Four rounds at Eagle Ridge and nearby public courses, with a rental home in the Galena Territory, are the plan. Eagle Ridge's prime-season rates, an 11% lodging tax and a rental car for the three-hour drive from Chicago O'Hare are what push the total up.
Plan my golf trip for me: budget, dates and courses →Starts with a sample trip. Change any number to match yours. Set up your travel profile to fill these in for you.
Compare hotels in Galena and the Galena Territory →Pick each course you'll play (one round per golfer) and we'll price it for your group. Prices are per golfer for 18 holes, with the season and time of day you choose. Your picks set “Green fees per golfer (whole trip)” in your budget.
4⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡3/5 Golfing Volts
15 courses around Galena & Northwest Illinois that take public tee times, by city, with peak green fees. Private member clubs are left out.
The area's marquee round: big bluff-top views and nearly 290 feet of drop from the first tee to the 18th green, so a cart is a must.
eagleridge.com golfpass.comThe tightest and toughest of the Eagle Ridge courses, winding through wooded valleys with lots of forced carries.
eagleridge.com golfpass.comThe resort's original course, a bit more open than the South, with Lake Galena coming into play on several holes.
eagleridge.com golfpass.comA low-key, nearly century-old club right in town that takes public tee times; the back nine is much tighter than the front.
golfpass.com golflink.comA short, hilly nine that's a good warm-up on arrival day or a round for newer players and kids.
eagleridge.com golfpass.comThe best public course on the Iowa side, a 1990s Lohmann design with water in play and a demanding slope.
golflink.com eagle1023fm.comDubuque's hilly, short city course, the cheapest full 18 in the area.
cityofdubuque.org cdn-golflink.comAn open, links-style course in farm country with a fun reachable par-5 18th over a creek and a good restaurant.
golflink.com wqad.comRockford's best public course and a long, well-kept test, but it is about 90 minutes from Galena, so it suits the drive in from Chicago.
aldeengolfclub.com golflink.comThe tougher of two city-run courses on rolling hills in Freeport, an easy budget day on the way to or from Rockford.
freeportparkdistrict.orgThe shorter, friendlier of Freeport's two Park Hills courses, good for a cheap second round the same day.
freeportparkdistrict.orgA tree-lined, good-value course west of Dubuque with water on several holes; there is no driving range.
golflink.com golfnow.comA family-run 45-hole complex just across the river from Dubuque; the Blue is the full 18 and the Gold and Red nines suit a quick extra loop.
greatriverroad-illinois.org golflink.comA short, older course near the historic town of Mineral Point, about an hour north, for golfers who want to see southwest Wisconsin.
golflink.comA nine-hole course in a lake community's wooded canyons, open to the public seven days a week.
applecanyonlake.orgThe sample is 4 travelers for 4 nights. Your plan ($6,812) covers the main costs most people budget for, the ones you enter on the left. Costs people forget ($2,828, about 42% more for this trip) are the fees, taxes, tips and extras listed in the calculator. Prices were last checked on October 17, 2026.
Share of the $9,640 real cost. Nights and travelers multiply most of these costs, so changing either one moves the total the most.
12 of this trip's numbers link to a published price or rate. The rest are our estimates, and each one says what it is based on. You can also read how we calculate every trip.
| Cost | Default | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Green fees per golfer (whole trip) | $510 per traveler | Four peak rounds with cart: The General $170, South $135 and North $135 (Eagle Ridge 2026 public prime rates, May 8 to Oct 18) plus The Meadows about $72 (GolfLink estimate). Total $512, rounded to $510. Judgment call. Source |
| Rental home per night (whole group) | $450 a night | AirROI (12 months to Oct 2026): East Galena Township rentals average $385 a night, about $425 in June and July; 4-bedroom homes average $508. We use $450 for a 3- to 4-bedroom home in summer. Judgment call. Source |
| Airfare per person | $403 per traveler | US DOT (BTS) average domestic itinerary fare for Chicago O'Hare (ORD), Q2 2026: $403.20 (Q1 2026 $421.70). Madison (MSN) was $537.43; Dubuque (DBQ) is not in the table. Source |
| Food per person, per day | $68 per traveler, per day | Jo Daviess County is not a GSA non-standard area, so it uses the FY2027 standard meals and incidentals (M&IE) rate of $68 a day. Source |
| Cost | Default | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Checked bag fees | $90 per traveler | Major US airlines charge about $35 to $50 for a first checked bag each way, so about $90 round trip. Source |
| Golf bag fees | $110 per traveler | American, Delta, United and Southwest treat a golf bag as a standard checked bag; a second bag is $55 each way. Source |
| Shipping your clubs Off by default | $108 per traveler | Ground shipping for a golf bag starts around $54 each way. Source |
| Lodging taxes | 11% of the rental home (whole group) | City of Galena: total hotel tax 11% (5% city hotel/motel tax plus the Illinois state rate). In the unincorporated Galena Territory (Eagle Ridge), Jo Daviess County charges a 5% hotel and motel use tax instead of the city tax (county return form: https://www.jodaviesscountyil.gov/DocumentCenter/View/368/Hotel-and-Motel-Use-Tax-Return---Multiple-Property-Sites-PDF), so also about 11%. Source |
| Rental car | $105 a day | KAYAK at ORD (Nov 2026): SUVs average about $63-75 a day, with June the priciest month at about $89. We add for a minivan or large SUV and Chicago's rental taxes and fees. Judgment call. Source |
| Illinois tollway tolls | $16 for the trip | Jane Addams Tollway (I-90) passenger-car tolls are $0.75 a plaza with I-PASS and double ($1.50) by pay-by-plate; O'Hare to Rockford is about $4 each way with I-PASS, about $8 without. $16 round trip, before any rental-company toll fees. Judgment call. Source |
| Drinks on the course | $80 per traveler | Our estimate of about $20 a round for beverage-cart drinks and snacks. Judgment call. Our estimate |
| Golf balls | $55 per traveler | A dozen Titleist Pro V1 balls lists at $55. Source |
| Tips for bag drop and cart staff | $20 per traveler | A few dollars at bag drop and the turn; we use $5 a round. Judgment call. Source |
| Side bets and prizes | $50 per traveler | Our estimate for skins, team bets and a small trophy. Our estimate |
| Lessons and extras you picked Off by default | $0 for the trip | Set by the extras you pick in the tee-time planner. Our estimate |
| Travel insurance | 6% of your plan | Squaremouth says a comprehensive plan averages about 6% of the trip cost, usually 4% to 10%. Source |
| Pre-trip shopping | $60 for the trip | Our estimate for travel-size toiletries, sunscreen and small things bought before a trip. Our estimate |
| Pet boarding or sitter | $50 a day, if you check Pets | Dogster puts regular kennel boarding at about $35 to $85 a night. Overnight sitters at home cost more. Source |
For 4 golfers spending 4 nights in peak summer season, with four rounds each, a rental home, flights and food, plan on about $6,810. Once you add golf bag fees, lodging taxes, rental car, illinois tollway tolls, drinks on the course, balls, tips and side bets, it's closer to $9,640, or about $2,410 each. Use the tee-time planner above to price the courses you want.
Yes. All four Eagle Ridge courses are open to the public. The General is $170 with a cart from May 8 to October 18, or $115 if you stay at the resort, and $110 in spring before May 8. After 3 pm in summer it's $70. Source
Most courses open around April 1 and close by early November, and all are closed in winter. Eagle Ridge's prime season runs May 8 to October 18; before and after that, The General drops to $110 in spring and about $65 in late fall. Source
Most golfers fly into Chicago O'Hare (ORD), about 160 miles and three hours away, because it has the most flights and the lowest fares: about $403 on average in mid-2026. Madison averaged about $537 and is about 95 miles away. Dubuque is closest, about 25 miles away, but has few flights. Source
About 11%. Illinois charges a 6% hotel tax, and either the City of Galena or, in the Galena Territory where Eagle Ridge sits, Jo Daviess County adds 5%. Source