Our Picks for The 10 Best Golf courses in Wisconsin
1. Whistling Straits (Straits)
Address: N8501 Lakeshore Rd Sheboygan, WI 53083-5156 United States
Type of field: Links
Course access: Public
Length of play: 18-hole course
Slope index: 151
Course Rating: 76.7
Total par (men’s tees): 72
Total yardage (men’s tees): 7,288
Scorecard: Link
The courses at Whistling Straits (and Blackwolf Run) were designed by Pete and Alice Dye. The Straits Course is the flagship course at Whistling Straits. It hosted the 2004 PGA Championship. The Straits Course replicates the ancient seaside links courses of the United Kingdom and Ireland.
2. Milwaukee Country Club
Address: 8000 N Range Line Rd, River Hills, Wisconsin 53217, Milwaukee County
Type of field: Parkland
Course access: Private
Length of play: 18-hole course
Slope index: 136
Course Rating: 74.7
Total par (men’s tees): 72
Total yardage (men’s tees): 7,097
Scorecard: Link
Milwaukee Country Club is one of the oldest in the State, it is the home club of renowned teaching pro Manuel de la Torre. The current Milwaukee layout was fashioned by the hand of Charles Hugh Alison in 1929. Robert Trent Jones made some minor revisions to the layout ahead of the 1969 Walker Cup matches. Host venue for the 1988 USGA Senior Amateur and played host to the 2008 Mid-Amateur Championship that made them once more under the spotlight.
3. Sand Valley Golf Resort (Sand Valley)
Address: 1697 Leopold Way, Nekoosa, Wisconsin 54457
Type of field: Links
Course access: Semi-Private
Length of play: 18-hole course
Slope index: 128
Course Rating: 72.7
Total par (men’s tees): 72
Total yardage (men’s tees): 6,913
Scorecard: Link
Situated on over 1700 acres of majestic, tumbling sand dunes, Sand Valley brings the drama and playing style of a seaside links to the heartland of America. Sand Valley was founded on the dream of bringing incredible, public golf to the prehistoric sand dunes of central Wisconsin. The resort’s Grand Opening in 2017 included the first course, Sand Valley by Coore & Crenshaw. Named as “Best new course” according to Golf Magazine.
4. Golf Courses Of Lawsonia (Links)
Address: W2615 S. Valley View Drive, Green Lake, Wisconsin (WI) 54941, USA
Type of field: Links
Course access: Public
Length of play: 18-hole course
Slope index: 130
Course Rating: 72.8
Total par (men’s tees): 72
Total yardage (men’s tees): 6,764
Scorecard: Link
Lawsonia has been one of Wisconsin’s very best golf destinations for generations. Voted “One of the Top 100 Classic Golf Courses in the US” and ranked #66 by GolfWeek. The Links at Lawsonia was designed in 1930 by William Langford and engineered by Theodore Moreau.
5. Erin Hills Golf
Address: 1541 Erin Hills La, Hartford, WI 53027, USA
Type of field: Links
Course access: Public
Length of play: 18-hole course
Slope index: 145
Course Rating: 77.9
Total par (men’s tees): 72
Total yardage (men’s tees): 7,800
Scorecard: Link
The course officially opened in 2006. It hosted the 117th U.S. Open in 2017. Erin Hills was built by Wisconsin developer Bob Lang, who used his own money to fund the course. Designers included Dr. Michael John Hurdzan and his business partner Dana Fry, and Ron Whitten. Erin Hills’ Irish-themed clover was inspired by the old bell on the course imported from Europe.
6. Sand Valley (Mammoth Dunes)
Address: 1697 Leopold Way, Nekoosa, Wisconsin 54457, Adams County
Type of field: Links
Course access: Semi-Private
Length of play: 18-hole course
Slope index: 132
Course Rating: 72.4
Total par (men’s tees): 73
Total yardage (men’s tees): 6,988
Scorecard: Link
In 2018, Mammoth Dunes by David Kidd opened as the second golf course of Sand Valley. On the same year, Mammoth Dunes was awarded as “Best New Course of 2018” by Golf Magazine and placed “No. 15 Greatest Public Course” according to Golfweek.
7. Blue Mound Golf & Country Club
Address: 10122 W North Ave, Wauwatosa, WI 53226, USA
Type of field: Parkland
Course access: Private
Length of play: 18-hole course
Slope index: 127
Course Rating: 70.7
Total par (men’s tees): 70
Total yardage (men’s tees): 6,347
Scorecard: Link
Blue Mound Golf & Country Club was designed by Seth Raynor. Blue Mound hosted the 2010 Western Junior. It was also the second course for the first two rounds of the U.S. Amateur in 2011. The course was restored by Tom Doak’s Renaissance Design under the supervision of architect Bruce Hepner.
8. Blackwolf Run (River)
Address: 1116 W Riverside Dr, Kohler, WI 53044, USA
Type of field: Parkland
Course access: Public
Length of play: 18-hole course
Slope index: 151
Course Rating: 74.9
Total par (men’s tees): 72
Total yardage (men’s tees): 6,991
Scorecard: Link
The Blackwolf Run resort is named after Black Wolf, chief of the Winnebago Indians and both the River and Meadow Valleys courses were opened in 1988 and that year Blackwolf Run was named “Best New Public Course” by Golf Digest magazine. Designed by Pete Dye, both courses at Blackwolf Run resort in Kohler, Wisconsin are top class golf courses but the River course is undoubtedly the flagship layout.
9. Whistling Straits (Irish)
Address: N8501 County LS, Sheboygan, Wisconsin 53083, Sheboygan County,
Type of field: Links
Course access: Public
Length of play: 18-hole course
Slope index: 146
Course Rating: 75.6
Total par (men’s tees): 72
Total yardage (men’s tees): 7,201
Scorecard: Link
The second course at Whistling Straits is the Irish Course, an inland grass-and-dune layout. Also designed by Pete Dye, it opened for play in 2000. The course record of 67 was shot by Mike Frechette in 2007 and then matched by Garret Buckley at the 2014 Whistling Straits Intercollegiate.
10. SentryWorld
Address: 601 N. Michigan Avenue Stevens Point, WI 54481
Type of field: Parkland
Course access: Public
Length of play: 18-hole course
Slope index: 139
Course Rating: 74.4
Total par (men’s tees): 72
Total yardage (men’s tees): 7,145
Scorecard: Link
SentryWorld offers rolling green fairways, pristine blue waters, impeccable white sands, and a one-of-a-kind course design by Robert Trent Jones, Jr. SentryWorld debuted in 1982 as Wisconsin’s first destination golf course. The course underwent a well-deserved renovation beginning in 2013. When the new and improved SentryWorld reopened in 2015, the golf world rediscovered a course that retained its personality and playability, but with an array of new features.
