WILLOW CREST GOLF CLUB

The mounded prairie terrain west of Chicago creates natural amphitheaters for several holes, particularly the downhill par-4 seventh that tumbles toward a green guarded by native wetlands. Architect Dick Nugent routed this daily-fee gem through mature oaks and willows that frame every fairway without overwhelming shorter hitters. The par-3 sixteenth plays across a meandering creek to a shelf green that rewards precision over power—exactly what public golf in the suburbs should deliver.