greens with more bunkers, all of them deep."

The single greatest golf course in America is, once again, Pebble Beach Golf Links, located about 87 miles south of San Francisco. The course, which will host its sixth U.S. Open this year, has been ranked No. 1 overall every year since Golf Digest began ranking golf courses 16 years ago. Pebble Beach received the highest praise as the “greatest meeting of land and sea in American golf,” and the most extensive, to boot. Nine holes overlook the Pacific Ocean and there’s even a 75-foot bluff, the authors wrote.

In fact, the authors were so enamored with Pebble Beach that the community is home to four of the top 100, including the 10th ranked Spyglass Hill Golf Course. Located just a four-minute drive north of Pebble Beach Golf Links, the authors praised Spyglass Hill for its Pacific Ocean views and “majestic” Monterrey pines.

California, Wisconsin and Oregon each notched a pair of courses in the top 10. Here they are:

1. Pebble Beach Golf Links, California
2. Bandon Dunes Golf Resort - Pacific Dunes, Oregon
3. Whistling Straits, Wisconsin
4. The Ocean Course, South Carolina
5. Shadow Creek, Nevada
6. Pinehurst Resort, North Carolina
7. Bandon Dunes, Oregon
8. Bethpage State Park, New York
9. Erin Hills Golf Course, Wisconsin
10. Spyglass Hill Golf Course, California

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.