First, the positives: the course itself is in great shape. Fairways and greens were…read morewell-maintained, the layout is challenging without being unfair, and there are some genuinely beautiful holes. For pure golf, Cantigny can deliver. The problem is everything that happened between shots.
We booked three Friday morning tee times with varying numbers of players in each group. At bag drop, the host seemed less than thrilled by the arrangement and appeared confused about where bags should go. Maybe coordinating three separate tee times was complicated. No big deal--it was a brief interaction, and we moved on.
Check-in was smooth enough. At $128 per person with a cart, though, expectations are naturally a little higher than your average muni.
Then we arrived at Hole 1.
Since golfers can be routed to either Hillside or Lakeside, there was a ranger directing traffic. Unfortunately, he seemed completely overwhelmed by the existence of golfers showing up for their scheduled tee times. Two other groups parked in front of him, and what followed looked less like tee-time management and more like air traffic control during a thunderstorm.
We arrived 30 minutes before our tee time and were ready to go, yet nobody seemed sure where to send us. Eventually, we were directed to a tee box and instructed to wait 10 minutes after the group ahead of us teed off.
Fair enough.
Then, moments later, we got yelled at for not teeing off soon enough.
So apparently we were simultaneously too early and too late. Quite an achievement.
The group ahead of us was painfully slow. Every hole became a front-row seat to their entire golf experience. We watched every drive, every chunk, every search mission into the rough, and every putt from three different angles. I'm all for golfers of every skill level enjoying the game, but at some point pace of play becomes a group project.
What made it frustrating was that we were constantly waiting on them while the ranger seemed fixated on us.
I've played a lot of golf and have never seen a ranger appear this frequently. It was like having a very concerned wildlife photographer tracking our migration patterns. Every few holes, there he was.
The funny part? We were a threesome of ladies hitting fairways, keeping pace, and generally doing everything golfers are supposed to do. If you're looking for the source of slow play, maybe don't start with the group standing around waiting.
The ranger attention continued all day. By Hole 17 (Hole 8 on Lakeside), we were told to hurry up because an outing was starting in 12 minutes.
Interesting.
If the course knew an outing was scheduled, perhaps that should have been factored into the tee times they sold. It was hard to understand why the pressure was being directed at the group waiting on every shot instead of the group creating the backup.
Then came another memorable moment. After a quick bathroom break heading to Hole 10, a van was blocking the only path to the next tee. We tried finding an alternate route and immediately got yelled at again--this time by entirely different personnel.
Consistency is important, and Cantigny's staff certainly demonstrated consistency in that department.
Initially, I wondered if some of the treatment had a sexist element to it. Later, after speaking with others in our group who experienced similar interactions, it seemed more likely that everyone was receiving the same abrupt treatment. Whether it was sexism, bias, or simply poor customer service, the overall experience left a bad impression. Also, the cart path only on multiple par 5s... NOT COOL!
In summary: beautiful course, challenging design, excellent conditions, and a layout worth playing. But for $128 a person, I expect to spend the day focusing on golf, not participating in a live-action customer service obstacle course.
Cantigny? Been there, done that, bought the overpriced tee time, and won't be back for a sequel.
