HISTORY OF DEERPATH GOLF COURSE
Fred Jackson & Family
Deerpath Golf Course is one of Lake Forest’s greatest legacy amenities as well as
one of its first public-private partnerships.
In 1922, the first parcel of land for the course was donated by the A.B. Dick family to the City
for a nine-hole municipal course, which was designed by Alex Pirie of Old Elm Golf Course.
Other residents made additional gifts of land, and the remaining nine holes were finished in
1927. According to Lake Forest, Illinois, History and Reminiscences by Edward Arpee, “The only
restrictions placed on the course were that it would be used for park purposes only and that
no trap shooting would take place there.”
Since it first opened, the Course has welcomed residents and visitors to its unique setting in
the midst of spectacular mature trees, bridges, paths, ponds, and streams. Generations of
Lake Foresters have learned their love of the game of golf at this course, and the excellence
of the current Juniors Program ensures that this tradition will long continue.