GENEVA GOLF CLUB

The rolling prairie terrain west of Chicago delivers legitimate strategic challenges through cleverly positioned bunkers and water hazards that punish wayward drives on nearly half the holes. What separates this daily-fee gem from the pack is how architect Dick Nugent routed the layout to maximize natural elevation changes, creating approach shots that demand precise club selection to multi-tiered greens. The back nine's signature par-3 16th plays over water to a peninsula green that's pure theater, but it's the subtle undulations throughout that keep scratch players coming back.