1 Cantigny Golf

Wheaton

One of the best public offerings in the Midwest, it features 27 holes over three courses set in the dense woods of Cantigny Park (see “The Everyone Guide to Cantigny Park”). Tired of lugging your clubs after your train ride? This is one of the area’s few public courses that still have caddies.
Ten-minute ride from the Metra stop

2 Mistwood Golf Club

Romeoville

Golf magazine named Mistwood its public-course renovation of the year for 2013. It features Kelpie’s Korner, a four-hole stretch on the back nine that plays around a lake. A kelpie is a demonic water horse in Scottish lore, but all it seems to devour at Mistwood is duffs.
Fifteen-minute ride from the Metra stop

3 Mount Prospect Golf Club

Mount Prospect

Recently redesigned by noted architect David Esler, the course features undulating greens that stay true to its 1926 origins. Unlike sprawling courses built around subdivisions, this one is relatively compact and flat. “It’s a good walk in the park,” says Golf Advisor contributor Bryan Tweed.
Three-minute ride from the Metra stop

4 Ravisloe Country Club

Homewood

Don’t let the snooty name fool you: This former country club now takes tee times. Call the pro shop in advance to arrange a free ride from the station.
Six-minute walk from the Amtrak station

5 ThunderHawk Golf Club

Beach Park

Practically putting distance from the Tri-State, the leafy environs teeming with wildlife will surprise first-timers. The course boasts one of the area’s best collections of par-5 holes and is capped by an amphitheater-like 18th hole.
Ten-minute ride from the Metra stop in Zion