With all of the acclaimed public courses in the Chicagoland area you d have to have rocks in your head to drive 85 miles to play golf right Yet Chicagoans do it all the time to get a crack at the pride of Rockford a Dick Nugent gem that compares favorably to his Kemper Lakes layout for a quarter of the price High lipped bunkers easy to lose a ball in rough scattered mounding and the 203 yard island green eighth add up to trouble for wayward hitters The course was ranked No 23 on the list of 50 best courses under 50