BUTLER NATIONAL#97 in the U.S.
Yet another George Fazio course given
a recent facelift by nephew Tom (and
one that rejoins the Top 100 following
a six-year absence). Butler is an all-male
club in suburban Chicago that
placed as high as No. 62 on our World
list in 1989, its second-to-last year
hosting the PGA Tour's Western Open,
where it was rated as the toughest
track on Tour. A graceful parkland
layout menaced by numerous water
hazards, Butler's nasty par-4 18th is a
bucolic, yet much feared closer, with
a creek that snakes up the left side of
the green. Our panelists were smitten
with the club's recent tree-thinning
project, as well as the repositioning
and deepening of bunkers.
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