Medinah Country Club

Signature Setup

I walked Course No. 3 as a member's guest on a humid June morning, 71°F at 7:30 a.m. with the air already heavy and still — the kind of Chicago summer day where the ball travels well early and the greens are receptive before the sun bakes them. Standing on the 17th tee, the par-3 over Lake Kadijah, the green looked closer than its yardage because the shot plays downhill; I clubbed down one and watched the water do its intimidating work anyway.

Tom Bendelow routed Medinah's Course No. 3 in 1928 in the northwest Chicago suburb of Medinah, Illinois. It is one of the most decorated championship venues in American golf: three U.S. Opens (1949 Cary Middlecoff, 1975 Lou Graham, 1990 Hale Irwin), two PGA Championships (1999 and 2006, both won by Tiger Woods), and the 2012 Ryder Cup — Europe's "Miracle at Medinah" Sunday comeback. From the back tees it measures roughly 7,657 yards to a par of 72.

Hole-by-Hole Wind & Playing Lines

Hole 2 (#1 handicap, long par-4, ~440y). It climbs gently through a tree-lined corridor, and the prevailing summer SW wind funnels down the chute into your face. A 270-yard drive still leaves close to 190 in. Favor the left-center off the tee for the best angle and take one extra club on the approach; a green-side bailout pin-high left beats a hero swing that finds the trees right.

Hole 13 (par-3, ~210y over Lake Kadijah). The first of the two famous water holes. Into a SW wind off the lake the carry feels longer than the number, and there is no front bailout — it is all water short. I'd rather be long-left in the rough than rinse a half-club-short iron.

Hole 17 (signature par-3, ~190y). Downhill across the lake to a peninsula green. The drop knocks roughly a club off the yardage, but a left-to-right afternoon wind pushes weak shots into Lake Kadijah. Aim at the left third of the green and let the wind feed it back toward center.

Green & Fairway Characteristics

The greens are bentgrass and run 12–13 on the Stimp for championship setups — firm, quick, and more sloped than they photograph. A downhill 25-footer here can run eight feet by if you misjudge the grain. Fairways are bentgrass and the recent restoration work opened up many of the historically dense tree lines, so off-line drives are less automatically blocked than in the Tiger-era PGAs, though the corridors still demand a fairway finder. The back nine carries the drama: the closing four-hole stretch around Lake Kadijah is where rounds are won and lost, and the long par-4 finish leaves little margin.

Seasonal Weather Pattern

Medinah sits inland, about 25 miles west of Lake Michigan, so it gets a humid continental climate without the direct coastal moderation. Spring (April–May) is cold and wet, 45–62°F, with soft fairways that give back no roll. Summer (June–August) runs warm and humid, often 78–88°F, with a SW prevailing wind and occasional afternoon lake-breeze shifts that swing the two water par-3s. Autumn (late September–October) is the connoisseur's window: 52–68°F, firm turf, and the calmest mornings before the wind builds. Winters shut the course down under snow. NOAA's northeast-Illinois records show summer afternoon winds commonly in the 10–16 mph range out of the southwest.

Local Play Tips

Honest limitation first: Medinah is intensely private, so unless you're a member or an invited guest, your access is the rare member-guest day or a charity event — I've played it once and won't pretend to know it like a home course. The thing the yardage book won't tell you: time your round to beat the mid-morning SW breeze. The two over-water par-3s (13 and 17) are dramatically easier in dead-calm early air, and the downhill 17th in particular gives back a full club when the lake is glass.

Pre-Round Weather Workflow

Use the 7-day G-Score on this page the way I do. Three days out, check whether your tee window lands before or after the mid-morning SW wind build — on a 7,657-yard par 72 with two forced water carries, that single factor moves the score 6–9 points. The morning of, read the windExposure panel: a SW or W reading means Hole 2 and the closing par-4 both play uphill into the wind, so favor left-side targets and club up one on every approach. If the temperature reads below 55°F with overnight rain, expect zero fairway release on the bentgrass — take an extra club into every green and let the firm, fast putting surfaces, not your driver, be the part of the test you respect most.