Rank these Wisconsin public courses for me

[exgolfpro]

Hey guys, heading to Wisconsin again and trying to make plans.  I have played all the best courses Wisconsin has to offer, Erin Hills, Sand Valley, Whistling Straits, Black Wolf Run, etc.  I am now looking at the next level down (in price at least).  I would like your opinions or rankings of the following courses.

 

SentryWorld, Glen Erin, Mascoutin GC, Lac Le Belle, University Ridge, The Bull at Pinehurst Farms, also maybe add in The Palmer Course, The Player Course and the Trevino Course at Lake Geneva.

 

In all honesty, I have played The Bull and really like it.  I just wonder where it ranks with all the others?

Edited April 20, 2022 by exgolfpro

[Phreddy]

SentryWorld is a bit difficult to rank as it has been closed for two years of renovation.  It is the furthest reach from the others you have mentioned, and yet may prove to be the top of the list.  I think Lac La Belle is in its third year post rebuilding the course and has been growing in nicely and will prove to be a solid upper mid tier course.  If you haven't played Washington County or Brown Deer (home of Tiger's first event as a pro) on your previous visits they are in this price bracket and excellent options.  Have you played Lawsonia?  Depending on which WRXer you read it either God's gift to Wisconsin golf or simply a really good course.  The Links course is the destination course, but the Woodlands is no slouch.  University Ridge is a personal favorite and home of Steve Striker's Champions event.  Nine holes of links style and nine holes of parkland style.

[exgolfpro]

1 hour ago, Phreddy said:

SentryWorld is a bit difficult to rank as it has been closed for two years of renovation.  It is the furthest reach from the others you have mentioned, and yet may prove to be the top of the list.  I think Lac La Belle is in its third year post rebuilding the course and has been growing in nicely and will prove to be a solid upper mid tier course.  If you haven't played Washington County or Brown Deer (home of Tiger's first event as a pro) on your previous visits they are in this price bracket and excellent options.  Have you played Lawsonia?  Depending on which WRXer you read it either God's gift to Wisconsin golf or simply a really good course.  The Links course is the destination course, but the Woodlands is no slouch.  University Ridge is a personal favorite and home of Steve Striker's Champions event.  Nine holes of links style and nine holes of parkland style.

Forgot to include Washington County in that list.  Thanks Phreddy, you never disappoint.  Anyone else have any thoughts?

[Lefty96]

I'll take a shot at these. In somewhat of a ranking order:

 

*Sentryworld: Hard to know as the renovation has had it closed for so long. Its always been a well manicured course with a fun design so I wouldn't be surprised if it is the best offering of that list. Although likely the most expensive. 

 

Lac La Belle: This course really surprised me. The conditions were great last year and the layout was extremely interesting and fun. Great challenging green complexes. Worth every penny and could probably get away with charging more. 

 

URidge: I would put this course next. Very fun with two completely different nines. Conditions are up there and at $100 its a great play. 

 

The Bull: You've played it and I agree its a great course

 

Lawsonia: You didn't ask about it but since phreddy mentioned it I thought I would toss it in. I would rank it as a whole about here. Both courses are very fun (links is better) with some aspects being great (links greens). However conditions are not quite up to par with the above courses. Bunkers have been heavily criticized and in my experience the general level of conditions is a tier lower. That being said I would still put it as a must play. Just temper your expectations from what you may read in other places on this forum. 

 

The player course: I have only played the player course at Geneva national. I have played it 3 times and it was a blast every time. Place can be very busy and slow though. Layout is exciting from start to finish. Conditions are good but not top tier. 

 

Glen Erin:  I played this course probably 50 times through college. It was always sporting a hot deal on golf now that we could get it for very cheap. That being said it was always a fun play that would test you. Greens generally rolled fine and conditions were definitely worth what they were charging. A couple stupid holes but for the most part a good play. 

 

Mascoutin: 27 holes of okay golf. Nothing really memorable about the place but also nothing bad. You wont feel ripped off but I would make a far drive to play it. 

 

I haven't had the chance to play the others you mentioned. A few fun extras worth mentioning would be Hawk's view, Abbey Springs, and the brute all by lake geneva. Lake arrowhead up by sand valley. And phreddy is correct about washington county and Brown deer. 

[exgolfpro]

1 hour ago, Lefty96 said:

I'll take a shot at these. In somewhat of a ranking order:

 

*Sentryworld: Hard to know as the renovation has had it closed for so long. Its always been a well manicured course with a fun design so I wouldn't be surprised if it is the best offering of that list. Although likely the most expensive. 

 

Lac La Belle: This course really surprised me. The conditions were great last year and the layout was extremely interesting and fun. Great challenging green complexes. Worth every penny and could probably get away with charging more. 

 

URidge: I would put this course next. Very fun with two completely different nines. Conditions are up there and at $100 its a great play. 

 

The Bull: You've played it and I agree its a great course

 

Lawsonia: You didn't ask about it but since phreddy mentioned it I thought I would toss it in. I would rank it as a whole about here. Both courses are very fun (links is better) with some aspects being great (links greens). However conditions are not quite up to par with the above courses. Bunkers have been heavily criticized and in my experience the general level of conditions is a tier lower. That being said I would still put it as a must play. Just temper your expectations from what you may read in other places on this forum. 

 

The player course: I have only played the player course at Geneva national. I have played it 3 times and it was a blast every time. Place can be very busy and slow though. Layout is exciting from start to finish. Conditions are good but not top tier. 

 

Glen Erin:  I played this course probably 50 times through college. It was always sporting a hot deal on golf now that we could get it for very cheap. That being said it was always a fun play that would test you. Greens generally rolled fine and conditions were definitely worth what they were charging. A couple stupid holes but for the most part a good play. 

 

Mascoutin: 27 holes of okay golf. Nothing really memorable about the place but also nothing bad. You wont feel ripped off but I would make a far drive to play it. 

 

I haven't had the chance to play the others you mentioned. A few fun extras worth mentioning would be Hawk's view, Abbey Springs, and the brute all by lake geneva. Lake arrowhead up by sand valley. And phreddy is correct about washington county and Brown deer. 

Great info, this is exactly the sort of thing I am looking for.

[ldchristopher]

I’d also throw Fire Ridge in the mix. It’s near Washington County and in the same price range. I like Fire Ridge a lot but it has some blind shots. Conditions are always very good and the price is fair. 
Regarding Mascoutin, it depends which combo you play. The Red and White nines are fine but nothing special. The Blue nine is very good. It’s much newer (designed in 1999) and was done by Rick Jacobsen, while Red and White were done by Larry Packard in the 70’s. 
I love Glen Erin. Just a great layout with no bad holes. The three par 5’s are all long (570, 585, 590) but wide open. Good combination of faux links and a few woodlands holes with multi-tiered greens and pot bunkers. It also drains better than any other course in the area, which is insane because there are no water hazards on the property for water to drain into. Just a really good design by Greg Martin. 
Speaking of Martin, you can also include The Oaks outside Madison in Cottage Grove. He designed that course as well. URidge is better but those two would be a good 36 hole day with not a lot of driving in between rounds. 

Edited April 24, 2022 by ldchristopher

[exgolfpro]

On 4/23/2022 at 6:21 PM, ldchristopher said:

I’d also throw Fire Ridge in the mix. It’s near Washington County and in the same price range. I like Fire Ridge a lot but it has some blind shots. Conditions are always very good and the price is fair. 
Regarding Mascoutin, it depends which combo you play. The Red and White nines are fine but nothing special. The Blue nine is very good. It’s much newer (designed in 1999) and was done by Rick Jacobsen, while Red and White were done by Larry Packard in the 70’s. 
I love Glen Erin. Just a great layout with no bad holes. The three par 5’s are all long (570, 585, 590) but wide open. Good combination of faux links and a few woodlands holes with multi-tiered greens and pot bunkers. It also drains better than any other course in the area, which is insane because there are no water hazards on the property for water to drain into. Just a really good design by Greg Martin. 
Speaking of Martin, you can also include The Oaks outside Madison in Cottage Grove. He designed that course as well. URidge is better but those two would be a good 36 hole day with not a lot of driving in between rounds. 

Never heard of it.  I'll check it out, thanks.