Black Sheep Golf Club

Black Sheep Golf Club is a Private, 27-hole golf club located in, Sugar Grove, Illinois, west of downtown Chicago near the intersection of Interstate 88 and Route 47.

Black Sheep Golf Club opened in 2002. The course was designed by David Esler.

Black Sheep has a male-only policy for its private and exclusive membership. "The male-only policy at Black Sheep was really a marketing decision," says Vince Salano Sr., Black Sheep's founder. "It's just a fact that very few women would spend the money ($85,000 initiation fee) to join a club that focuses only on golf.

The 27-holes are laid out across a former 285-acre farmstead. In addition to the three nines – each of which is a par 36 and measures from 3,300 to 3,800 yards – Esler included a world class practice facility that includes a short game practice area and an exceptionally large two-acre putting green.

Strategic design along with the shear breadth of the property enabled Esler to design golf holes that have unusually wide fairways that give players of varying abilities several risk/reward options off the tee. In essence, the more a player risks in terms of hitting his tee shot in the direction of a primary hazard (water, prairie grass, fescue, wetlands, bunkers, etc.), the greater his reward – i.e., a second shot that provides a better angle of approach to the green, better visibility of the next shot, and/or a shorter approach to the green.

Black Sheep’s naturally rolling prairie provides for significant elevation changes and a feeling of movement throughout the golf course. The land’s undulating terrain along with a muscular bunkering style and the varied color palette of the property’s native prairie grasses give character and definition to the course. Moreover, the lack of tree protection means the notorious Chicago winds are a factor during most every round at Black Sheep. A bit of Scotland perhaps!

Black Sheep represents golf in its purest state – the way it was when the game was founded in Scotland hundreds of years ago. No condos. No hotel. No swimming pool. No tennis courts. No dining room. Just a golf course, a saloon and members who relish the game. There is a small lodge onsite where up to nine members or guests can stay overnight.