{"id":604,"date":"2012-02-03T10:00:40","date_gmt":"2012-02-03T16:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/?p=604"},"modified":"2019-02-24T20:54:01","modified_gmt":"2019-02-25T02:54:01","slug":"12-hidden-gem-courses-in-wisconsin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/12-hidden-gem-courses-in-wisconsin\/","title":{"rendered":"12 Hidden Gem Golf Courses in Wisconsin"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Sentry-World.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-605\" width=\"324\" height=\"209\"\/><figcaption>Sentry World in Stevens Point<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Wisconsin has some terrific golf\ncourses that are unknown to many travelers around the country.&nbsp; If you fly in to Chicago, Milwaukee or\nMinneapolis, many of these courses are reachable in no more than 3-4 hours\ndrive (and some much less).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s be clear on one thing, this list\nis NOT going to include courses which host national tournaments such as Erin\nHills, Blackwolf Run or Whistling Straits or highly priced substitutes that are\npopping up like The Bull and Fire Ridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But if you are looking for value and\ndiverse holes, this set of courses has them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This list is in alphabetical order and\nfor those of you not familiar with the areas we have included the general location\nas well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Bog (Saukville&#8211;Milwaukee\n     area)<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>I am not even sure how to describe this\ncourse.&nbsp; Hmm.&nbsp; Hard comes to mind.&nbsp;&nbsp; There are certainly no gimme holes on this\none and nothing that screams out birdie.&nbsp;\nBut you definitely have some room to miss it a bit off the tee and many\nholes have generous landing areas.&nbsp; But\nthe routing of the course makes missed shots difficult to recover from.&nbsp; One nice element is you rarely have to worry\nabout balls coming at you from other directions.&nbsp; Most of the holes are well defined.&nbsp; The most memorable are probably the Par-5 14th,\nwhich takes you into an open tee shot and then WAY up a hill to a blind\ngreen.&nbsp;&nbsp; Seems very easy to get there in\ntwo and challenge the shortcut but it is more difficult than it looks.&nbsp; The course does an excellent job incorporating\nthe wetlands and other natural terrain.&nbsp;\nThe condition on this course is usually excellent.&nbsp; Keep an eye out for deals since they do run\nlots of promotions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Brown Deer Park\n     (Milwaukee area)<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>You would think that a course that has\nhosted the GMO for so many years would be well known.&nbsp; But many people still fail to associate the\ntournament with this venue which can be played for a very reasonable\nprice.&nbsp; With many holes cut through old\noak trees, Brown Deer was the site of Tiger Woods&#8217; first PGA event as a\npro.&nbsp; Many of the holes will give you\nroom to miss off the tee but you can easily end up being blocked out on your\nnext shot if you swing wildly (like most of do!!).&nbsp; It is always fun to get a crack at a PGA Tour\nvenue and especially when it can be done for considerably less than most PGA\nvenues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Geneva National\n     (Lake Geneva area)<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>I had a long debate about this\ncourse.&nbsp; Although it is one of my\nfavorite set of courses in the state, the typical asking price is $125+ at\nprime times.&nbsp; So ultimately I decided\nthat you should know that not only would it be worth that cost for the 3\ndesigns by Player, Palmer and Trevino, but that you can deals virtually every\nday in the afternoon (after 2 pm) for around $70-75 and they have standing\nspecials allowing 36 holes for about $125 if you start early and take a short\nbreak between rounds.&nbsp; That makes these\ncourses a bargain in comparison to some of the other Lake Geneva properties\nlike Grand Geneva, The Abbey and Hawks View. &nbsp;&nbsp;Geneva National is semi-private with memberships\navailable, but essentially two of the three courses are open to the public\nevery day.&nbsp; My personal favorite is the\nPlayer but the Palmer is not far behind.&nbsp;\nTrevino is still a very nice golf course but just doesn&#8217;t quite measure\nup to the other two.&nbsp; The courses are\nalmost always in great condition and the greens are usually quick.&nbsp; The setting is tremendous as the clubhouse is\nup high looking down over the finishing hole of the Palmer against the backdrop\nof Lake Como.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Eagle Creek Golf\n     Club, Hortonville (near Appleton)<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This one shocked me.&nbsp; Driving up to a friend&#8217;s cabin near Eagle\nRiver where they promised me some interesting 9-hole courses, I put my foot\ndown and demanded we play at least one 18 hole course on the way up. J&nbsp; In the middle of nowhere (hey!!!&nbsp; Not everything in Wisconsin is the middle of\nnowhere you big city slickers!!!), this course had a surprisingly diverse set\nof golf holes that incorporates some streams, woods, marsh and wetlands.&nbsp; Although you have room off the tee on most\nholes, do not assume that being wild will give you a good angle on your second\nshot (though few of them will be blocked).&nbsp;\nCertainly worth a stop on the way up to Northern Wisconsin or for a\nPackers game.&nbsp; The 4<sup>th<\/sup> thru\nthe 9<sup>th<\/sup> holes can stand toe-to-toe with almost any stretch in the\nstate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Lake Arrowhead\n     (Nekoosa?Central Wisconsin?35 miles north of Wisconsin Dells)<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Boasting two courses (Pines and Lakes)\nin little known Nekoosa, Lake Arrowhead is one of the finest pair of public courses\nyou can find.&nbsp; Located in central\nWisconsin you can easily combine this with a trip to SentryWorld, The Ridges or\nTrappers Turn to makes for a fun weekend of golf.&nbsp; Many of the holes are carved out of the pine\ntrees which line the fairways so hitting off pine needles will become second\nnature by the time you are done here.&nbsp; Both\ncourses are highly rated as the Pines course originally opened in 1982 and is\none of Golf Digest&#8217;s 75 Places to Play.&nbsp;\nThe Lakes is a more difficult challenge and was named one of Golf\nDigest&#8217;s Best New Public Course in 1999.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Lawsonia (Green Lake)<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Apparently there are two Green Lakes in\nWisconsin so make sure that you pick the right one to end up here.&nbsp; These courses could not stand in more stark\ncontrast to each other.&nbsp; Unlike Lake\nArrowhead which features two courses with similar feel, at Lawsonia you have\nthe Links Course (which is a links style course) and the Woodlands (which has a\nlot of trees?go figure).&nbsp; But the\ninteresting part about these two is that the ground under the courses feels\ndifferent too.&nbsp; The entire Links Course\nhas a much firmer feel to the ground and you will get much more roll and\nbounce.&nbsp; One of the hardest par-3&#8217;s you\nwill find anywhere as you hit the 7<sup>th<\/sup> hole which reportedly has a\nrail car buried underneath.&nbsp; Miss off the\nedge of the green and you will have a brutal pitch shot.&nbsp; On the Woodlands, you get a completely\ndifferent style with a quarry on the 2<sup>nd<\/sup> hole, a lot of trees and\nsome challenging elevation changes.&nbsp; This\nis an excellent venue if you want to get in 36 in one day without having to\nmove around.&nbsp; And if you want to stay\novernight on the way back from central Wisconsin and some of the other courses,\nwe recommend the Barnacle.&nbsp; Do not expect\nluxury (nor phones in the room) but it will be an experience!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Oaks (just outside\n     Madison)<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This is one of those courses that\nleaves you shaking your head and saying how did&nbsp; Iput up such a bad score here??&#8221;&nbsp; There are some very difficult holes, but many\nof them look innocuous as you line up to play.&nbsp;&nbsp;\nSo sneaky tough&#8221; is probably the best description of this course.&nbsp; One element I really liked is the diversity\nof the holes which required you to hit many different clubs (unless, like one\nof my foursome, you can hit it 325 every time and then you only need a\nwedge).&nbsp; When you get done playing you\nwill realize that this is a well designed course that requires excellent\nshot-making to put up a good number.&nbsp;&nbsp;\nDon&#8217;t get flustered on a few of the tough holes and take yourself out of\nthe round (and don&#8217;t hurt your back like I did trying to hack a 7-iron out of\nthick weeds instead of pitching out).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Ridges\n     (Wisconsin Rapids)<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>What do you do when you have a\ntremendous nine hole layout but many golfers do not want to come and play\nbecause you are not a full 18?&nbsp; You buy a\nbit of extra farmland around the property and throw up another 9 holes.&nbsp; Now if this sounds like I am bashing the\nfront nine I really am not.&nbsp; It still has\na few interesting holes but let&#8217;s be serious.&nbsp;\nIt was only put there to draw you to the back-nine.&nbsp; And that is fine.&nbsp; Because the back-nine is worth the entire\ntrip.&nbsp; A dogleg left around a steeply\nbanked hill opens the back.&nbsp; And before\nyou get done, you have played some of the most interesting and unusual holes\nyou will find anywhere, and only a couple of them are completely unfair (yes\n#13, I am talking to you!!).&nbsp; This is\ndefinitely a course where a bit of local knowledge would go a long way as some\nof the shot values are very deceptive.&nbsp;\nThe Ridges is one of the most different&#8221; courses I have played but I\ntruly enjoyed the experience, and not only because I was able to eagle the last\nhole (but hitting my second shot off a tree, and then hitting a put that I\nthought was going to stop 15 feet short of the hole and was complaining and\nmoaning as I turned away before I saw it drop in the hole).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Silver Spring Country Club (Menominee Falls)<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This is an unusual selection because it\nis really a different caliber course from most of the others.&nbsp; This is more of a municipal type of venue,\nbut it has a lot of interesting holes and has expanded to a 36 hole facility\n(Island Course and Falls Course). &nbsp;You\nwould expect to see this diversity at higher end courses, but Silver Spring CC\ncan really require a lot of good shots.&nbsp;\nFrom the downhill dogleg right to open, to the island green 8<sup>th<\/sup>\nhole (the only natural Island green in Wisconsin), you will get plenty of\nchallenges here making it an easy stopping point if you are at meetings in\nMilwaukee or on your way to a Badger or Packer football game.&nbsp; This is a very fair venue even for high handicappers\nbut do not make the mistake of thinking it is an easy course or that you will\nshoot a low number!!&nbsp; If you only have\ntime for one of the courses, I recommend the Island Course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>SentryWorld\n     (Stevens Point)<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the finest public courses you could\nfind anywhere in the country.&nbsp;\nSentryWorld was built by Sentry Insurance and contains the infamous\nPar-3 16<sup>th<\/sup> known as the Flower Hole&#8221;.&nbsp; This hole has 45,000flowers and numerous of\nspecies of flowers.&nbsp; It is truly a sight\nto see in full bloom.&nbsp; Typically very\nwell manicured, SentryWorld is worth the trip if you are able to get there (or\nto sneak away from your family at the Dells if you are vacationing there).&nbsp;&nbsp; Every single hole has its own space and\nrouting so there are almost no places on the course where you will be in\nsomeone else&#8217;s fairway or vice versa (yet will manage somehow, don&#8217;t we?).&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; One of my favorite holes is the Par-4, 13<sup>th<\/sup>\nand not only because I was able to snake a couple of skins from one of my good\nbuddies two years in a row from the most unlikeliest locations.&nbsp; A sharp dogleg right it tempts you to drive\nover the bunkers to cut the corner but you really do not need to cut it that\nfinely as a solid tee shot leaves only a middle iron into a green which is set\non a difficult angle to the fairway.&nbsp; The\nsand is typically VERY soft and fine so you should expect a very buried lies if\nyou are unfortunate enough to hit it into the bunkers.&nbsp; 17 is another difficult hole as it winds down\nto the left with a very tough angle to a narrow green set between a lake and an\n(unfairly) close fence with a cart ball that will bounce you OB (no, I am not\nstill bitter about that shot!!).&nbsp;&nbsp; Make\nsure you start early enough because I am still not sure that I have ever\ncompleted 18 in full daylight.&nbsp; &nbsp;If this course was in Chicago, it would cost\n$150 or more.&nbsp; Great layout and very\ninteresting holes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Trappers Turn\n     (Wisconsin Dells)<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This facility features three\nnines:&nbsp; Arbor, Canyon and Lake.&nbsp; Do you remember many holes where you have a\nfan circulating the air around the green?&nbsp;\nThat is what you typically see on the Par-3 7<sup>th<\/sup> hole on the\nCanyon.&nbsp; From the tee, the funnel down to\nthe hole looks inviting until you get a bad kick that sends you to the far side\nof the green with severe undulations.&nbsp;&nbsp;\nThe closing Par-5 hole on the Canyon is something you rarely see.&nbsp; Almost straight downhill, a good drive with a\nbit of draw can go well over 300 yards.&nbsp;\nBut then you are still left with a long second off a downhill lie to try\nto reach the green in two.&nbsp; Tempting but\ntrouble lurks on each side.&nbsp; The first\nhole of the Canyon is very pretty with a dogleg and a stream defining the\nsetting.&nbsp; In between you probably see a\nmore diverse set of topography here than any other course I can remember.&nbsp; You have a mix of rivers, lakes, trees,\nlinks, quarry, hills and ravines.&nbsp; Plenty\nof stay and play packages as well as many of the Wisconsin Dells resorts.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>University Ridge?(Verona (Madison area))<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Here I go again stretching the\ndefinition of hidden gem.&nbsp; This course\nhas a well deserved reputation in the area and regionally but lacks a lot of\nnational recognition.&nbsp; (I always felt\nthat they mis-named the course from a branding perspective because University\nRidge is too generic to be associated with Madison, Wisconsin, while Badger Ridge\nwould have created a much better branded connection?but that is another\nstory).&nbsp; The nines are vastly different\nas the front nine is a links style course.&nbsp;\nThe second hole is an interesting Par-5 with a tough carry on your tee\nshot and a semi-blind 2<sup>nd<\/sup> (if you can reach) into a green that is\nsunken down in a ravine.&nbsp;&nbsp; If you are a\nbig hitter, go play the 4<sup>th<\/sup> hole from the back tees.&nbsp; I dare you!!&nbsp;\nThat is probably one of the most intimidating tee shots that I have ever\nseen.&nbsp; And even if you get it in the\nfairway you have a tough uphill second shot which will be partially obscured by\ntrees if you are in the left half of the fairway.&nbsp; The front features the rare combination of 3\nof each hole: Par-3, Par-4, Par-5. This allows you to score a little bit if you\nhit the ball well.&nbsp; Back when you make\nthe turn to the back nine, one of the biggest changes of scenery on any\ncourse.&nbsp; The back is cut out of woods\nalmost all the way around and while there is room to make it playable, you\ncannot be wild.&nbsp; When you stand on the 10<sup>th<\/sup>\ntee you will see what to expect for the rest of your round.&nbsp; The 16<sup>th<\/sup> is a very unusual Par-5\nwhich allows you to play left or right of some enormous trees, the right side\nallowing a very good chance to get home in two (but miss your tee shot and you\nare in BIG trouble).&nbsp; A tough Par-3 17<sup>th<\/sup>\nruns along the edge of a pond and if you survive to that point you reach the\nclosing hole which is a big uphill, dogleg left, Par-4.&nbsp; Cut off as much as you dare but if you don&#8217;t\ncut off anything you will have almost no chance to reach the green in\nregulation.&nbsp; A great pro-shop with a huge\nselection of merchandise and great practice facility and putting green allow\nyou to spend plenty of time warming up for the challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the\nnotable omissions here is Wild Rock at the Wilderness Resort in Wisconsin Dells.&nbsp; I have heard great things about the course\nbut did not include it here since I have not yet played it.&nbsp; There are also some very interesting nine\nhole courses if you get up around the Eagle River area.&nbsp; If you only have time for nine, I suggest\nLake Forest Golf Club and Plum Lake Golf Club (a beautiful setting if you can\ntime to end as the sun is going down?9:30 pm in the summer). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We hope you\nenjoyed this list and welcome your feedback to <a href=\"mailto:rkessel@sportsloop.com\">rkessel@sportsloop.com<\/a> and your\nrecommendations for what other areas you would like to see us cover.&nbsp; And next time you are in heading to check out\nthese courses, make sure you email me because it is never that hard to twist my\narm and tempt me to go play.&nbsp; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wisconsin has some terrific golf courses that are unknown to many travelers around the country.  If you fly in to Chicago, Milwaukee or Minneapolis, many of these courses are reachable in no more than 3-4 hours drive (and some much less).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":605,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[370],"tags":[344,349,341,337,340,342,6,339,347,343,348,350,345,346,33],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=604"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}