Golf in Lebanon

Lebanon is a small St. Clair County city best known as home to McKendree University, Illinois's oldest private university, founded by Methodists in 1828. The university's long presence has shaped Lebanon's identity as an educational community in ways that distinguish it from the purely agricultural or suburban towns that surround it. The Hills Golf Club at McKendree is part of the university's facilities, extending the academic campus into recreational golf. Lebanon sits between Belleville and the rural eastern reaches of St. Clair County, maintaining a quieter pace than the major suburban corridors. Illinois' position as a crossroads state — linking the Great Lakes to the Mississippi, the industrial north to the agricultural south — creates diverse communities where golf serves as common ground across the state's varied economic landscapes.