No Matter How You Slice It, Deerpath Golf Course Remains a Community Treasure at 100
By David A. F. Sweet
Lake Forest boasts an illustrious golf past. Charles Blair Macdonald, who became an esteemed architect nationwide, created the first golf course in the United States beyond New York – featuring seven holes with tomato cans buried in the ground – by Lake Road in 1892. Both the U.S. Open and BMW Championship have been held in Lake Forest.
And now, the Deerpath Golf Course is making history; the venerable public course is about to celebrate its 100th anniversary. And it’s as popular as ever.
Deerpath General Manager John Westly (left), longtime golfer Fred Jackson, Parks and Recreation Director Michael Wick and Deerpath Vice President of Operations Vince Juarez have all contributed to the success of the century-old course.
“Everyone’s passionate about the course,” said General Manager John Westly, adding that about 29,000 rounds were played in 2025. “Our overall mission is to put a golf club in the hands of those who want to play golf.”
How did it begin? In the 1920s, according to The History Center of Lake Forest-Lake Bluff, “local families, led by A. B. Dick, Noble Judah, and realtor John Griffith, donated large tracts of land to the city to be used for recreational purposes only—any other use would cause it to revert to the donors.”
“The neat part is philanthropy has played a big part from the beginning,” said Fred Jackson, a lifelong golfer at Deerpath who has a tournament there named after him. “The course has been supported by donations. The Friends of Lake Forest Parks and Recreation has put in almost $1 million over the years.”
When the first nine opened in 1926, a membership cost $18. The second nine was finished in 1931, during The Great Depression. During that decade, airmail planes would often land there before taking off again on the Chicago to Waukegan route.
By the 1960s, as players like Arnold Palmer popularized golf, Deerpath became a destination – especially on summer Wednesdays, when shops in town closed at noon.
“Golf was the thing then, and you couldn’t get a tee time on Wednesdays,” Jackson said. “In the ‘60s, people would start to come out at 2 a.m. to sign up for permanent tee times (a set day and time throughout the season).”
When the pandemic hit in 2020, outdoor sports such as golf boomed.
“The question was: Will these new golfers stick with it?” Westly noted. “Every year since then, participation has increased. We’ve seen it grow sharply with juniors with 700 a year now in Discover Golf; female participation is at record highs.”
Operated by KemperSports, the 18-hole public course extends to 6,245 yards (par 70) for men. It is marked by narrow fairways and small, tough-to-read greens, which provide a test to those impressed by their booming drives. A quick pace of play is championed; long-time golfers will frown at a round exceeding four hours. The cost for an annual membership for residents ranges from $850-$1,900.
Four years ago, Deerpath unveiled The Lawn, a free 30,000-square-foot practice facility for putting and chipping.
“We felt it necessary to have the next component,” Westly said. “It’s been huge. We’ve hosted private events there. You see a lot of folks come to The Lawn at night to practice.”
A long-ago look at the clubhouse. Photo courtesy of The History Center of Lake Forest-Lake Bluff. Despite hosting close to 30,000 rounds a year (including in 2024), the course is in splendid shape. Westly and Juarez praise the work of present and past superintendents while pointing out The City of Lake Forest ensures that everything from irrigation to lawn mowers operates at high standards. A pump house will be replaced at the end of this season. Given the proximity of the Chicago Bears’ headquarters, it’s no surprise that players such as Jim McMahon and Dan Hampton have teed off at Deerpath. Before he retired, Kyle Long considered it a second home, occasionally playing a round in the morning and one in the afternoon with lunch at the Sandwedge Grill in between. Not knowing his profession, a bartender once asked if the 6-foot-6, 332-pound guard played sports. Responded Long, “Does golf count?” Over 100 years, certainly a few other funny stories have occurred. Jackson recalled how one golfer named Hercules always started his round with a headstand on the first hole to invigorate his blood. Another would run with clubs and finish 18 holes in about an hour. Before alcohol was served, some players would drop a case of beer off the fifth hole near Laurel Avenue before teeing off and retrieve bottles once they arrived there. And then there was the confusing phone call. “I got locked into a 10-minute call with a woman who said she had a tee time,” Westly recalled. “I said she wasn’t on the sheet. After going back and forth, she said, ‘What’s on the menu for the tee time?’ I realized she was asking about the high tea at the Deer Path Inn. We both had a good laugh.” Overall, the goal is to make Deerpath, a public course, feel like a private club. Greg Baeten, PGA Head Golf Professional there, has worked at both types over the decades. “This is the best customer base I’ve ever experienced, and I’ve worked at 15 golf courses,” he said. Join the City of Lake Forest in celebrating 100 years of Deerpath Golf Course Sept. 22-23. Raise a glass at the "Toast to the Century" cocktail reception Sept. 22, enjoying complimentary appetizers and remarks from community leaders. Then tee off in a foursome with a shotgun start, including green fee, cart, range balls, a special tee gift, two drink tickets, and a buffet Sept. 23. Register for the 4-person, 18-hole scramble, or contact John Westly for more information.
