This is a fairly compact 9 hole course in the north part of Chicago. It has some nice long holes and the course is in great shape. It's always pretty busy but runs smoothly. The clubhouse manager is always helpful, pleasant and engaging. (Not necessarily typical of Chicago city employees). I'd definitely recommend this course for a relaxing getaway! read more

Outstanding golf course. Short but challenging. Terrific staff and excellent youth golf programs. Good people.?

Excellent conditions and professional staff. I love playing at this course it is very well kept.

Incredibly kind staff, and very well kept course considering it's a city course. Also, the weekday rate of $25 is incredible. It's definitely not as fancy as a suburban courses, but if you're in the area, highly recommend it. I'm excited to return. Also, they give free coffee and donuts in the morning if you get there early enough. read more

Course was in good condition late season, but a bit slow for pace, even as twilight approached. Some ball washers were missing towels and there are only red and blue tees to choose from. Staff left clubhouse before all golfers were off the course, so bathrooms and anything you'd want after a round were inaccessible. Too expensive for a short 9 of par 33. read more

Robert A. Black Golf Course - Golf Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I posted a review on here last fall and the course operator replied telling me to email them to get my issues sorted out. I emailed them twice and didn't get an answer either time. Ten emails, two Yelp reviews, and 6 months later and I'm still out the $100 they randomly decided to charge me the first (and last) time I ever played there. Scam. read more

I have been playing this course regularly on the weekends, it never disappoints. The staff are always so welcoming and helpful. The course is always in great condition and is very well maintained. I look forward to going back. read more

This is a really nice 9 hole golf course, it's nicely maintained and fun to play. Looking forward to the next round.

Lovely to look at. I live a block away. I was excited for a day out of the house with a friend. Until I met the staff. Well, this is where it gets odd. This was my 1st time golfing. Not at your course, I mean ever. We were yelled at the second we entered because we brought our bags inside. There is no sign against it; no warning about leaving your bags outside. I tell them it's our very 1st time. No assistance. Awkward start. We pay & walk outside. Cart up to the 1st hole. We tell the oldest gent we are brand spanking new. He rolls his eyes & starts rattling off colors of flags (with no mention of what they are). Later we realize he means blue, red, & yellow. After swinging he comes to tell us we have to play in a separate way because we are terrible (thanks so much). We get halfway down the 1st hole & he comes to scold us again. Did I mention he pairs us with two old ladies in their 80's... lovely. How fun. We notice this guy keeps circling us in his cart every few minutes & by this point has told us we are too slow at least 3 times. We are seriously doing our best. No encouragement or advice on how to be better. At hole 5 another gent drives up to scold us about a slew of things. I remind him this is our VERY 1st time golfing. I let him know we have already been scorned by the 1st asshole & tell him to politely quit being so aggressive. He apologized for his rude coworker & tells us a few hints to help. He seems to actually care but is quite busy. He moves on. We get 1/2 way down the 5th hole & he tells us to pick our balls up. We are not allowed to finish that hole. We are forced to skip the next hole & he sends us to the 7th. We are told to come back on a slow day during the week as to not bother the other golfers. He gives us a credit to play again next time. Aka, we basically got hassled the whole time while trying our best. We got kicked off the course for not being good. We tried very hard to keep the pace of play. We played furthest ball. We rushed so quickly & picked up so many balls we didn't even keep score. We all left the golf course angry at these old boys for not helping or being even a little polite. I've honestly never experienced anything where it felt like I wasn't wanted. The lack of customer service was disgusting. Seriously rude environment. For our credit, we had practiced at driving ranges, we bought our own clubs, we got a cart to be faster. Nothing helped; they were just rude from the start. If you're nice when I come back with a voucher I'll change it to reflect the level of service I'm given. You guys are assholes. read more

Robert A. Black Golf Course - Green - Golf Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

Beginner player and I thought the course was nice and had a good time other than the ranger Steve. He belittled and rushed us through play even kicking us off on the 9th hole (we were still under 2 hours). He said some stuff that felt unsettling along the lines of you people don't belong here. Playing with my colored friends this felt uncomfortable and this man has no right working at a public course welcome to all. My friends who have played a lot more golf than I have and even played at this course before had never experienced anything as disrespectful on a golf course. read more

Absolutely not a place for beginners or if you're a woman golfing with only other women. It was a really disappointing experience. There's an older man with white hair who works there driving a golf cart. Still shocked at how he treated us before we even touched the green. Scolded and belittled and followed like a hawk from the start until we finally left because it was clear we were not welcome there. "He approaches us like 6 times before we had even hit the ball. "Have you guys ever played golf before?" "Yes but it's one of our first times playing 9 holes." "Well this isn't a place to learn. This is a golf course." Really? Wow I thought this was a driving range. It was honestly comical how blatantly rude and patronizing he was to us, 3 women just trying to learn the game. He thought we were jokes and treated us as such. The fact that he actually told us we were at a golf course as if we had no idea. If you look up the word asshole or misogynist in the dictionary, there should be a big picture of that guys face. My only regret is being so polite to him. read more

Best most affordable 9 home course love it. Staff is awesome and it's always on great shape

This course is a hidden gem. It's a beautiful, challenging, well maintained 9 hole course. A great way to spend a couple hours on a weekend afternoon. The course is fantastic read more

A friend and I both left work early, to catch 9 holes at this course. Having never been there before, he phoned and questioned about rates and time available. We were quoted a price, including a golf cart, and given a tee time. Imagine our surprise upon arrival being told that no carts were given out within two hours of the course closing. Why would you quote a price with a golf cart then and take our reservation? Get your act together! PS: Worse yet, the carts were sitting right there, while the very young and immature staff members were having fun chasing each other with other carts. read more

I played a round at Robert A. Black for the first time and it was fun, easy and quick. I arrived as a walk on during a Saturday, late afternoon time and there was no line at the pro shop counter. The gentleman that helped me was friendly and thorough, explaining the fees, options available to me and where to start. After picking up my push cart, I proceeded to the starter who gave me the option to go solo or join the group about to tee off. I decided to go with the latter. The condition of the course was good with defined fairways and fluffy sand traps. Most of my clubs were put to good use, but be mindful that accuracy is important. The greens however were a bit inconsistent and I found some of them to be quick while others were slower. Overall though, it kept for a good challenge, considering the fact that the course of pretty short. I got my round of 9 in just under 2 hours, no waiting at holes and no one pushing us from behind. For a city course in a densely populated neighborhood, it made for a great Saturday afternoon round of golf. Is it Medinah or TPC Sawgrass? No, but it's affordable, fun and I will be back. read more

Robert A. Black Golf Course - Approach from 120 yds out. - Golf Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

A despicably terrible experience thanks to the same gentleman you'll find mentioned throughout the slew of negative reviews before mine. My party demanded and received a refund for our golf game because of his constant harassment on every other hole. News flash to management -- this man should be fired. read more

Played there this past week for the first time. Complete goat/dog/pick your animal track. I booked through EZLinks, thanks to Mark W.'s recommendation. No need to ever pay full price here. EZLinks has tee times at 9:30 and 1:30 everyday for ~50% off. So what was wrong with the place? Completely baked fairways. Maybe they were 50% grass. Greens were SLOW, ball marks everywhere, and on one green, the mower completely missed 1/3 of the green...FOR DAYS! So why 2 and not 1 star? A couple of reasons. The staff was nice to me, beyond what I'd expect at a muni course. And I played a pretty quick round. After 2 holes though, I understood why no one was out there on a picture perfect day. Oh...AND...AND...I wondered how Mark W. and others could say such great things about this place. Took me about 2 seconds to figure it out...MARK W. WORKS THERE!! He's is a senior guy for Billy Casper Golf, which manages all the Chicago area muni courses. Way to Go Mark. You got some free advertising. Thanks for being so transparent with your audience. read more

Robert A. Black Golf Course - #1 Fairway in August 2010 - Golf Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

The starter working 8/14 was weirdly rude as he saw that two of the four golfers were new to the sport. He treated the course as if it's pebble beach and constantly nagged to keep moving when there was no one teeing off behind us. Bottom line for any first time golfers avoid this place. read more

This place is a hidden Gem. Like Ram J. stated in his previous review, I'm tempted to give this place a shitty review just to keep the hackers away. But that wouldn't be fair. The day I played Robert Black was the start of a day when my wife almost left me. See my list for more information. We teed off about 9 a.m. on a stunningly beautiful, Friday morning. Yes, the round was slow, but my buddy and I were paired up with the coolest guys you could play a round with. The park district has done an amazing job fixing this place up. When I played here in the 80's, it was a worthless shithole. The fairways were chopped to hell and the greens were so slow that you needed a hip turn on any putt over 10 ft. Boy have times changed. This place is impressive. The course is in immaculate shape and the staff couldn't be nicer. Here's the bottom line: R.A. Black is a hidden gem is West Rogers park. You're round might be slow, but take the time and enjoy this beautiful Golf Course. You will be happy you did. read more

First, I'm almost tempted to give this place a bad review so I can have it more to myself. I am definitely not a good golfer. I wouldn't even call myself a golfer. I'd consider myself an asshole who has golf clubs and wastes people's time at golf courses. That being said, I'm pretty insecure. Not only did I somehow botch my tee time and think it was 3 hours later than it was, but this place looked WAY too nice for a horrible time-wasting beginner like myself. But they actually accommodated me and gave me a new tee time without double charging, and more importantly, the course manager (and players) were absolutely above and beyond patient with our lack of experience. But the course, wow! The last time I golfed on a city course was the early 90's as a teenager, and I remember them being laughable even to a beginner. This course played great and I wouldn't be surprised to find out that it had just been bought from a country club. The prices are jaw droopingly low. $14 for 9 holes. A few more bucks for a cart rental (which was brand new and ran silently). The pro shop is well stocked and I believe they rent clubs as well. All in all, even for a timid, don't-know-wtf-I'm-doing golfer, this place made for a great day of horrible playing. The staff was incredibly friendly and the prices are unbelievable. read more

Solid course! It's a perfect budget course and very well maintained for a public course at that. The staff was nice (in a rough Chicagoan sort of way) and service was quick. Would definitely go again. read more

Big fan of this little track. It's far superior than several other CPDGolf course - Sydney (fine if you tee off at 6am or else it's a 3 hour round), South Shore and Columbia P. Great variety here - reachable par 5, some challenging short par 4's and good par 3's. There is usually little traffic on the course, which is great. Course is maintained well. Bunkers are spotty, but... ha, like, just don't hit it in the trap, man. Greens are smooth. I rolled in a bender and it was beautiful. Left to right. You all should have seen it. It was for bogey, but still. Sick save and it was all because the greens were smooth. There is a three tiered green on the 8th that's fun to putt around on if nobody is behind you. I putted around on there for fun for upwards of 20 minutes until a group got to the tee. At that point, I picked up my ball and jetted to the 9th tee and hooked my driver onto Pratt Ave. It was a majestic hook. You all should have seen it. I took an illegal drop next to the fence because I didn't want to hit another Mojo onto Pratt and bladed my "second" shot over the green. After chunking one onto the green, I hit a long putt for a "par". As I said... smooth greens made the "par" possible. All in all, had a great time! Good course. read more

Currently my favorite Chicago Park District golf course. Excellent 9-hole course with a good mix of par 3's and 4's and a massive (at least for me) par 5 on the first hole that will give you good reason to bust out your driver. Difficulty is reasonable for the average player while beginners might find things a bit too tough at certain holes. No water on any of the holes but the sand traps were pretty daunting. The upkeep is pretty decent for a Chicago Park District course -- much better than the divots-filled mess at Marovitz. Greens fees are roughly $18 on the weekends, including that annoying $1 reservation charge for booking a tee time online. Pull carts can be rented for $3 -- definitely worth it in my opinion. read more

Our family has played several times at this course during the pandemic. Both Joe and Gene are always welcoming and kind. The course is perfect for us - very reasonable, family tees for our kids, easy parking, and carts are always sanitized. read more

Played on a Thursday evening as a single. Zipped through two holes and then joined the twosome ahead of me on hole three. Played through in about 2 hours. Practice green is large and allows chipping, however there were only 3 or 4 holes cut, all of which were occupied by a person or two. Sand has rocks in it. Par 4s and the par 5 have dog legs and are laid out well with trees and sand since they are so short. My biggest gripe is the clientele, in that the greens have many ball marks that were not repaired and raking sand traps is not the norm. The greens were nicer than I expected them to be and people should be taking better care of them. All in all, it was a fun course and I'll be playing in the future. read more

This is a nice little course, kept in quite good condition. I'm rating it based on the value and convenience for people living in Chicago, not its overall stature relative to all other golf courses in the US. On a weekend, I wouldn't even bother with Marovitz -- it's always a traffic jam. Robert Black is a much more relaxed, less crowded alternative. It's a fairly short course (2361 yards from the blue tees), but it does have a Par 5 and four Par 4's. It has four Par 3's, so this is a good course to work on your short game. The greens are a highlight. They're in very good shape, and some of them are quite large. A few of the greens have stepped levels, which is fun. There are some decent slopes on some greens, so you have to be strategic if you want to give yourself an uphill putt (and use a light touch on those downhill putts). As mentioned in other reviews, the bunkers are the worst aspect of this course. Lot of gravel and rocks. I'm sure they have limited financial resources, so maybe bunkers are on the bottom of their "things to fix" list. It isn't a deal breaker though. You can always take a drop if you don't want to scratch your clubs. Staff is very friendly. I played a couple Saturdays back, and the course marshal was actively keeping the pace moving -- wonderful to see. Overall, Robert Black is a great place to spend a few hours and get in a fairly quick 9. read more

One of my favorite local courses! I have played here about 3 times and every time I have been more than satisfied. (With the course anyway) There are several challenging holes, especially hole number, a par 5 over 500 yards, but still a lot of fun and playable for a novice golfer. I usually come early, between 9:00 - 10:00 with a group and most of the time it feels like we have the place to ourselves and plays quickly. Even when it's crowded, its nothing compared to Sydney Marovitz. Oy. One thing that's sort of funny is the bunkers are filled with what seems like dirt, rather than sand. They are still a pain to get out of dirt or not.. The staff is also very friendly and helpful. No food available aside for chips and candy, but pop, gatorade and water are available. There are also water dispensers on a few holes and a port-o-potty after hole 4. Got to love the price as well. Just about $25 with a riding cart. Great place to golf in the city. read more

Attractive course. Annoying group of people zig-zagging through the greens and replaying holes. read more

Robert A. Black Golf Course - Robert A. Black Golf Course - October, 2010 - Golf Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

Great course! I've been playing here Saturday mornings and it's been great. It's a short course that goes fast but has a lot of bunkers. It seems well maintained and the staff is awesome. I look forward every week to going back. The other people I play with also love this course and we always talk about how fun and enjoyable it is. read more

Robert Black underwent major bunker renovations the past year, and they play much better than before (no more rocks). The greens are in pretty good shape for a municipal course, and the fairways are just OK. The course is very short, but requires you to think on the tee. Smarter, longer hitters might never use driver. Robert Black is as overpriced as Sydney, but with a lesser golfing experience. Still, it's a decent city course if you're in the mood for a quick nine holes on the far north side. read more

This is one of the worst golf courses in the city of Chicago if you golf a lot or if your a first time golfer I do not recommend this course The sand bunkers are filled with rocks The staff does not tell you ahead of time not to hit out of the sand because it will damage your clubs management is not helpful at all. pay the extra money and go to good course read more

Robert A. Black Golf Course - Rock in the Sand bunkers ruined my clubs - Golf Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

If you live on the north side, skip the lakefront course and head to Roberta Flack, I mean Robert A. Black.

The course is in decent condition, but a few bunkers are still more dirt/rocks instead of sand. This is a nice little manageable course for beginners. For experienced golfers, it's a good challenge to try to play under par. However, the hackers who play here have no idea what golf etiquette is. No one understands the concept of letting faster groups play through (2:20 for 9 holes at ~2,400yds is ridiculous). If you're a 20+ handicap, spending Jordan Spieth levels of time over your putts isn't going to help! No one seems to fix their ball marks on the greens. Golf balls were flying everywhere onto opposite holes. This place needs an on-course marshal in the worst way (and you'd think they could afford one for the prices they charge). Very little value for the money here. $24 for nine holes at this goat track is outrageous. At $15 or with a good twilight rate, it would be more reasonable. read more

I'm surprised, even shocked by the critical reviews. This course is amazing...and it's cheap...and it's close to me. I've played Syd Mack and this blows that out of the water. I had the place to myself. The course is immaculate. I'll be back...bright and early. read more

The course has been in great condition this year and the price is right. The staff members are really friendly and it's pretty easy to get a tee time. read more

Bobby B is a fun, quick, 9 hole course. This pass season it was in the best shape of any of the Chicago public course, plus it's only only $12 before 8am! read more

came here a few weeks ago to get the kinks out for the 2016 Golf Season! it's always been a fun & challenging course to play. They finally were re-doing the bunkers so there was lots of construction going on out on the course. it will look great when it was done, but due to the wet course, we had to walk with a pull cart. hoping to come back in mid may when hopefully everything is complete. read more

This is an easy, fun 9-hole course. I went in early April and although the course was not in prime condition, it was in decent shape for a public golf course early in the season. It was very cheap to play 9 holes and definitely worth the little money I spent. The staff was friendly and the pro shop was well organized and clean. I'll come back! read more

Decent little course for what it is. It's not a tough course as far as length goes, but you can definitely walk it and work on your short and iron game! Check it out, challenging and fun little course. read more

The course isn't Medina... It isn't cog hill. But it's a good course to work on your wedges and get a round in the city. The bunkers are about as bad as possible, but the greens and fairways play good for a city course. I try to play once a week. Good practice facility too. read more