Anyone knowledgeable about which private clubs have the best courses (and aren't full) in this area? Thinking anywhere from Chicago north to around the Highland Park/Deerfield area. Have found Briarwood/Bryn Mawr/Northmoor that seem pretty nice but don't know much about them, and and I know there are a bunch of others in the area.

Go to CDGA.org for all the course listing - there are plenty.

How about Conway Farm?

i have played Bryn Mawr and Briarwood....both are nice...I hope you are Jewish if you plan on getting into Bryn Mawr though

Kemper is private now and I believe looking for members.

I heard that they are considering going back to semi private. They have been losing members to Hawthorn Woods CC. Kemper probably is desperate for new members.

Knollwood in Lake Forest is beautiful. They have forecaddies and no cart paths. Very traditional and understated, not to mention a great track.

exmoor in highland park is nice
lake shore CC in glencoe is also very nice.
knollwood in lake forest is great, super nice greens.
onwentsia in lake forest has lots of great history
northmoor has 2 nice courses and a partially coveraed driving range.
evanston CC club house and GC was just redone and is really nice also.

IMOP best course out of the above are exmoor and knollwood. best old time club would be Lakeshore or Onwentisa.
feel free to shoot me a pm if you want to know more deets.

Skokie CC needs to added to the list of great courses in the North 'burbs.

Anyone know anything about Ridgemoor Country Club?

+1 on skokie
also, sunset ridge
northshore cc should be added as well

Just to add a few more details. I have a hard time believing Exmoor, Onwentsia, Old Elm, Knollwood and a handful of others will open their doors if you don't know anyone already in the club. They're pretty darn blue blooded. Of course Shoreacres will be eventually mentioned and you can scratch that off the list right now too....I believe you need to have 8 members sponsor you. And it's not the dog and pony show sponsorship, they need to be personal relationships.

That being said, a phone call to all of them (except Shoreacres, that's the one I'm 100% sure of) can't hurt. Knollwood is going through a Master Plan renovation/restoration right now and if they follow the plan, they'll come out with a much better course. It needs a LOT of treework. (AKA, cut them down)

Good luck in your search.

CPS

yes, i agree alot of the menitioned clubs are not really "hungry" for new members and refereals are a must

bob-o-link !

There are so many nice clubs around here. Here's a small list I came up with. Not really sure how difficult they are to get into.
-Glen View Club
-North Shore CC
-Kemper Lakes GC
-Conway Farms CC
-Skokie CC
-Bob-O-Link

Yes and would probably prefer a predominantly Jewish club...should've specified this before, but does that help narrow down the better options?

Kemper also looks like it'd be cool to look into since they might have some openings.

Add Twin Orchard in Long Grove to your list - mostly Jewish membership.

I played Ravinia Green in Deerfield in a CDGA event last summer. Very nice old style course with tree-lined fairways in excellent condition. Also an M.O.T. club, I'm told.