The Village of Golf is one of the smallest and most private communities in the Chicago area. It is easy to drive past without realizing you have entered a separate municipality, which is very much the point.
A Village Apart
Golf is a tiny village of a few hundred residents, surrounded by Glenview and Morton Grove. Its identity is inseparable from Glen View Club, the private club established in 1897 that gave the village its name. When the club was founded, a simple sign reading "Golf" directed rail passengers from the station to the course, and the name stuck when the village incorporated.
The club sits on roughly 200 acres of rolling terrain along the North Branch of the Chicago River and has hosted the U.S. Open and the U.S. Amateur in its history. Its original members included Daniel Burnham and William Holabird, which tells you something about the standard of design that has surrounded this community from the beginning.
What Golf offers residents is seclusion. Homes sit on mature, heavily landscaped lots along a handful of quiet roads. There is no commercial district and no through traffic to speak of. Properties change hands infrequently, so the community is stable and opportunities here are genuinely uncommon.
The Homes
Golf's housing stock is substantial and established, set into mature landscape that has had decades to fill in. Traditional architecture predominates, though the village accommodates a range and there is no single expected look.
Because the village is so small and the existing homes are largely significant, a good deal of the opportunity here lies in elevating what is already there rather than replacing it. Renovations, additions, and high-end interior work make up a meaningful share of activity, alongside occasional ground-up construction when a property becomes available.
Building in a Small Village
The village runs a lean operation with a dedicated building department and published checklists covering new construction, remodels, and individual project types. Floor area ratio governs how much you can build, and the village publishes a worksheet for calculating it.
Construction hours are meaningfully restricted, with no work permitted on Sundays. In a village this compact, where homes are close together and every neighbor is within earshot, those hours are not a formality. Deliveries, concrete pours, and heavy equipment days need to be planned around them, and staging matters on narrow residential lanes.
How We Work in Golf
We build custom homes and execute high-end interior projects including kitchens, bathrooms, wine cellars, and walk-in closets throughout the North Shore. We have been at this since 2002. If you are considering a property in Golf, we can help you understand what it will support.
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