Illinois Valley Country Club

General Course Description

Illinois Valley Country Club is a 9-hole public (not sure why they call it a country club) course is nestled in the Siskiyou Mountains near the Southern Oregon Coast, about 30 miles southwest of Grants Pass.  With the hills surrounding the course, and the primary trees on the course being pine, you do feel like you are in the mountains. Illinois Valley Country Club has some very interesting and challenging holes, with trees, doglegs and small greens being the primary issues. The fairways are hard and of mixed grass, but mowed, and the greens are mounded and can be spotty.  Illinois Valley Country Club has a great community feel, not only as a meeting place, but also where members of the community help operations of the course. The course is compact and flat, allowing for a very nice walk.

Course History

Opened in 1977. Back in the 1970s, you had to go a long way to find a public golf course. So several locals got together, formed a corporation, built a course, and hired an operator. The operator soon left, and for many years, the locals did all the work in maintaining and operating the course. In the 2010s, a new operator was been hired, but still used locals for operations. In 2020 the course was transferred to the City of Cave Junction, who changed the name to Illinois Valley Country Club and still uses a lot of volunteers to tend to the course.

Why It Is There

Locals wanted to build a course, so they did. Even though it has changed hands a few times, it continues to have a strong community support.

I Wish I Would Have Known Before I Played

The course has a dual-tee system for its 18-hole layout. The tees for each nine are different enough that you should allow yourself time to play 18 holes. You may also want to play the course twice because there are some hidden features on several holes. For example, on the 5-par 2nd hole, from the tee you see (from left to right) a fence, a ditch, and the fairway. The hole takes a 90-degree turn where the fence ends (and then trees appear in the fairway). The best drive would be just to the right of the ditch, but beyond where the fence turns.  And on the par-5 9th hole, the fairway runs at a 45-degree angle from the direction of the tee box; if you hit it well but do not take an aggressive enough angle left, you will roll into the trees right. Also, in 2025, the signage for the course was gone – the pro shop is on the other side of the building from the parking lot (behind the restaurant). Go to the driving range and go left.

Did You Know

The ageless PGA pro, Rex Denham, originally served for many years as the pro at the course until the early 2000s.  He then worked at several clubs in Northern California, but returned to the course in the early 2010s. He then left again for Northern California in 2014.

Good For Them

They hold junior camps for boys and girls of all ages. Kids under 18 can play for free (even without a playing adult). Home course for Illinois Valley High School. They have an annual tournament the proceeds of which are used to buy golf clubs for junior players. The course uses local effluent water for irrigation.

Why Play This Course

Although the fairways are irregular, Illinois Valley is an interesting course in an attractive setting at a very reasonable price. But the community feel, on the course and in the very good cafe, will be why you want to support the course.

General

• Type: 9-hole public course
  • Price: $
  • Phone/webpage: (541)592-3151/no website
  • Address: 25320 Redwood Highway, Cave Junction, Oregon 97523
  • Owner: City of Cave Junction
  • Designer: Bob E. and Robert L. Baldock
  • Pros: None
  • Practice Facilities: Driving range on grass and putting green
  • Pro Shop: Minimal clothing and equipment
  • Food: Gimmies, that has great food, is open for lunch and dinner
  • Bathrooms: Improved in clubhouse and porta potties on course
  • Yardage Markers: 200 (sometimes), 150, and 100 stones on either side of the fairway; 200 and 100 in-ground markers; do not trust the small flags for pin location
  • Clothing: T-shirts and jeans are OK
  • Walkable: Flat easy walk
  • Spikes: Soft
  • Shoe Cleaning: Brush
  • Rentals: All
  • Open all year

	Yards	Par	Rating	Slope
Blue	3136	36	34.6/37.7	119/133
White	2909	36	33.8/36.7	115/124
Red	2764	36	33.6/35.9	108/124
Yellow	2639	36	32.8/35.1	102/123