Morton Arboretum Wonder Woods Mini Golf – Lisle, IL

Played June 29, 2025. Shop visits April & May 2024

Reviewed by Mr. Tee

In 2023, we were contacted by the Morton Arboretum about their idea to create a custom mini-golf course to tell a story about the broader work they do in education around our natural environment. We love how mini golf can be incorporated into so many different spaces, including science and education, so it was an easy “yes” for us to help out on this course. The team at the Arboretum came up with the larger themes and the broader gameplay, and we consulted on bringing the whole course to life, including overseeing the construction and playability at a fabrication shop near us in Minneapolis. We played the course in the shop several times in late April and early May 2024, but it wasn’t until a year later that I got to play it the day after the 2025 MC Mini Masters. I was able to wrangle one of our main points of contact during the project, Dan from the Morton Arboretum, to play a round on the 9-hole course.

Rating

It goes without saying that we’re always a tad biased in our reviews of courses where we were personally involved in the design and/or consultation. That being said, I absolutely loved how the Morton Arboretum fully brought the course to life with the environmental concepts behind the holes and the eye-pleasing color scheme. We put a lot of effort into making sure the experience of navigating the course felt special, like our favorite courses in the world. The variety of gameplay not only is fun, but it immerses those playing in the theme in a meaningful way that helps connect you to the larger concepts woven into the design of each hole. The signage surrounding each hole provides more background in both English and Spanish for those looking for more depth into each theme, but the visually engaging environments truly engage those playing in a way that words can’t. Given it’s a short course, we thought it would be fun to have some game modifiers on the last two holes that keep everyone in the running to get the best score in their group. We’re not sure how many years the Morton Arboretum will continue to bring this course back for the summer, but we strongly encourage checking out both the course and surrounding environment and art in this massive facility.

The course is located to the right after you exit through the main building / parking lot

Hole #1 immediately immerses you in the theme of the course

You can see the scale of this hole with our pal from the arborteum putting

Hole #2 takes you from the big city and puts you next to trees

Choose to take the pipe or navigate through the tiers. Both give you a good chance for an ace

Hit the ball into the tree trunk and it funnels down to the lower green via a pipe

On the lower green, you can play rebounds (or get blocked) but small wood themed obstacles

A tall and classic loop that is harder than it looks

Another large scale environment but this time bringing you into the world of bugs

You get a chance to explore the different bugs as you navigate around this horse-shoe shaped hole

A simple and fun-looking hole talking about DNA

This plinko hole can swing scores quickly with scoring options ranging between 1-4

Finish off the course with a foosball stlyed gameplay that can equally shift the final score of the round

Even their putter return has great theming

From our visit in 2023 before the course was installed

2026 Wonder Woods Website

4100 IL-53, Lisle, IL 60532

Comments

Fun blend of science, education, and mini golf
Whimsical color scheme and design
Variety of gameplay
Final holes (foosball & plinko) can swing score
Wish it was 18 holes

Nerdy Notes

9 holes. Par 28.
Opened May 2024. Seasonal year-to-year course opening in May and closing early fall depending on the weather
10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., last tee time 5:00 p.m. Check website for current times
Monday–Friday: Adult (18 and older): $8 | Child (4 through 17): $6 | Member adult (18 and older): $6 | Member child (4 through 17): $4
Weekends, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, and Labor Day: Adult (18 and older): $10 | Child (4 through 17): $8 | Member adult (18 and older): $8 | Member child (4 through 17): $6
“The tree-themed course explores how tree rings can tell the life story of a tree, how trees support the ecosystems of bugs and wildlife, and other wonderfully cool—and surprising!—scientific concepts.”
The order of the holes on the course changed for 2026