Minneapolis to Wisconsin to Chicago 2022 Trip Plan Advice

[Divot_Forensicist]

Next summer we are going to take another golf road trip through Wisconsin into Chicago.

 

A little context: We have played Sand Valley, Erin Hills, and Lac La Belle (and are not ruling out playing them again as part of this trip). We were going to play Lawsonia on our last trip but got rained out. So that is definitely on the list for this trip. We do not want to play the Kohler courses this trip; we plan on doing that at a later date.

 

With that in mind, in addition to those already listed, here are some courses atop our Wisconsin list:

 

Troy Burne

Lake Arrowhead (both courses)

Lawsonia (going to play both courses)

Washington County

The Bog

Wild Rock

University Ridge

The Legend at Bergamont

 

Are there any others we should consider in either the Milwaukee and/or Madison regions?

 

We are thinking of renting a VRBO to use as a home base for playing a bunch of these courses. Any recommendations on centrally located areas with good amenities (grocery stores, etc.) for playing these courses?

 

Are there any courses in southern Wisconsin or northern Illinois we should play on the drive down or up on the return trip?

 

For the Chicago leg of the trip, here are the courses we are considering (NB: Being originally from Chicagoland I have played a lot of courses in the region and so I am looking to play some that I haven't; so I know there are some really great courses not on this list):

 

Ravisloe

Harborside

Stonewall Orchard

Thunderhawk

Highlands of Elgin

The Preserve at Oak Meadows

Mistwood

 

How would you rank these options?

 

Thank you in advance for your advice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Phreddy]

From a Wisconsin perspective The Bog is good, The Bull is better.  Brown Deer in Milwaukee is very good.  If you stay north after Troy Burne (love that course) Turtle Back in Rice Lake is good.  Between Milwaukee and Chicago is Strawberry Creek.

[Divot_Forensicist]

29 minutes ago, Phreddy said:

From a Wisconsin perspective The Bog is good, The Bull is better.  Brown Deer in Milwaukee is very good.  If you stay north after Troy Burne (love that course) Turtle Back in Rice Lake is good.  Between Milwaukee and Chicago is Strawberry Creek.

Is Strawberry Creek public?

[ode1]

3 minutes ago, Divot_Forensicist said:

Is Strawberry Creek public?

No

[Phreddy]

Strawberry Creek is not public, but I have gotten on via a reciprocal and I have had others tell me they have gotten on with a phone call or polite email.  I wouldn't expect to get on in prime hours.

[tomuch23]

University Ridge

Lawsonia 

Washington County 

[goaliedad30]

Troy Burne is a FUN track! Any reason Whistling Straits (Straits or Irish) are not on the list? Both worth the time and money!

[MN Power Fade]

I remember your last post! Did you play Keller?

 

If you start by staying in Stillwater or Hudson, you could play some great courses to kick off the trip. These are all within about a 20 mile radius:

StoneRidge

Royal

Troy Burne

Prestwick

White Eagle 

 

These are all pretty modern courses, but Royal has some interesting history. 

[Divot_Forensicist]

On 10/3/2021 at 9:02 PM, goaliedad30 said:

Troy Burne is a FUN track! Any reason Whistling Straits (Straits or Irish) are not on the list? Both worth the time and money!

We were actually going to do the entire set of Kohler courses this year, but for a couple of reasons we decided to do that in 2023 instead (namely, we want to avoid the post-Ryder Cup frenzy and it is outside the budget of one of our group). But in 2023 we will definitely be playing the whole lot at Straits! We also hope we can get on the Lido, which should be open then, as part of that trip.

[Divot_Forensicist]

12 hours ago, MN Power Fade said:

I remember your last post! Did you play Keller?

 

If you start by staying in Stillwater or Hudson, you could play some great courses to kick off the trip. These are all within about a 20 mile radius:

StoneRidge

Royal

Troy Burne

Prestwick

White Eagle 

 

These are all pretty modern courses, but Royal has some interesting history. 

Great memory!

 

Actually we didn't play Keller that trip. We played Rush Creek and StoneRidge (both were very enjoyable, by the way). This time we will play Keller and then Troy Burne before journeying on to Wisconsin and eventually to Chicago. Thanks for the other recommendations! We will add these to our "to play" list for the many jaunts we will be making to Minneapolis-St. Paul area.

[MountainKing]

Ravisloe - Good old school track, generally in good shape, but it may be farther south than you want to drive, majority of the course if=s 400 yard straight away par 4's.  This course is all about the green complexes.

 

Harborside - hard pass, the course has been a mess condition wise and is charging a premium on greens feels

 

Stonewall Orchard - great layout, generally in great condition, probably would put this #2 behind Thunderhawk.

 

Thunderhawk - One of the most scenic courses you can play in the Chicago area, it's a fun and challenging course that's generally in great shape, easy to get to from the highway  Of all the courses on your list, this would be the must play.

.

Highlands of Elgin - Very fun "links" type course, a lot of great risk/reward type holes, good value and normally in good shape.  Depending where you're coming down from it may be a bit out of the way, I would probably do Stonewall or Thunderhawk over this

 

The Preserve at Oak Meadows - I live near this and play this course a lot.  It's another scenic course with some great scoring opportunities, but it gets a lot of play.  Conditions are generally okay, green fees are high for what the course is, greens tend to run on the slower side due to the amount of play the course gets.  For not much more $$$ you can get yourself on better courses.

 

Mistwood - Haven't played yet, will be playing it next week

 

I'd also add:  

Sheppard's Crook (one of the best values in IL IMO)

Cantigny - 3 9 hole courses that are all fantastic, if you play 36 the replay rate really adds to the value.

Blackstone - always in great shape, one of the best in the state IMO but depending where you're coming down from it could be out of the way.  

Dubsdread (cog #4)- Was home of a PGA event for many years, you'll get a lot of polarizing opinions on this one but I still think it's a great piece of land with a lot of great holes.  The redesign kind of killed some of the charm, but there's still enough there to make it a must play IMO.  Twilight rate can be a good value, but make sure you have 5 hours before sunset, if it's packed the pace is slow due to how hard this place is.

The Glen Club - I haven't played it, but I've heard it's pretty special, pretty pricey tho

 

Another off the wall suggestion would be to make it out to Downers Grove and play the 9 hole course there.  It's a cool 9 hole course with incredible history being the site of the original Chicago golf club and possibly the home of the first 18 hole course in America.  It's only 9 holes now, but 5 holes still remain from the original layout.  

 

[Divot_Forensicist]

22 hours ago, MountainKing said:

Ravisloe - Good old school track, generally in good shape, but it may be farther south than you want to drive, majority of the course if=s 400 yard straight away par 4's.  This course is all about the green complexes.

 

Harborside - hard pass, the course has been a mess condition wise and is charging a premium on greens feels

 

Stonewall Orchard - great layout, generally in great condition, probably would put this #2 behind Thunderhawk.

 

Thunderhawk - One of the most scenic courses you can play in the Chicago area, it's a fun and challenging course that's generally in great shape, easy to get to from the highway  Of all the courses on your list, this would be the must play.

.

Highlands of Elgin - Very fun "links" type course, a lot of great risk/reward type holes, good value and normally in good shape.  Depending where you're coming down from it may be a bit out of the way, I would probably do Stonewall or Thunderhawk over this

 

The Preserve at Oak Meadows - I live near this and play this course a lot.  It's another scenic course with some great scoring opportunities, but it gets a lot of play.  Conditions are generally okay, green fees are high for what the course is, greens tend to run on the slower side due to the amount of play the course gets.  For not much more $$$ you can get yourself on better courses.

 

Mistwood - Haven't played yet, will be playing it next week

 

I'd also add:  

Sheppard's Crook (one of the best values in IL IMO)

Cantigny - 3 9 hole courses that are all fantastic, if you play 36 the replay rate really adds to the value.

Blackstone - always in great shape, one of the best in the state IMO but depending where you're coming down from it could be out of the way.  

Dubsdread (cog #4)- Was home of a PGA event for many years, you'll get a lot of polarizing opinions on this one but I still think it's a great piece of land with a lot of great holes.  The redesign kind of killed some of the charm, but there's still enough there to make it a must play IMO.  Twilight rate can be a good value, but make sure you have 5 hours before sunset, if it's packed the pace is slow due to how hard this place is.

The Glen Club - I haven't played it, but I've heard it's pretty special, pretty pricey tho

 

Another off the wall suggestion would be to make it out to Downers Grove and play the 9 hole course there.  It's a cool 9 hole course with incredible history being the site of the original Chicago golf club and possibly the home of the first 18 hole course in America.  It's only 9 holes now, but 5 holes still remain from the original layout.  

 

Thank you for your detailed reply.

 

I understand your cautious advice about Ravisloe, but I am actually from the southside area. In fact, I was a caddie at another nearby club for many years and on a few occasions I caddied at Ravisloe for one of our members who was competing in a tournament there. Thus, I think it will be fun to play a track that was, in my youth, off limits to me to play but which I made a few loops around.

 

I have played Cantigny and Dubs (I was also there in '97 when Tiger won the Western), so want to hit some never-played courses.

 

Thunderhawk, Stonewall, Ravisloe are definite plays this trip, I think. I really like your Downers Grove recommendation, too!

 

I am not certain how many days I will be in town--just so much good golf to be played there. Thanks, again, for the solid suggestions and up-to-date conditioning reports (e.g. on Harborside).

 

 

 

[MountainKing]

Ravisloe is a solid track if you have an appreciation for old school design and Donald Ross greens.  It's almost always in great condition as well.  I always lay the caution because it took me a few rounds out there to really see it for the gem that it is.  Most of the par 4's are 390- 405 and straight so they'll feel very similar tee to green, but man those greens are incredibly fun to test your game on.  The par 3's are pretty solid as well.

 

What course did you caddie at?

 

[Divot_Forensicist]

4 hours ago, MountainKing said:

 

 

What course did you caddie at?

 

Flossmoor Country Club

[ldchristopher]

Was bracing for you to say Calumet CC. It’s public now but has been sold to a developer. Also a Donald Ross design and still open for another season or two, though it doesn’t have the maintenance budget that Ravisloe has. Might want to get there before it becomes an Amazon warehouse. 

[Divot_Forensicist]

8 hours ago, ldchristopher said:

Was bracing for you to say Calumet CC. It’s public now but has been sold to a developer. Also a Donald Ross design and still open for another season or two, though it doesn’t have the maintenance budget that Ravisloe has. Might want to get there before it becomes an Amazon warehouse. 

That’s is a good suggestion, too. Is it also the case that one can get on Midlothian as a non-member now? It would be fun to play courses in the country club circuit down there and thus were previously inaccessible. Nostalgic golf trip on classic golf courses.

[geochitown]

haven't heard that regarding public access at Midlothian.

 

I'd consider putting Stevens Point CC on the list (they offer public tee times as I understand and work was done there by Craig Haltom (same as Lac La Belle) with settlement money from an herbicide case (?).

 

I've become a big fan of Rick Jacobson and if you can get on at the Club at Strawberry Creek (Kenosha area) 12 miles north of the IL state line in Bristol, I'd highly recommend it.  Just a fun, fun course. Nice elevation change across the property and very strong design.  Open layout with nice landforms and mounding, and very few trees.  A buddy drove up from Orland Park yesterday to play it and loved it.

 

Shepherd's Crook in Zion, IL (holes 13 and 14 touch the state line) is in much better shape these days and just put in an awesome patio area with firepits.  It's a great bargain also.  I think it's a great routing with challenging green complexes.  No range and so-so start (gentle handshake) but very strong from holes 5-18.

 

Thunderhawk and Stonewall Orchard are great tracks as well in the area.

 

The Preserve at Oak Meadows is closer to O'Hare and solid (mentioned already above).

 

Sunset Valley in HIghland Park, IL is a small municipal course, but a real gem after its renovation by Rick Jacobson (ex-Nicklaus architect) - public.  Normally in great shape, with fun green complexes and great drainage.  Great walk on a compact property with a nice routing.

 

 

 

[Chigolfer2]

Where are you staying?  Thunderhawk and Ravisloe are 75 miles apart.   Mistwood far SW and Stonewall far NW.   Getting around Chicagoland can be very traffic heavy.  

[Divot_Forensicist]

On 11/3/2021 at 6:56 PM, Chigolfer2 said:

Where are you staying?  Thunderhawk and Ravisloe are 75 miles apart.   Mistwood far SW and Stonewall far NW.   Getting around Chicagoland can be very traffic heavy.  

I have friends all over the area (e.g., St. Charles, Ukrainian Village, Pilsen, Flossmoor, etc.) and so will be bouncing around. I am all too familiar with the “joys” of Chicago traffic and will plan accordingly.

[psygolf]

On 10/11/2021 at 11:14 AM, MountainKing said:

Ravisloe is a solid track if you have an appreciation for old school design and Donald Ross greens.  It's almost always in great condition as well.  I always lay the caution because it took me a few rounds out there to really see it for the gem that it is.  Most of the par 4's are 390- 405 and straight so they'll feel very similar tee to green, but man those greens are incredibly fun to test your game on.  The par 3's are pretty solid as well.

 

What course did you caddie at?

 

The fun at Ravisloe starts at 150y and in...once asked a member when it was private if he’d ever felt that he had the same round twice, he said not there.

[MountainKing]

4 hours ago, psygolf said:

The fun at Ravisloe starts at 150y and in...once asked a member when it was private if he’d ever felt that he had the same round twice, he said not there.

 

It took me a couple rounds to really figure that out.  I don't think it's a great course to play and only play it once unless you really have an appreciation for older courses with amazing green complexes.  

[Springsteennut]

You mentioned the Highlands of Elgin. If you considering that include Bowes Creek in Elgin. Both excellent courses about 10 minutes apart. Highlands is a links style and Bowes is more traditional.