I asked ChatGPT if it could find a ranking of 9 hole courses in Illinois. It didn’t exactly, but it came back with discussion on some of the ones I mentioned. This is what it says about River Bend, the course I’m having trouble scoring on.
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River Bend Golf Club is one of those courses that punches above its yardage. Its blue tees are only about 3,240 yards, but the course rating is 70.8 with a slope of 126—very high numbers for a municipal 9-hole course. Water or wetlands are in play on eight of the nine holes, and there are very few "automatic pars."
What makes River Bend difficult isn't length—it's that every mistake costs you.
• Driver is often the wrong club.
• Bailout areas are limited.
• You can't simply overpower it.
• The greens are well protected without being gimmicky.
A scratch player might shoot 34 or 35 there, but a 10-handicap can go from 40 to 48 with just a few slightly offline swings.
On the other hand, Belmont Golf Club is a different kind of challenge. It's historically significant—the original site of the early Chicago Golf Club—and although it's short by modern standards, the greens, angles, and strategic design make it much harder than the yardage suggests. It's a course where being on the wrong side of the fairway can matter as much as missing it entirely.
To me, the distinction is:
• Belmont is a strategic test. It asks, "Can you think your way around?"
• River Bend is an execution test. It asks, "Can you repeatedly hit the shot you intended?"
Those are different skills.
One thing I also like about River Bend is that it has essentially no "breather" holes. Many 9-hole courses have two or three holes where everyone makes par. River Bend seems to keep asking questions from the first tee to the ninth green. Even the shorter holes have water or awkward angles that demand commitment. That's why you'll often hear local golfers describe it as "vicious" despite its modest length.
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I think it’s a pretty good description. Maybe a bit exaggerated. But you do have to hit very good tee shots all the way around. No slack.
