Whistling Straits and Sand Valley top the list for courses in Wisconsin, which ranks among the best states in the country for public golf.
Despite a short golf season amid its northern climate, Wisconsin offers one of the best lineups of golf courses in the U.S. Players who haven’t sampled the game in Wisconsin might be surprised to learn the state ranks amid the top five of all states for its elite public-access courses.
Golfweek’s Best offers many lists of course rankings, with that of top public-access courses in each state among the most popular. All the courses on this list allow public access in some fashion, be it standard daily green fees, through a resort or by staying at an affiliated hotel. If there’s a will, there’s a tee time.
(m): Modern course, built in or after 1960 (c): Classic course, built before 1960
Note: If there is a number in the parenthesis with the m or c, that indicates where that course ranks among Golfweek’s Best top 200 modern or classic courses.
The hundreds of members of our course-ratings panel continually evaluate courses and rate them based on 10 criteria on a points basis of 1 through 10. They also file a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings are averaged to produce these rankings. The top handful of courses in the world have an average rating of above 9, while many excellent layouts fall into the high-6 to the 8 range.
All the courses on this list allow public access in some fashion, be it standard daily green fees, through a resort or by staying at an affiliated hotel. If there’s a will, there’s a tee time.
Each course is listed with its average rating next to the name, the location, the year it opened and the designers. Also included with many courses are links to recent stories about that layout.
KEY: (m) modern, built in 1960 or after; (c) classic, built before 1960. Also included with many courses are links to recent stories about that layout.
Wisconsin offers some of the best public-access golf in the U.S., with elite courses that match up well with more well-known destinations.
Wisconsin has cheese, beer, snow and the Packers – everyone knows those. Perhaps surprising to those who don’t follow the sport closely, it also has more than a handful of the greatest golf courses in the United States.
Most people think of year-round sunny spots for good golf. Florida. California. Arizona. But by one significant metric for judging elite public-access golf, as compiled by Golfweek’s Best national panel of raters, the Badger State tops all those solar-drenched hot spots.
Golfweek ranks courses by compiling the average ratings – on a points basis of 1 to 10 – of its more than 750 raters to create several industry-leading lists of courses, including the popular Best Courses You Can Play list for courses that allow non-member tee times. These generally are defined as courses accessible to resort guests or regular daily-fee players.
By averaging the scores of the top five public-access courses in each state, Golfweek has compiled a list of the top states for ultra-elite golf. Wisconsin ranks second in the U.S., behind what might be another surprise for some: Oregon. But while Oregon tops the list based mostly on the strength of Bandon Dunes Golf Resort’s four ranked courses, Wisconsin offers a much broader swath of great golf.
Wisconsin’s courses average a whopping 7.56 on the 2020 Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play list, behind Oregon’s 8.00. That puts Wisconsin ahead of California (7.55), Florida (7.34) and North Carolina (7.17). The median score among the 50 states is 6.28. For those with regional rivalries, Michigan is ranked No. 7 on the list with a 6.94 average for its top five courses, Minnesota is No. 16 at 6.47 and Illinois is No. 28 at 6.21. Take that, Bears fans.
Not surprising to golf aficionados is that Whistling Straits tops the state’s list of best public-access courses. The Straits course in Mosel, along the bluffs above Lake Michigan, has hosted three PGA Championships and will be the site of the 2021 Ryder Cup, the typically biennial matches between the top men tour pros from the U.S. and Europe that was pushed back from 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Pete Dye-designed supergiant founded by Herb Kohler has become the face of Wisconsin golf on television since it opened in 1997.
Mammoth Dunes at Sand Valley in Wisconsin (Courtesy of Sand Valley/Evan Schiller)
But the Straits is hardly alone in excellence. In the past 15 years three other stalwarts have gained a large chunk of the national spotlight. Sand Valley, No. 2 in the state on Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play, opened to great acclaim in 2016 with a Ben Crenshaw/Bill Coore routing that focused on classical design among massive sand dunes. Sand Valley’s Mammoth Dunes by David McLay Kidd followed in 2018 and has moved to No. 3 in the state. Lawsonia Links, at No. 4 the only top-ranked public-access course in the state built before 1960, still draws a crowd, and No. 5 Erin Hills opened in 2006 and hosted the 2017 U.S. Open.
It’s been quite the public-golf boom for a state with a relatively short golf season.
Badger state, be proud.
Erin Hills in Wisconsin (Courtesy of Erin Hills/Paul Hundley and Travis Waibel)
Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play 2020 in Wisconsin
1. Whistling Straits (Straits)
Mosel, (No. 7 on Golfweek’s Best Modern Courses in the U.S.)
2. Sand Valley (Mammoth Dunes)
Nekoosa (No. 30 Modern)
3. Sand Valley (Sand Valley)
Nekoosa (No. 32 Modern)
4. Lawsonia (Links)
Green Lake (No. 66 Classic)
5. Erin Hills
Hartford (No. 80 Modern)
6. Blackwolf Run (River)
Kohler (No. 93 Modern)
7. Whistling Straits (Irish)
Mosel (No. 167 Modern)
8. Sentry World
Stevens Point (m)
9. Troy Burne
Hudson (m)
10. Blackwolf Run (Meadow Valleys)
Kohler (m)
11. University Ridge
Madison (m)
12. Wild Rock
Wisconsin Dells (m)
13. Geneva National (Gary Player)
Lake Geneva (m)
14. Big Fish
Hayward (m)
15.* The Bog
Saukville (m)
* New or returning to the list; c: Classic, built before 1960. m: Modern, built in 1960 or after
Golfweek’s Best Private Courses 2020 in Wisconsin
1. Milwaukee CC
Milwaukee (No. 45 Classic)
2. Blue Mound
Wauwatosa (c)
3. Oneida
Green Bay (c)
4. *Minocqua CC
Minocqua (m)
5. West Bend CC
West Bend (c)
* New or returning to the list; c: Classic, built before 1960. m: Modern, built in 1960 or after
The members of our course-ratings panel continually evaluate courses and rate them based on our 10 criteria. They also file a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings on each course are averaged together to produce a final rating for each course. Then each course is ranked against other courses in its state, or nationally, to produce the final rankings.
The $1 special at the Golf Courses at Lawsonia in Wisconsin, applies only on Tuesdays and encourages golfers to get out of the house.
As new stay-at-home lifestyles stretch on, a Wisconsin golf course is recognizing that its facility can be a haven for golfers needing a little fresh air while also recognizing that tight finances may prevent some golfers from being able to pony up a normal green free. In light of that, the Golf Courses of Lawsonia in Green Lake, Wisconsin, created a new promotion.
The Tuesday “Get Outdoors” Special will allow players for each of the next two Tuesdays (through May 26) to show up at the course and play golf for as little as $1 or as much as they’d care to hand over. The deal applies only to walkers. A golf cart will still cost $20 per person.
According to a story on wisconsingolf.com, the idea came from a discussion between Lawsonia staff members and the course’s management company. It’s not so much about making money – and head pro Josh Carroll acknowledged that the promotion wouldn’t exactly be a financial boon for the course – as it is about providing an affordable golf opportunity.
An announcement detailing the promotion laid out the real point.
“Through no fault of your own, you may be stuck at home,” it read (frowning emoji included). “With so many of us out of work right now, Lawsonia would like to do what we can to help with the expense of going out and playing a round.
“Don’t deny yourself golf and a great walk on the course – pay what you can and enjoy golf on Tuesdays through May 26th.”
Lawsonia’s facility includes two 18-hole tracks, the Links and the Woodlands. The Links is listed at No. 4 on the list of Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play in Wisconsin.
Lawsonia’s normal weekday rate for 18 holes and a cart this time of year is $60 (it costs $45 to walk). After such a welcome reception from players, Carroll, the head pro, told wisconsingolf.com “it’s something we would look at expanding.”
