THE GREAT LAKES STATES – WISCONSIN, OHIO, MINNESOTA, MICHIGAN AND ILLINOIS – COMBINE GREAT GOLF ANDF GREAT HOSPITALITY TO CREATE THE ULTIMATE HOLIDAY DESTINATION
The Great Lakes region of the Unites States is a destination that celebrates the great outdoors and is ideal for playing golf, with literally thousands of courses to choose from.
The sheer number of courses, combined with their quality and affordability, and warm summer climate, make the Great Lakes states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio and Michigan, a mecca for golf.
Known as ‘Ryder Cup Country’, due to the number of times the region has hosted the popular team golf competition, Wisconsin will host the event in 2020 at Whistling Straits, Kohler.
In 2004, the competition took place north of Detroit, Michigan at Oakland Hills Country Club. The Ryder Cup returned to the region in 2012, when Medinah Country Club in Chicago entertained the two teams, While Hazeltine National in Chaska, Minnesota was the competition venue in 2016. Never before has one region of America staged all the US team’s matches in a single decade.
WISCONSIN
Whatever it is you’re seeking in a golf course, Wisconsin has it all. Maybe it’s the 500 public courses, the fairways designed by major champions like Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, or that the state is playing host to the 2020 Ryder Cup.
But no matter where you are in the great state of Wisconsin, there is always a fun, challenging golf course within your reach, along with attractions such as the Harley-Davidson Museum, the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Great River Road – a 250-mile roadway along the Wisconsin bank of the Mississippi River which is rich in history, ecology, small-town character, recreation and natural beauty.
Starting in the north neck of the woods, Ashland County’s Chequamegon Bay Golf Course is a safe bet for golfers of all skills. The 18-hole course, with the option of nine holes, was recently reconstructed and is now considered a championship course that is both challenging and enjoyable. The water and sand traps make the round fun, but the course still offers a lot of opportunities.
Heading down south to Dane County, the home course of the University of Wisconsin Badgers men’s and women’s golf teams, University Ridge, is an absolute must-play. The 18-hole beauty offers a front nine with minimal trees and a back nine set within a forest. As home of the WIAA State Championship course, University Ridge is equipped with five different sets of tees to welcome, challenge and entertain golfers of all skill levels.
Moving east toward Lake Michigan, Door County has many great courses to offer to the public, but one of the most beautiful is Alpine Golf Course. The course offers one of the most spectacular views in all of Door County. The glacier-carved natural hazards make the course challenging, and with 36 holes instead of a fixed 18-hole round, you have double the options of which nines to play.
Eau Claire County’s Mill Run Golf Course, in the west of the state, has been a local favourite since its establishment in 1981. Although the beautifully made course is not long in distance, golfers need to strategically play the holes avoiding bunkers, hazards and subtly breaking greens. Home to the recent US Open, Erin Hills features a championship links-style golf course offering five sets of tees (plus two new sets of combination tees) to challenge golfers of all abilities. Erin Hills is proud to join one of golf’s environmentally responsible trends: going green. The fine fescue fairways and roughs require little water and have the ability to go dormant during dry weather.
OHIO
Ohio is the home of one of golfing’s biggest legends – Jack Nicklaus, who was born in Columbus. Besides being one of the game’s greatest players, Nicklaus has emerged as one of golf’s best course architects, and has designed more than 200 courses over the last three decades.
At the Jack Nicklaus museum in Columbus, visitors encounter the history of golf and its greatest practitioner, take an immersive journey through Jack’s brilliant career, including trophies, photographs and various mementos from his unparalleled 20 major championships and 100 worldwide professional victories, and discover the many facets of this remarkable man who has added so much to the history of golf.
Ohio is also known for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the world’s foremost museum devoted to the celebration and preservation of rock and roll music and record-breaking theme parks. Cedar Point on Lake Erie boasts the most rides of any theme park in the world, while Paramount’s Kings Island is home to the longest wooden coaster, the Beast.
With more than 800 golf courses in the state, Ohio is definitely a golfer’s paradise. Challenging terrain, brilliantly green fairways, sinister sand traps and copious water hazards put Ohio courses in all the top lists of where to play.
In northeast Ohio, golfers can match their mettle against Avalon Lakes Golf Course in Warren, which has been ranked one of the best in the country. Mature trees line many a fairway, while 12 holes sport water hazards and a whopping 150 bunkers blanket the course.
Golfers will have to draw on their serene surroundings to surmount the wickedly difficult Black Diamond Golf Course in Millersburg. This par-72 layout tests golfers’ mettle right from the first hole.
Etched into the hilly countryside near Zanesville, EagleSticks Golf Club is off the beaten path. As soon as golfers tee off from the first box, the entire course is then spread before them, among undulating hills.
Elks Run Golf Club, located in Batavia, sprawls across 163 acres in the gorgeous hill country east of Cincinnati. This 6,833-yard Greg Norman-designed course opened in 1999 to rave reviews. Players must be at the top of their putting game to score well here. The sloping, ridged greens require accurate and precise positioning. And as soon as they get used to the open, flat front nine, the back nine assaults golfers with its narrow fairways and hilly terrain.
MINNESOTA
Minnesota hosted the 41st Ryder Cup in September last year, when the United States beat Europe 17-11, giving them their biggest margin of victory in 35 years. Sandwiched between the Great Lakes and the Great Plains on the Canadian border, the state boasts an impressively rich golfing pedigree, having the honour of being the only one of America’s 50 states to have hosted all 13 USGA sanctioned tournaments.
There are over 450 public courses catering to the beginner who wants to try golf for the first time, to seasoned golfers looking for new challenges. The season can stretch from April to November, depending on the weather, and visitors to the state delight in the diverse attractions offered throughout, ranging from outdoor activities to the theatres, galleries and museums in the international gateway of Minneapolis Saint Paul. Bloomington in Minnesota is also home to the Mall of America with over 500 stores, an aquarium, themed restaurants, movie theatres and even an indoor amusement park plus tax free shopping on clothes and shoes.
Summer is the most popular time to play golf thanks to the long days and warm air, and autumn brings the added bonus of changing colours, smaller crowds and mild temperatures. One common theme that joins Minnesota’s golf courses is that they are all set in beautiful, natural terrain and are always presented in superb condition. On top of that, they offer extremely good value for money, with green fees starting from as a little as $30 (£22) at public courses, and rising to no more than $100 (£80) for top championship courses at semi-private venues. With so much choice, it’s easy to plan a trip to suit all budgets.
The wide variety of places to tee off ranges from city and suburban courses to rugged north woods terrain, and sweeping Mississippi River Valley vistas. Some areas have large concentrations of courses that draw both serious and casual golfers to their greens, while resort courses combine golf with comfortable lodging and other amenities.
The Brainerd Lakes area, in the centre of the state, is dotted with exquisite, family-run resorts such as Craigun’s, offering three Robert Trent Jones Jr. designed courses, all with the prestigious Audubon International Signature Sanctuary designation for being environmentally responsible in design; Grand View Lodge, the most award winning resort in Minnesota, with three championship courses to choose from; and Madden’s whose Classic is one of Golf Digest’s ‘100 Greatest Public Courses’.
MICHIGAN
Michigan golf is better than ever. From golf magazine rankings to People’s Choice Awards, Michigan is consistently named among the best places in the USA to play golf. Top designers have coaxed championship courses out of the woods and farmlands, incorporating hills and valleys, natural water features and incredible views – including some of the Great Lakes. With more than 650 public courses in Michigan alone, this golf mecca has a course for every level of play.
Carved by glaciers more than 12,000 years ago, the Michigan landscape is unique. With three national forests, two national parks and two national lakeshores, it is home to 100 state parks offering hiking, biking, camping, canoeing, fishing, snowshoeing, cross country skiing and other great recreational activities. Plus Michigan is also home to the Motown Museum, the Henry Ford Museum of Innovation, Shinola luxury goods, Founders beer, McClure’s crisps and the beautiful Mackinac Island. This 19th century resort, where no motorized vehicles are allowed, is fixed firmly in the Victorian era – dominated by an 18th century fort and the famed Grand Hotel.
Golf in Michigan offers everything from the first truly reversible course in the USA – The Loop at Forest Dunes in Roscommon with 18 greens that can be played two ways, to Bay Harbor Golf Club that incorporates some of the state’s most diverse terrain including water, dunes, woods and even a quarry to Shepherd’s Hollow in Detroit, with its 27 sprawling tree-lined fairways that meander over a mile.
Gull Lake View serves up virtually every attribute that defines a premier golf experience: majestic landscapes, spectacularly rolling topography, and design features that challenge players but does not overwhelm them.
Another of the leading golf experiences in Michigan or anywhere in the country is Arcadia Bluffs, which features spectacular views from all 18-holes that meander through rugged dunes, fescue grasses, and along the cliffs. A trip across the Mackinac Bridge into the remote Upper Peninsula has its own golf escape with top courses like Greywalls in Marquette, Timberstone near Iron Mountain, and Sweetgrass.
And, with temperate weather and long summer days, there’s plenty of time to get in a few extra rounds.
MICHIGAN
Illinois is located in the heart of the Great Lakes region and is known for the city of Chicago, deep dish pizza, the Cubs baseball team, home of presidents and world class museums. Just outside the city, among the rolling hills and plains of the suburbs and beyond, lies 339 public golf courses waiting to challenge and test any golfer’s skill. Eagle Ridge Resort & Spa in Galena, TPC Deere Run in Moline, Cog Hill Golf and Country Club in Lemont, Conway Farm Golf Club in Lake Forest, Cantigny Golf Club in Wheaton and Medinah Country Club all provide golfers with a true taste of Illinois!
The gateway city, Chicago, offers renowned jazz and blues, shopping on the Magnificent Mile, 26 Michelin star restaurants, the start of Route 66, a stunning beach on Lake Michigan and impressive museums. Route 66 begins in Chicago and runs for more than 300 miles in Illinois. Cruise down ‘The Mother Road’ and see the famous sites on your way to Springfield, the state capital and home to Abraham Lincoln.
Premier golf destinations in Illinois include Eagle Ridge Resort & Spa, Galena. No other golf resort in the region so perfectly incorporates the surrounding natural landscape into such a challenging and rewarding test of golf. From the very first tee, the rolling fairways, immaculate greens and tranquil woodland surroundings of northwestern Illinois allow you to enjoy a challenging yet supremely relaxing round of golf.
Cog Hill Golf and Country Club, situated 30 miles southwest of Chicago in Lemont, has been the site of the PGA Tour’s Western Open (1991-2006) and the BMW Championship (2007, 2009-2011).
Conway Farms Golf Club, located in Lake Forest, hosts the 2017 BMW Championship. Formally known as the Western Open, the BMW Championship is the second oldest tournament in the United States and is the penultimate event in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs. Conway Farms Golf Club opened for play on August 3, 1991 and is a private club.
Springfield, the capital of Illinois, has ten excellent public courses including the Piper Glen, Bergen Golf Club and Illini Country Club. Medinah Country Club offers three world-renowned golf courses and the highest quality facilities and family-oriented amenities. The famed Course No.3 has played host to numerous major championship and prestigious international golf events throughout the club’s history including the US Open (1949, 1975, 1990), US Senior Open (1988), PGA Championship (1999, 2006) and Ryder Cup (2012).