golf guide
Wisconsin full of quality, affordable courses By JERRY SLASKE While this column usually concentrates on Southeastern Wisconsin, where there are plenty of golf courses for all budgets and skill levels, this one ventures out to several high-caliber, yet affordable courses outside the Milwaukee region. If you’re coming into Wisconsin by land, lake or air to stay for a while and play golf, you’ve got to try SentryWorld (715-345-1600) in Stevens Point (about three hours northwest of Milwaukee). The National Golf Course Owners Association’s Wisconsin Golf Course of the Year in 2008, SentryWorld would be one of my favorites every year.
From May 11-June 7, SentryWorld offers great specials: Mon.-Thurs. $46 walking, $64 w/cart; Lodging and golf packages are available. Packages include 36 holes of golf at SentryWorld, with reciprocal agreement to play Stevens Point Country Club, one of the finest private courses in the state. Another gem for golfers who also like to enjoy Wisconsin’s beauty when not on the course is Lawsonia (1-800-529-4453). Located just 70 miles northwest of Milwaukee, Lawsonia is a tourist destination known for the impeccable condition of its two golf courses; its beauty, situated on a plateau above Green Lake, one of Wisconsin’s largest lakes; and its affordable play with private club service. Golf Digest ranked Lawsonia in the top 100 affordable golf facilities in the country and the National Golf Course Owners Association named it the 2009 Wisconsin Golf Course of the Year. The courses are complete opposites. The Links, modeled after holes on popular Scottish golf courses, has multi-tiered greens, 90 bunkers and berms, and few trees, making the wind always a factor. The Woodlands plays through thick stands of trees and along Green Lake’s shores, with elevation changes along the way. Specials include Tues. & Wed. $55 w/GPS cart and stay & play packages Sun. through Thurs. starting at $300 and including one night lodging for two people, $40 dinner credit, two rounds of golf each day with GPS cart. Senior rates are available for those 55 or older. The Lake Geneva area (45 miles southwest of Milwaukee) offers a variety of top-notch golf courses, including Grand Geneva Resort (1-800-558-3417) with its two excellent courses: The Highlands, originally designed by Pete Dye/Jack Nicklaus, and The Brute, just what the name implies. My favorite course in this tourist mecca is Geneva National (262-245-7000), featuring 54 holes of golf designed by Palmer, Player, and Trevino. Take your pick. All courses are meticulously maintained with bent grass tees, fairways and greens. Situated on the shores of Lake Como amidst some of the most beautiful rolling, wooded land you’ll ever see, the courses are as good as golf gets. And the spring season rates are some of the most reasonable in the area: Weekdays (Mon.-Thurs.) $75; Early Bird (before 8 a.m.) $65; Afternoon (after 2 p.m.) $60; Twilight (after 3:30 p.m.) $40; Weekend (Fri.-Sun.) $90; Early Bird (before 8 a.m.) $80; Afternoon (Fri. & Sat. after 2 p.m.) $70; Twilight (after 3:30 p.m.) $40; Sunday afternoon special (2 p.m. to twilight) $60. Stay & play packages (262-245-3020) are available at several of Lake Geneva area’s best resorts. A 45-minute drive north of Milwaukee in Sheboygan Falls, just south of Kohler, is Wisconsin’s only Jack Nicklaus Signature Course, The Bull at Pinehurst Farms (1-800-5-THE BULL). This challenging and beautiful layout, which is consistently ranked among the best in the state, continues to offer special spring rates through May: Mon.-Thurs. $59, includes cart with GPS & range; Mon.-Sun. after 2 p.m. $50, includes cart with GPS & range. Visit www.golfthebull.com/key to sign up for a chance to win a free golf getaway for four, with lodging included. Be sure to check our archived columns to see our reviews of the top courses in Southeastern Wisconsin. And don’t forget that all Milwaukee County courses are now open, including Brown Deer Golf Course, site of the U.S. Bank PGA Championship in July. Golf Article Archives: |
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