Mike Domek loves golf. And his original plan, according to Joe NAME, TITLE, was for a full 18-hole golf course to cover around 120 acres of the original property. But Amy, his wife, did not want to look out her windows and see just a golf course. After some intense negotiations, Mike got approval for his full-sized golf course – 18 holes, 6,709 yards – to be built on just 60 acres of the property.
How, you may ask, can a championship course fit on 60 acres? Enter landscape architect turned golf course architect Harry Vignocchi, whose other credits include Bull Valley in Woodstock, IL, and Bittersweet Golf Club in Gurnee, IL. Vignocchi stitched together a routing that shares fairways and greens in such a way that the back nine holes look and feel different from the front nine, even though all but one green is played to multiple times. The secret of pulling off such a design is two-fold. First, the angles and yardages into the greens on the front and back nines vary so much, it’s difficult to recognize them the second time through. Second, because the resort property is so exclusive, everyone on the course is from the same group – meaning just one or two foursomes most of the time. Occasionally, the property books larger groups for a corporate golf outing, but even then, every group will have their own caddie, and those caddies are equipped with walkie-talkies, so they can ensure everyone stays spaced out and won’t hit into each other.
I cannot stress enough how impressive it is to play a course with such a small footprint but completely regular-length holes. Impressive and confusing! Without a personal forecaddie and being shepherded around by Joe Domek, Director of Outside Sales, I would have had no idea where to go – signage is non-existent. In this way, Bunker Hill Farms is similar to some historic Scottish Highlands courses, including the most famous of all, The Old Course at St. Andrews, where fairways cross and multiple greens are shared. The immense inventiveness also brings to mind The Loop at Forest Dunes in Michigan, which can be played forwards and backwards.
Equally impressive is the unmatched exclusiveness of Bunker Hill Farms – it is YOUR course while you play it: YOUR staff, YOUR beverage and food service, YOUR loaner clubs (also included, if you don’t have your own) – your EVERYTHING. You can hit 20 tee shots in a row on a par 3, if you want, to see how close you can get to the hole. You can replay the entire course as many times as you want in a day – sunrise to sunset, if you wish. In 26 years of golf writing, I have never experienced anything quite like it. No wonder it’s so popular with celebrities.
As one might imagine of a course that gets VERY limited play, conditions are immaculate. The 450-acre property is run with just five full-time employees, but there are a few who are dedicated solely to the golf course. Greens are large and subtly contoured, and they run around 12 on the Stimp meter. Good luck finding even one unrepaired ball mark. Fairways are generous, but there are plenty of hazards – seen and unseen – including dense underbrush, high fescue, and water. The fairways are all native fescue, and the tees and greens are bentgrass. Ironically, given the name of the resort, there is just one sand bunker on the entire course (but it is a deep one).
The entire course design radiates out from a pond at the center of the layout, sort of like a watery hub. Five holes (four on the front, one on the back) play across the pond in some way, with another couple skirting its shores. Most memorably, the tee box of the 137-yard 8th Hole is a small island in the pond, accessible via a stone walkway—a great photo op.
There’s only one set of tees per hole – the full 6,709 yards. However, for families or groups with mixed skill levels, the staff can set up tees at really any distance for every hole, so that even the course set-up is customized to your group’s needs.
It’s worth repeating again, too, that despite the petite footprint, this is a brawny, difficult course. The opening and closing par 5s measure 580 yards and 560 yards, respectively, there are four par 4s over 400 yards, and only one “short” par 4, at 303 yards. I felt like I was hitting some solid drives, but then discovering repeatedly that I still had a mid- to long-iron into many greens.
There are, nevertheless, some routing quirks imposed by the diminutive size of the course. For example, on your way to the 3rd green, you take your driver with you to tee off on the 530-yard, par 5 4th. On the 505-yard, par 5 12th Hole, you tee off over the 11th green. And the green on the 392-yard, par 4 15th Hole is the only one you play just one time. Fortunately, your personal caddie will guide you through these potential confusions, so you hardly even notice them.
