Some Things Wisconsin Golf

[Gdane]

Was hoping some locals could help me w/booking info for central WI golf. I've fallen in love with some of the videos I've seen of the links course at Lawsonia this winter and want to make it part of a golf trip this summer. Their all-day rates are pretty hard to beat, but there doesn't seem to be a booking package available for some of the other courses w/in an hour or so from there.

The rates at Sentry World seem to have shot up over the past couple of years (post reno?). I was wondering if SW is offered on golfnow/teeoff and can be booked at a lower rate closer to the date, or if I'm just going to have to suck it up and pay rack rate. What about the courses closer to Madison/The Dells?

Thank you

[ode1]

Stevens Point CC might be worth a look, others can comment on it on more than I as I've only played it once, although not blown away by it, was an interesting track that I will get to again this year to give it more attention. Like I said not blown away by it but I keep thinking about wanting to play it again so it has stuck in my mind for some reason. Course was redid after the beautiful pines were taken out by the dupont chemicals and redone to an open, sand exposed which is natural to the area.

I doubt SW is on GolfNow and you are correct the rates are quite a bit higher than what they used to be. Fall rate is what the peak season used to be (at least at one point). You'll have to pony up unless you know someone! Definitely a great course!

Re: the Dells - Wild Rock is a must.....I love that course, in fact for pure fun I go Lawsonia Links and Wild Rock 1 and 1a for favorites in the state! Northern Bay is pretty cool with the replica holes and several of their own design are good too......holes 1 and 2 are throw away holes IMO but the rest of the course is good. Condition of the course is spotty in places but it did not detract from my enjoyment. They are about equidistant (driving time from LL (not sure from Point).

If you are looking for another course that won't break the bank yet is good, don't sleep on Glacier Woods in Iola. Holes 1 and 18 are kinda blah and it does not look like much when driving in, but man the rest of the holes are pretty kick ass, with back 9 (10-17) being one cool and pretty hole after another! Played it for the first time last year and my two good golfing buddies and I agree that is a sleeper and we will back multiple times a year!

If you are gonna pony up for SW I'd consider Sand Valley as well. Loved both courses and they will definitely test my 1 and 1a, when I get to play them more but given the greens fees I just won't get there enough for them to crack the top 2 spots.....but were that fun for me to think about it anyways!

[Phreddy]

If you are watching your budget Mascoutin isn't very far from Lawsonia and offers 27 holes. You won't find it to be as manicured as Sentry World, but the course is good.

 

Phred

[collje26]

I would recommend hitting up lawsonia, mascoutin, and head west and play lake arrowhead (36 hole facility and much cheaper than sand valley)

[ldchristopher]

Glen Erin. Always super dry regardless of the weather.

[Ryan3773]

Anyone have course opening updates?

Brighton Dale said they were targeting March 13th as their opening day

[TBone0576]

Thanks for the update I need to get up to Petrifying Springs and pay for my Kenosha County membership. I was hoping that Pets would be open by this coming weekend but not sure how conditions are over there.

Looks like temps in the 40s and relatively dry all week. If they aren't open I was going to call Maplecrest to see if they will be opening soon. They generally are open as early as anyone in this area. Just looking for a place to put a tee in the ground and chase the ball around.

[dearth12]

Has anyone here ever played Sand Valley as a "day guest" (not staying on property) and if so how hard was it to get a tee time?

 

 

I called in late January and was told they would open up the tee sheet to day guests in March. So I called this morning and was told that they would put me on a waiting list and that it could be as late as the first week of June before they would know if we could get on for the dates requested (July 13th and 15th). Obviously, this makes me a little worried. Sand Valley is the key component to our Wisconsin trip and if we can't play there we will probably look at other destinations as options. Not knowing until 5-6 weeks out makes me nervous, could be a difficult message to relay to my group, and if we can't get on puts us in a little bit of a time crunch to switch up where we are going.

 

 

Thank you for any insight you can provide

[OakRockHacker]

I called in June last year and booked tee times for October without any problem, but maybe they are more strict about high season bookings.

[ode1]

Yikes....crossing my fingers for you and the group.....it's a great place!

[PTM]

Just drove by Pets, not that much snow left there.

[ode1]

If in the area is it worth a play? Have the Midwest Golf Mag coupon booklet and they are in the book.

[Ryan3773]

Muskego Lakes website says it will be open!

[TBone0576]

It's a fun little course. Short but the greens are pretty tricky and if you miss on the wrong side you are gonna be in trouble. If you like to walk it is a good one with lots of up and down. Not sure they will let carts out yet, my guess is no. I called Maplecrest and they are opening tomorrow. Walking only. If Pets doesn't open this weekend I will be headed over there. First come first play. I didn't ask about rates but I can't see how they would charge more than $25 and likely less.

[PTM]

It's a very playable course. TBone highlights it. I prefer Brightondale between the County courses, but it's closer to the office so I run up there sometimes.

[ode1]

My buddy and I like to get around the state and try out new courses every year, we've had some really good experiences and some that are just ok. Morningstar, Old Hickory, Glacier Woods, Sweetgrass, Mascoutin, Lake Arrowhead, broadlands to name a few that we have played and liked.

Down in that area we are looking at Brightondale, Lake Lawn, Hawks View, Spring Valley CC, Petrifying Springs. My buddy played Spring Valley CC and liked it....I'm interested in it due to the LL/Mareau/Langford connection. We will coordinate vacation days and get around and most often do 36 in a day, walk one and ride the other typically!

[TBone0576]

Other places to consider in far SE Wisconsin just over the border would be Shepherds Crook, Thunderhawk and Bonnie Brook in Waukegan. It's been years since I have played but Johnson Park in Racine wasn't too bad the last time I was out there, but can't completely vouch for it since it has been so long.

[Dr.Frankenputz]

Any news yet on what might be open in SE WI this weekend? Around Waukesha/Milwaukee there’s not much snow left & the forecast looks promising (next week looks crappy though)

[delacruz.c5d]

A buddy and I played Sand Valley two summers ago (June 2018) during the high time. Mammoth Dunes had just opened, and we played the afternoon after the founders event. We stayed near by at a budget motel in Wisconsin Rapids.

As far as the experience: nothing but top notch. We called around May (I think?) to make the tee times, and played two rounds over two days. They were very accommodating, I ended up requesting a caddy, who they found for me even though I didn't reserve one, and they even stored our clubs in the bag room overnight. I never felt like we were treated as a second class guest even tough we weren't staying "on property".

Things may have changed in the two years. I know they their lodging at the time was a bit limited, and it's grown since. However, the feeling I get is that there are ample spots for tee times in comparison to the lodging on property. I would just check to see if there are any major events scheduled during your trip.

[dearth12]

Thank you for the advice. I had complete forgotten about the possibility of a large event and in fact there is the Sunday-Tuesday of the week we are in town. We had hoped to play Monday and Wednesday at Sand Valley, but I am going to call and see if going to Wednesday and Thursday would give us a better chance of getting on.

 

 

Again thank you!!

[chinaski]

Lincoln is opening Sunday. I'd expect Edgewood and Grant to be open as well. It will be pretty soggy, but I'm hoping to get out somewhere Sunday afternoon.

[rtraudt]

Out of those mentioned, and assuming you’re not one of those folks whose only take on a golf course is it’s conditioning, Spring Valley is far and away the best course. Some longer challenging holes, some shorter and quirky, and as is true of the best cheap public courses, they clearly spend most of their money on the greens (which roll true, but maybe a little slow). The par three holes are especially tremendous!

[geochitown]

I gotta make it up to Spring Valley sometime.

That and Bonnie Brook.

[TheBear95]

Spring Valley is my favorite course. I love the place.

[TBone0576]

8:30 tee time at Spring Valley with my usual group of guys. We generally play Brighton Dale but they are not open yet. I have only played over at SV one in recent years and don't remember a whole lot about it other than it has a lot of elevation changes. I generally walk but will be carting it tomorrow for the 1st time out. Sunday I think the plan is to get to Maplecrest which opens for play at 9am for first come first play. no carts only walking. Love opening weekend for golf and this will be better weather than many in the past.

[jwhite86]

Here is a list I found of courses that are opening this weekend:

Muskego Lakes

Lincoln Park

Browns Lake

Big Oaks

Spring Valley

[ode1]

SVCC definitely on the list. Looking fwd to it! Condition important but it's not everything...I'd much rather have an interesting design that suits my eye and decent or better condition vs. a dud in pristine condition!

[TBone0576]

Hit Spring Valley on Saturday. I didn't realize the architects were the same guys that did Lawsonia. Anyway the course was pretty wet and they let us take carts which may have been questionable judgement. They charged $30 for 18 holes which seemed pretty steep to me but was just happy to get out. Greens were frozen solid the front nine. Hole number 4 was closed all together and there were a lot of spots that you could easily get stuck in the mud even if you were paying attention. As you would expect there were a lot of branches down. Greens were in ok shape and I was thankful they were not up to summer conditions as I could see a number of them being quite difficult.

Played Bonnie Brook in Waukegan yesterday and it was in very good condition for this early in the season. Again, other than some branches being down they had the tee boxes and greens painted a little bit green which was a nice touch. The temps were a bit warmer so the greens held extremely well and other than being a little bit shaggy putted very smoothly and true. $20 for 18 and allowing walkers only. It was a nice walk with some hills out there but nothing too crazy. I was still happy to be done and I paid for it the rest of the day. I very seriously considered joining here in 2020 but in the end I will go back to the Kenosha County courses which gives me access to three 18 hole tracks and an additional nine. I'll be back to Bonnie Brook this summer though as I really enjoyed it and again will have some challenging greens come summer.

[collje26]

I was thinking about making the trip down to Spring Valley this weekend to get some swings in before my arizona trip (March 25-30) but also will be down in the milwaukee area on April 2/3. If you were in my shoes would you wait or give it a go?

[TBone0576]

I'd probably wait personally. Like I said for $30 it really wasn't worth it. Rained down here all day yesterday and this weekend high temps aren't even going to hit 40 degrees from what I see. If you can find a covered driving range or even hit some balls on a simulator that might be more fun this coming weekend. With any luck the following couple weekends might look a bit better. I think there were a few other guys that played Spring Valley last weekend so they may have a different opinion.