Port Course at Harborside Channels Scottish Links

By Jim Zuccarelli

When the starter at the Port Course at the Harborside International Golf Center heard that this was my initial visit to the former city of Chicago landfill turned upscale golf facility, he proudly stated, “You’re as close as you’ll get around here to golf in Scotland, but you won’t have to pay for the airfare to get there.” Since my experience with golf in the British Isles goes no further than the Open Championship on television each year, I’ll have to take him at his hyperbolic word, though a sighting of the midwest version of a Loch Ness Monster-like creature inhabiting the murky depths of Lake Calumet may not come as a total surprise.

But the windswept, barren layout off the 111th Street exit of the Bishop Ford Freeway, another devilish Dick Nugent design, does its best to channel the Scottish links experience by featuring thick seas of fescue and native grasses, over 100 imposing bunkers of every shape and size imaginable, and the shores of the lake on the last 3 holes to great effect. The Port Course stretches out to a tournament worthy 7,100 yards from the back set of 4 tees, with 500 to 800 yard intervals between to the 5,200 yard Forward tees. Over 3 million cubic yards of earth was moved to cover a 2 foot thick layer of clay that was required by the Illinois EPA to prevent runoff and seepage into ground water from the landfill, and plenty of humps and bumps were added to the formerly flat, featureless property to give the Port Course several elevated greens and tees and the accompanying vistas of the water, the old grain elevators and the gritty south side industrial landscape.

Although my 20 handicap suggested I play the 5,977 yard Regular tees, my golf ego wouldn’t let me tour a par 72 course at under 6,000 yards, so we tried the 6,600 yard Championship markers, and on a cold morning when the course was a bit soggy and the wind was howling, this was a bad choice. as with gusts approaching 40 mph, the Port played harder than the 72.3 / 130 rating / slope. A 6,300 yard “hybrid” distance splitting the difference would be a nice option to offer.

Because of concerns of the clay cap being penetrated by tree roots, the only hardwoods to be found are near the edge of the lake and on the fringes of the first 2 holes, and the 2nd hole is a good example of what to expect for the balance of the round. The 544 yard par 5 is aptly named “Overlook”, as the elevated tee hangs above the wide fairway, with mounding to the right up to a heavily bunkered and raised green, a difficult target and a worthy #1 handicap hole. The 3rd hole (Deception) features a series of cross bunkers pinching the landing area from the tee, and a small pot bunker fronting the green. The first par 3 follows, and “Gull’s Nest” is a lengthy 232 yards, with an enormous and cavernous sand trap guarding the right side, one of several such hazards featured on the Port. The remaining 5 holes follow the same blueprint, as they weave between the mounds of grasses and beaches of sand to severely sloped and quick greens, but the 9th (Five of a Kind) stood out, as no less than 13 bunkers are scattered along the 575 yard length of the hole.

The inward nine is the more dramatic side, with the 10th hole (True Meridian) offering a glimpse of the Chicago skyline off in the distance. The 12th hole is named “Treachery”, and the green appeared to be much further than the 455 yards from the Championship tee. The fairway tumbles off to the right at the dogleg to a wasteland of prairie and bunkers that will be difficult to escape if you wander in. The 14th hole (Edge) is the shortest par four at 361 yards, with a raised fairway and a 100 yard trap protecting the right side as it wraps around the back of the green, possibly the last chance for birdie (or par for the higher handicap) as you prepare to encounter 4 memorable finishing holes.

The moniker of the 15th hole, “Anchor”, says it all, as Mr. Nugent carved the Harborside logo into the huge trap fronting the enormous green, and though I managed to find the putting surface off the tee from 192 yards out, my first putt glided past the hole and I missed the par attempt back up the hill for one of my 5 three putts on the contoured greens. The last three holes hug the shore of Lake Calumet, with the 16th (Land’s End) heading due south from an elevated tee to a green tightly surrounded on three sides by the water. The 17th (Beach) is a dogleg left with a huge waste area the entire left side to the green, and the last hole, “Needle”, requires a drive threaded between the prairie and the lake, with the stately clubhouse standing above the green, an impressive finish to the round.

The top rate at Harborside is just north of $100 ($105 plus a 9% city amusement tax), and all the trappings that come with a high end course are present, including the bag drop attendants, full GPS in the carts, 10 minute tee time intervals and a killer view from the clubhouse, and the Learning Center at the west end of the parking lot is one of the best around. Since Kemper Sports Management took over the operations, it’s been much easier to score a discount, as twilight and seasonal deals are now offered regularly, and I grabbed a late season weekend morning round for under $60, which fit comfortably within my golf budget.

Harborside enhanced its status when the Port hosted the 2002 SBC Senior Open, and Ben Crenshaw, an acclaimed golf architect himself, compared the course to Muirfield in Scotland, an excellent indication that Mr. Nugent successfully replicated the links experience and the starter’s assessment was accurate. Add being listed as the 47th best municipal track in the country by Golfweek Magazine, and the Port Course has some impeccable credentials on its resume. Like other Nugent designs, there are some over the top flourishes (like the Anchor), but they are certainly things that you’ll remember long after the round is over.

I admittedly have a preference for traditional parkland style courses, and I did not visit under ideal conditions, as this course needs to be played when it’s fast and firm and the grasses and wildflowers are in bloom. But I had the wind, which in the true Scottish links tradition, is always blowing here to some degree. So even though I’m not inclined to spend triple digits to play here, this is a very good course and I need to schedule another trip, and a reduced rate 3 pm twilight time might be in the cards later this summer for me at the Port course.

Harborside International – Port Course
11001 South Doty Avenue East, Chicago 312-782-7837
www.harborsideinternational.com
4 tees, 7,123 / 5,164 yds, par 72
74.8/136 – 69.2/124 rating / slope (men)
74.8/136 – 70.3/126 (women)
M-SU $89 – $105, $55 after 3 pm
Add Chicago Amusement Tax of 9%
All Rates include carts w/GPS
Driving range on Site
10 minute tee time intervals