Golf in Carbondale

Carbondale is the largest city in southern Illinois and the home of Southern Illinois University, a public research institution that defines much of the town's character, economy, and demographic energy. Despite sitting in a largely rural region surrounded by the Shawnee National Forest and the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge, Carbondale functions as a genuine small city with a walkable downtown and a cultural calendar sustained by the university. Jackson County's terrain rises here into the Shawnee Hills before flattening toward the Mississippi bottomlands to the west. Hickory Ridge Golf Course, operated by the Carbondale Park District, gives the community a recreational golf facility that serves both residents and university visitors.