October Wisconsin Golf Trip

[Shipwreck]

Just to preface things, I have already played Irish and Straights and The Bull. Absolutely loved the Bull (I’m from Arizona so that style of course is unbelievable to me), Straights was great and Irish was meh IMO. 

 

So myself and 3 buddies are going out to Wisconsin in late October. I know, not ideal weather but for price and availability it’s the best time for all of us. We are going to play Straights (they all want to play it) and I have tee times set for us at both of the Blackwolf Run courses. Im okay with cancelling one of the BWR courses for another course within an hour of Sheboygan, but have no idea what would be good for us and we’d appreciate any input from you locals. 

Edited June 29, 2022 by Shipwreck

[ode]

 

Washington Co. is worth the play, probably just over an hour from Sheboygan!

 

Brown Deer Park in Milwaukee is fun and a challenge.

 

Morningstar in Waukesha. I really like this track.  More like 1.5 hours.

 

Lawsonia Links. My personal favorite course.  More like 1.5 hours.

 

I dunno, but it you loved The Bull, I'd just play it again as IMO it never gets old, but if looking for something new and you guys are cool with venturing out, then take a peak👆.  Love October/fall golf in Wisco.

 

Honorable mention to Whispering Springs in Fond du Lac.  Doesn't get much .mention here but it's pretty close and a fun play and typically in really good condition.

 

Edited June 29, 2022 by ode

[Phreddy]

Shipwreck,

 

I will wave to you on the highway as I am headed back to AZ.

 

I think Ode pretty well nailed it, but if you liked the Straits I would highly recommend Erin Hills.

 

The Bull and BWR are more parkland style courses where as The Straits and Erin Hills lean toward links.  Lawsonia offers one of each.  You may want to think about what style you wish to play as a change up from desert golf.

[games]

@Shipwreck Another course in that 90 minute drive timeframe is The Club at Lac La Belle in Oconomowoc.

 

I think @ode and @Phreddy hit the main ones, though.  I personally like Washington County.

 

[Chanceman]

59 minutes ago, Phreddy said:

Shipwreck,

 

I will wave to you on the highway as I am headed back to AZ.

 

I think Ode pretty well nailed it, but if you liked the Straits I would highly recommend Erin Hills.

 

The Bull and BWR are more parkland style courses where as The Straits and Erin Hills lean toward links.  Lawsonia offers one of each.  You may want to think about what style you wish to play as a change up from desert golf.

Phred, how good really is the University course at Madison relative to LL, EH and the others? Some guy from Wisconsin raved about it to me and said it was a huge hidden gem. What do you think? Ch

[Ryan19jwu]

Erin. Erin. Erin. 
 

I might be a big Erin guy. The whole vibe there is awesome. Food, hotel, golf. 

[FuzzyKnuckles]

Curious y’all’s thoughts. Meadow valley or the Bull?

[klebs01]

On 7/8/2022 at 10:21 PM, FuzzyKnuckles said:

Curious y’all’s thoughts. Meadow valley or the Bull?

meadow valley every day, but try not to pay full price. Bull is ok at $70 for a quick round. The MV back 9 which is part of the original black wolf tournament course has some of the best holes on the property. 

[ode]

On 7/8/2022 at 10:21 PM, FuzzyKnuckles said:

Curious y’all’s thoughts. Meadow valley or the Bull?

MV is the stepchild of WS and BWR, but I agree with klebs01, the back 9 is really good and #14 IMO is the best hole on BWR. It would be a tough call and both will be a good value that time of year.  If you are planning on coming back then do the other on the next trip....The Bull is legit and a fun play and IMO you owe it to yourself to try it at least once....once you get past the house (😉) on #4 it's scenic, beautiful, and quite the roller coaster.  You need to be on your game into the greens or its gonna be a long day!

Edited July 11, 2022 by ode

[jwhite86]

On 7/10/2022 at 10:40 AM, klebs01 said:

meadow valley every day, but try not to pay full price. Bull is ok at $70 for a quick round. The MV back 9 which is part of the original black wolf tournament course has some of the best holes on the property. 

The back nine at MV is probably my favorite 9 hole stretch I've played

[Shipwreck]

18 hours ago, ode said:

MV is the stepchild of WS and BWR, but I agree with klebs01, the back 9 is really good and #14 IMO is the best hole on BWR. It would be a tough call and both will be a good value that time of year.  If you are planning on coming back then do the other on the next trip....The Bull is legit and a fun play and IMO you owe it to yourself to try it at least once....once you get past the house (😉) on #4 it's scenic, beautiful, and quite the roller coaster.  You need to be on your game into the greens or its gonna be a long day!

OMG that house!!! When I played it last year, I was the first one out and it was just me. I must gawked at that house for what seemed like an eternity. absolutely beautiful

[Ubi Par]

Very excited about my upcoming trip - Erin Hills, Blackwolf River, Sand Valley, Mammoth, The Bull with a revenge date with Cog Hill.

[ode]

2 hours ago, Shipwreck said:

OMG that house!!! When I played it last year, I was the first one out and it was just me. I must gawked at that house for what seemed like an eternity. absolutely beautiful

Inside joke for one of our other members 😉😊😜

Edited July 11, 2022 by ode

[FuzzyKnuckles]

Thank you all! Can’t wait to head north

[Shipwreck]

I know the weather is “generally” around the mid-high 40s to mid 50s late October, but are there any surprises we should keep an eye out for? 

[Phreddy]

2 hours ago, Shipwreck said:

I know the weather is “generally” around the mid-high 40s to mid 50s late October, but are there any surprises we should keep an eye out for? 

No worries about snow.  That is a mid-November/December threat.  Frost delay is possible, but not likely.  The biggest worry in October is that we are losing daylight.  Afternoon tee times need to be early afternoon.

[eagle2838]

4 hours ago, Shipwreck said:

I know the weather is “generally” around the mid-high 40s to mid 50s late October, but are there any surprises we should keep an eye out for? 

Rain gear will be your friend. I sincerely hope you don't have to use it for rain, but you might. Either way, it's a great way to stay warm and keep the wind off you. If you catch a nice day, rain pants over shorts are a classic shoulder season midwest combo while you're waiting for it to warm up

[Shipwreck]

2 hours ago, Phreddy said:

No worries about snow.  That is a mid-November/December threat.  Frost delay is possible, but not likely.  The biggest worry in October is that we are losing daylight.  Afternoon tee times need to be early afternoon.

Thank you! For our upcoming trip, I booked the first twilight round available for Blackwolf Run at 1:20pm. I assume that should be enough for 4 pretty decent golfers to finish before we lose daylight? 

[Phreddy]

You should be fine.  Sunset On October 1st is 6:30 and you lose 2 minutes/day.  I would think you would be 4 hours at the most giving you plenty of wiggle room.

[Chigolfer2]

On 8/8/2022 at 9:16 PM, Shipwreck said:

Thank you! For our upcoming trip, I booked the first twilight round available for Blackwolf Run at 1:20pm. I assume that should be enough for 4 pretty decent golfers to finish before we lose daylight? 

 

Last October was great for golf.  We did Erin Hills and Lake Geneva a few years ago and it was unseasonably cold.  If you play parkland courses think about yellow balls

[Phreddy]

On 6/29/2022 at 12:10 PM, Chanceman said:

Phred, how good really is the University course at Madison relative to LL, EH and the others? Some guy from Wisconsin raved about it to me and said it was a huge hidden gem. What do you think? Ch

Sorry to be late.  I missed this earlier, but it is a very good question.  I think the front 9 at U Ridge (links style) is superb.  The back 9 (woodlands style) has a couple quirky holes that feel like target golf.  I play it twice a year and someone with more experience might say I don't fully appreciate the risk/reward opportunities.  

 

The Wisconsin A list would be what you would suspect:  EH (personal favorite), the Kohler courses and Sand Valley

A-/B+ Troy Brune, Lawsonia, Lac La Belle, SentryWorld

Solid B Wild Rock, U Ridge, Washington County, Brown Deer, and The Bull.  Many of the B's fall there not so much by design as just simply the amount of rounds played and the level of conditioning.

 

I haven't played the Lake Geneva courses in a couple years and don't feel informed enough to say.  I understand that Abbey Springs in Lake Geneva recently completed a $2.5 million facelift and is a season away from maturing into a hidden gem.

[bcc624]

I’m headed to Sand Valley with a 8 person group in early October and have a couple questions.

1. How long will an 8 person round at the sandbox take? Website says pace of play is around 2 hours, but wasn’t sure if that applies to an 8-some. On our first day we have a 10:42am sand box tee time and then 1:15 tee time at mammoth dunes. Not sure if this is too tight. 
2. Anyone know if the resort offers any type of soft cooler or something for the sandbox? Some of my group will want to booze a little on the sandbox, but needed to figure out if we should bring our own soft cooler to carry beers.

3. We are figuring out what tees to play. We have a wide range of handicaps, probably skewed towards higher handicaps. Do the courses play shorter than their yardage? We are mostly accustomed to softer course conditions in the northeast.

 

thanks.

Edited August 23, 2022 by bcc624

[takito24]

On 8/22/2022 at 8:36 PM, bcc624 said:

I’m headed to Sand Valley with a 8 person group in early October and have a couple questions.

1. How long will an 8 person round at the sandbox take? Website says pace of play is around 2 hours, but wasn’t sure if that applies to an 8-some. On our first day we have a 10:42am sand box tee time and then 1:15 tee time at mammoth dunes. Not sure if this is too tight. 
2. Anyone know if the resort offers any type of soft cooler or something for the sandbox? Some of my group will want to booze a little on the sandbox, but needed to figure out if we should bring our own soft cooler to carry beers.

3. We are figuring out what tees to play. We have a wide range of handicaps, probably skewed towards higher handicaps. Do the courses play shorter than their yardage? We are mostly accustomed to softer course conditions in the northeast.

 

thanks.

Should be able to get around with 8 guys in 2 hours. Par 3 usually isn't that busy that time of day, busier during the evening. As for booze, they basically wiped all beer and alcohol off of the golf courses and they won't let you out there with a cooler. And finally as for tees if your looking at higher handicaps, even tho it does play firm, you'll probably be looking at the sand tees or orange tees, or possibly a combo of the two.  The courses are built on pure sand 100s of feet deep so they play like links courses. 

[bcc624]

 

1 hour ago, takito24 said:

Should be able to get around with 8 guys in 2 hours. Par 3 usually isn't that busy that time of day, busier during the evening. As for booze, they basically wiped all beer and alcohol off of the golf courses and they won't let you out there with a cooler. And finally as for tees if your looking at higher handicaps, even tho it does play firm, you'll probably be looking at the sand tees or orange tees, or possibly a combo of the two.  The courses are built on pure sand 100s of feet deep so they play like links courses. 

All alcohol off the golf course? What? 

Edited September 13, 2022 by bcc624

[takito24]

20 hours ago, bcc624 said:

 

All alcohol off the golf course? What? 

Basically. Had a few incidents and want it to be more about the golf and less about the drinking. More family friendly vs the road it was going down. There is 1 stop at mammoth where you can get 1 beer or 1 mixer, and at SV you can get a beer or drink before you tee off and 1 at the turn and that is it. The drinks are too cheap guys were really letting it loose out there lol. But yeah kinda crazy to think

[bcc624]

2 hours ago, takito24 said:

Basically. Had a few incidents and want it to be more about the golf and less about the drinking. More family friendly vs the road it was going down. There is 1 stop at mammoth where you can get 1 beer or 1 mixer, and at SV you can get a beer or drink before you tee off and 1 at the turn and that is it. The drinks are too cheap guys were really letting it loose out there lol. But yeah kinda crazy to think

Sounds like some idiots ruined it for the rest of us. 

[ode]

8 minutes ago, bcc624 said:

Sounds like some idiots ruined it for the rest of us. 

Lol, where there is a will there is a way!  

[bcc624]

6 minutes ago, ode said:

Lol, where there is a will there is a way!  

I have a couple of non golf hardos in our group that were sold on the laid vibe of SV when we planned our trip a year ago.   They probably will find a way to have more than 2 beers in 5 hours. 

[Phreddy]

11 hours ago, bcc624 said:

I have a couple of non golf hardos in our group that were sold on the laid vibe of SV when we planned our trip a year ago.   They probably will find a way to have more than 2 beers in 5 hours. 

If you visit one of Mike Keiser's properties (Bandon, Sand Valley, Cabot) it is about the golf.  The food is good and the beer is cold, but first it is about the golf.  That is what he had in mind when he built them and that is the way he operates them.  Whether that is good or bad is up to you to decide, but every place has its vibe and that is theirs.

[jwhite86]

I really enjoyed the pace of play not being ruined by a constant bev cart or people waiting at a bar for drinks on the course... but I'm not a big proponent of drinking on the course