TPC Deere Run - Illinois - USA

I've played TPC Deere run a number of times. I live in southern Illinois (St Louis Metro East) so its not a far drive. There is a reason I've traveled up to the quad cities several times to play it. It's simply a great golf course. The scenery, conditioning, layout, and entire piece of property is fantastic. Along with Wild Horse in NE, I find this to be one of the best values in golf. I've never paid more than 100 bucks to play it, and its always been immaculate. We even played it one year the week prior to the John Deere classic. All the grandstands were up and it was kind of a fun experience for us. The finishing 3 or 4 holes are all great. The views of the river on the front and back are perfect for showcasing the beauty of the Midwest. I've played 5 TPC courses and this is my favorite. I hope if you've ever thought about this trip, you pull the trigger. You won't be disappointed.

I only have great things to say about Deere Run. In terms of routing, bunkering, conditioning, and scenery, it’s a world-class golf course. It’s more of a typical modern course, so the green complexes are not for the most part anything unique or spectacular like a Mike Strantz course for example, but D.A. Weibring and his team really built a fantastic golf course overlooking the Rock River.

The best and most memorable parts of the course are #1-#5 as well as #14-#17, almost all of which overlook the river in some fashion. The opener is a tight dogleg left par four with bunkers galore, but #2 is where the course really gets going on a downhill par five that temps the player to attack either the well-protected green or a narrow layup area. #3 is my favorite par three on the course – it’s up a massive slope to a semi-blind green sloping away on nearly all sides, which is not the type of par three usually seen on modern courses. #4 is a spectacular long dogleg right par four with a tree bisecting the fairway, and the stretch finishes with the medium-length par four #5 which plays to a green which heavily slopes from back left to front right.

The course meanders away from the river views, but manages to stay interesting – there isn’t a weak hole on the golf course, really – until it reaches #14, a devilish short downhill par four that tempts the user to attack the green when the smart play is to lay up. #15 is an uphill par four that plays more difficult due to swirling winds coming from the river. #16 speaks for itself as the signature hole of the course, a short par three overlooking the river, as seen on TV at the John Deere Classic. #17 is a great par five: super narrow tee shot, reachable in two shots, all sorts of options when it comes to attacking the green or laying up depending on where the pin is. #18 is a strong par four, but it feels very plain after the previous four holes.

This course is a great asset to the Quad Cities area and in my opinion is one of the better public access courses in the Midwest. While the course gets plenty of publicity due to its being a PGA Tour host, it still feels overlooked or underrated. It’s a very enjoyable course to play and is well worth the trip.

Played October 19, 2013