Two listings can both say "backs to the golf course" and describe two completely different financial arrangements. In most McHenry County subdivisions built around a country club, that phrase quietly bundles in a membership expectation, an HOA, or both. In the Village of Lakewood, it might mean neither.
That is not a typo. Lakewood is home to two golf courses, and they operate on opposite models. Buyers who assume "golf course lot" is a single product end up either overpaying for a membership they never have to join, or underestimating a cost that a neighboring subdivision, just a few miles away, would have charged them automatically.
The village bought one course. It never touched the other.
RedTail Golf Club sits inside Lakewood's borders, and the Village itself owns it. In 1991 the Village purchased what was originally intended as a private country club course, opened it to the public in 1992, and renamed it from Lakewood Golf Course to RedTail in 1997. It is a Roger Packard design with bent grass tees, greens, and fairways, built across mature oak stands and natural wetlands with real elevation change, and it has picked up a 4-star rating from Golf Digest, 4.5 stars from Chicagoland Golf, and recognition from the National Golf Foundation as a top-10 municipal facility nationally for customer satisfaction.
None of that requires a membership. Because the Village owns and operates the course, anyone can book a tee time. A home that backs up to a RedTail fairway is buying a view and a setback, not a recurring bill tied to the course itself.
Turnberry Golf Club, also inside Lakewood, is private. Golf Digest's own course directory lists it that way, distinct from RedTail's public designation in the same database. If your home backs up to Turnberry, playing the course means applying for membership through the club, separate from anything on your deed.
Here is the part that surprises most buyers: owning a lot that backs to Turnberry does not automatically mean you owe anyone anything for it. Some Turnberry-adjacent lots are recorded with no homeowners association and no covenants, conditions, or restrictions attached at all. The golf frontage is priced into the land once, at the sale, rather than collected forever through dues.
Why this is not how it works everywhere nearby
Widen the view past Lakewood's borders and the contrast gets sharper. Crystal Lake Country Club, founded in 1922 and now managed by Troon, sits just over the line in Crystal Lake proper. It is private, has been since it opened, and membership there comes with an initiation fee plus ongoing dues, the same structure that has defined the club for over a century. Boulder Ridge Country Club Estates, in neighboring Lake in the Hills, is gated and private, and homes there typically carry both club membership expectations and an HOA structure layered on top.
| Course | Municipality | Ownership | Membership required for frontage |
|---|---|---|---|
| RedTail Golf Club | Village of Lakewood | Village-owned, public | No |
| Turnberry Golf Club | Village of Lakewood | Private | Yes to play, but some backing lots carry no HOA or CC&Rs |
| Crystal Lake Country Club | Crystal Lake | Private, Troon-managed | Yes, since 1922 |
| Boulder Ridge Country Club Estates | Lake in the Hills | Private, gated | Yes, plus HOA dues |
Put side by side, the pattern is obvious. Lakewood is the outlier in this stretch of McHenry County, not because it lacks golf, but because one of its two courses removes the recurring cost entirely and the other can too, depending on the specific lot's paperwork.
Why the distinction matters more this year than last
The Village of Lakewood's housing market has moved enough in the past twelve months that getting this wrong costs real money. As of August 2026, the median list price in Lakewood sits at $669,000, up 13 percent year over year, at roughly $307 per square foot, with homes spending a median of 69 days on market. When a market is appreciating that quickly, the difference between a one-time land premium and a monthly obligation compounds over the years you hold the property, not just at closing.
A buyer stretching toward that median price needs to know exactly what they are stretching for. Paying more for a Turnberry-adjacent lot because you assume it comes with club access, only to discover you still need to apply and pay separately for membership, is a different mistake than underpricing an offer because you assumed an HOA fee that was never going to show up on your closing statement.
Before you write an offer on a golf-adjacent lot
- Ask which course the lot actually backs to. RedTail and Turnberry are different products entirely, even though both sit inside the same village.
- Pull the recorded plat and declaration for that specific lot at the McHenry County Recorder's office. Subdivision-wide assumptions do not always hold lot by lot, especially in older sections of Turnberry.
- If an HOA does exist, request the last two years of meeting minutes and the reserve fund balance. Illinois law, under 765 ILCS 160/1-45, requires a board to give homeowners 30 to 60 days notice before adopting a special assessment, and gives owners a petition path if a special assessment would push the year's total above 115 percent of what was paid the prior year.
- Get it in writing whether golf club membership is optional, bundled, or entirely separate from the property. A lot can back directly onto a private fairway and still be sold with zero connection to the club itself.
None of this shows up cleanly in a listing photo. It shows up in the recorded documents, and it is worth the extra hour before you write an offer that assumes a cost structure the property never actually carries.
A few straight answers
Does backing up to a golf course always raise the price of a home in Lakewood? Generally yes for the view and the setback, but the premium works differently depending on the course. RedTail frontage adds value with no recurring obligation attached, since the Village owns and operates the course as a public facility. Turnberry frontage may or may not carry an HOA, depending on the specific lot's recorded declaration, so the premium is often paid once at closing rather than guaranteed as a monthly cost forever.
Do I have to join Turnberry Golf Club to buy a home that backs up to it? No. Ownership and club membership are handled separately. Some lots backing to Turnberry are recorded with no HOA or CC&Rs at all, meaning the golf frontage functions as a view amenity you already own, not a membership you are obligated to buy into. If you want to play the course, that is a separate application through the club.
What if I would rather have guaranteed public access than a private club backdrop? That is what RedTail offers. Because the Village of Lakewood purchased and operates the course, anyone can book a tee time without living nearby, joining anything, or paying dues tied to the property itself.
Golf frontage in Lakewood is not one product, and treating it like one is the fastest way to misjudge what you are actually paying for. If you are comparing lots along either course, or trying to confirm what a specific parcel's paperwork actually says before you write an offer, Mandy Montford can walk the recorded documents with you before the number on the listing turns into a number on your closing statement. Let's Connect.
