Bootlegger Short Course at Forest Dunes

Golf was never meant to be this serious—and the Bootlegger knows it. This 10-hole short course, designed by rising stars Keith Rhebb and Riley Johns, sits atop a rolling piece of heaven between Forest Dunes' championship courses, where speakers pump music across the fairways, groups of eight can play together, and bare feet are not just allowed but encouraged. Named for the Purple Gang mafiosos who bootlegged whiskey on this very property during Prohibition, the Bootlegger captures that outlaw spirit with a wink and a grin.

The holes range from 65 to 150 yards, but yardage barely matters here. What matters are the wildly imaginative greens—bowl-shaped, catcher's mitt-shaped, funneling balls toward pins like pinball ramps—that turn every shot into a creative challenge. You can fly wedges to tucked pins, bump putters off tee boxes, use slopes to bank shots onto greens, or just grip it and rip it with your buddies cheering (or jeering) from the Bootlegger Bar pavilion that overlooks the first and tenth holes. Built in just 81 days, this course was designed with one mandate: make it fun. Mission accomplished.

For groups, the Bootlegger is pure gold. It's the perfect warm-up before tackling Tom Weiskopf's Forest Dunes or Tom Doak's reversible Loop, and an even better way to cap off a long day with a cold beverage and some friendly trash talk. The daily rate lets you play as many times as you want after 1 p.m., so you can keep the party rolling. With music, massive greens, and zero pretense, this is golf at its most communal and joyful. It's not just a course—it's the social heartbeat of the entire Forest Dunes experience, and your group will leave grinning.