Highlands at Grand Geneva Resort & Spa
Rating Snapshot
About
Grand Geneva Resort & Spa boasts two championship golf courses. The Brute Course is a formidable test while the Highlands Course presents a more player-friendly layout though it still has plenty of challenges in store. Jack Nicklaus and Pete Dye teamed up to design the Highlands. It is a traditional links-layout that is tumbles across glacier-carved hills and valleys. It perfectly mimics the feel of courses of the British Isles especially on the undulating greens that are flanked with bunkers. The course is playable for all skill levels though low handicappers looking for a challenge might want to tackle the Brute. The resort has garnered a popular following amongst both locals and visitors. Conde Nast Traveler ranked it in the top ten northern US golf resorts and that is just one of the many accolades Grand Geneva Resort & Spa has received.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tournament | 71 | 6659 yards | 71.5 | 125 |
| Championship | 71 | 6207 yards | 69.2 | 120 |
| Regular | 71 | 5675 yards | 66.8 | 114 |
| Forward (W) | 71 | 5011 yards | 68.3 | 115 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue M: 72.0/131 | 389 | 506 | 432 | 192 | 438 | 549 | 153 | 345 | 461 | 3465 | 318 | 594 | 205 | 394 | 398 | 334 | 374 | 143 | 400 | 3160 | 6625 |
| Gold M: 69.8/124 W: 75.5/141 | 376 | 483 | 394 | 153 | 413 | 511 | 144 | 320 | 450 | 3244 | 308 | 553 | 193 | 333 | 384 | 309 | 346 | 127 | 372 | 2925 | 6169 |
| Silver M: 67.6/117 W: 72.5/129 | 340 | 450 | 350 | 117 | 370 | 483 | 126 | 264 | 435 | 2935 | 272 | 525 | 155 | 330 | 332 | 282 | 333 | 117 | 362 | 2708 | 5643 |
| Red M: 64.4/105 W: 68.6/112 | 290 | 421 | 328 | 91 | 355 | 457 | 93 | 230 | 304 | 2569 | 226 | 481 | 120 | 305 | 320 | 230 | 305 | 108 | 308 | 2403 | 4972 |
| Handicap | 11 | 5 | 9 | 15 | 7 | 1 | 17 | 13 | 3 | 14 | 2 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 4 | 18 | 8 | |||
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 35 | 71 |
| Handicap (W) | 11 | 3 | 7 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 15 | 13 | 9 | 14 | 2 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 4 | 18 | 8 |
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Reviewer Photos
Excellent layout ruined by bad upkeep
The Highlands has an interesting and challenging but fair mix of holes. The upkeep, and especially the sand traps, is disappointing. There is way too much soft sand - with large and small rocks - in the traps, both fairway and green side, to the point where it is very difficult to get a foooting. This sand might be fine for the lakefront in Kenosha, but it doesn’t belong on a $100 greens fee course.
Never miss
It's a cant miss piece of property.
Two courses
Wonderful conditions
Every time you play you will not be disappointed.
Enjoy your day a d your round at the highlands
Awosome
Took advantage of golfnow hot deal on last day of golfing this year. Beautiful course, friendly staff.
Beautiful course
I love this course,it's beautiful and challenging.
Spoiled
I'm getting back into the sport and playing courses I was never able to get to. This course was amazing and the staff were super nice. The putting green was amazing and the free driving range, yeah, I was spoiled. I hope I get to do it again.
Meh....
This course is very strange in many ways. It has many very pretty holes, especially on the front nine. It was in good condition minus the very slow greens. However, it has been redesigned several times and it shows. The course has some of the stupidest hole designs I've ever seen. Don't hit your ball anywhere to the right on 15, even a little, or you'll find out the cart path is a few feet from the fairway and right next to it is a road. Sixteen may be the dumbest hole I've ever seen. Tree line right up against the tee on left, all the way up, and a big tree in the middle of the fairway that blocks 2/3 of the fairway. You can hit a great drive--middle of the fairway--and be in jail.. And here I thought they had Bob Cupp redesign a course that was supposed to be miserably difficult to play!. Oh, and don't forget the road in middle of the fairway on 16 (an insanely stupid design for so many reasons) that cuts the hole in two. One just gets a sense that this course, whatever it once was, has been hacked apart and has no real identity. It is absolutely not a links course. That idea is laughable, so don't buy into the whole "it's a Scottish course" thing they are trying to sell.
Again, there are many good looking and fun holes here. They are offset by a half-dozen poorly designed to downright stupid holes. Of all of the resort courses in Lake Geneva, I would put this one last on my list to play. The Brute, which is bizarre in its own way, is a far superior course. They should have left the Highlands be the Briar Patch. It would at least have a consistent identity. You can see the Dye / Nicklaus influence on a number of holes, but there's no consistent feel to the course design. Too many cooks.
A few other thoughts: the driving range is hitting off of mats, which is annoying. The clubhouse is quite dated and a mile from the parking lot. The staff were also mixed. The guy in the pro shop was nice, but the rest of them seemed distracted and indifferent (no one at the bag drop)--not what I'd expect at a supposedly luxury resort.
I'm glad I played the course once. I won't be back.
Hello ajpalmer2. Thank you for taking the time to leave a thoughtful and detailed review of your pros and cons of course. We are going to pass along your feedback to the staff so they can consider changes. Thanks for visiting us!
Slow pace
Great course. But a 5 hour round was disappointing. Marshall needs to do a better job
Hello. Thank you for reviewing the course. We apologize for the delay of play during your round. This is by no means the standard we strive to achieve. We work hard to accommodate everyone who visits our course and to best control pace allowing everyone to finish in a reasonable amount of time. We will continue to look for ways to improve, and we are glad to see you rated the course conditions to be great during your game. Thank you for playing Highlands at Grand Geneva Resort & Spa. We hope to see you again soon.
A lovable mutt of a golf course
The Highlands is like the lovable mutt you adopt at the Humane Society. It's not a pure bred, but it's still adored by all. It's a hybrid course with a little bit of Pete Dye, Jack Nicklaus and Bobby Weed all sprinkled into the rolling hills north of Chicago. Some golfers like it better than its more famous sister course, The Brute.
Because there is no signature look or trait, it's got a little bit of everything - bunkers, elevated tees, elevated greens, a short 4 (10th), etc. You'll never be bored.
Great time on Highlanda
Cart path only on most holes because of weather. Course in great condition. We'll be back.
Thanks!!!
Great course!
Nothing to complain about here. Course was in very good shape, except we had cart path only due to the rains the previous night. Staff was super friendly. We'll be back!
If only they could have turned the 30mph winds off....
Nice time
We have played this course a few times and will play there again. A little wet today but fun.
Destination Kohler - Champions' Trail Golf Package
Destination Kohler - To Dye Four Golf Package
SentryWorld Stay & Play Package
SW Michigan Golf Around Package
Hello and thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We are sorry to see that your overall experience was anything short of 5 stars. Please know that the current conditions are by no means the standard we strive to achieve. We will make sure to use your comments as guidance for improvements. We hope you'll bear with us through this transition and give us another try in the near future. Thanks for choosing Highlands at Grand Geneva Resort & Spa.