Highlands at Grand Geneva Resort & Spa

I love this course,it's beautiful and challenging.

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.

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.

Great course. But a 5 hour round was disappointing. Marshall needs to do a better job

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.

Cart path only on most holes because of weather. Course in great condition. We'll be back.
Thanks!!!

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....

We have played this course a few times and will play there again. A little wet today but fun.

The course is absolutely amazing. The tee boxes were perfect the greens were fast and in great shape. My only complaint if I had one was due to being a "business" trip I did t have my clubs so I had to rent a set and wow I've never hit better clubs (M5s)! but 65 bucks to rent? Overall no regrets, we were playing terrible and taking forever and not one time were we bothered. Great course!

Challenging course. Great layout. GPS on carts. Friendly staff
Definitely will play here again soon

The Good: Fun Jack Nicklaus and Pete Dye collaboration is the second course built at Grand Geneva Resort. Wide open fairways provide the opportunity to keep the ball in play, but small, lightning quick greens protects The Highlands. Good course conditions, very nice off-course amenities, and excellent practice facility. Excellent Par 3's and some good risk/reward Par 5's. Most of the Par 4's have a "go for broke" opportunity off the tee, making for an enjoyable resort experience. Several holes have some great elevation change for a course in southern Wisconsin.

The Bad: Overpriced at $130 during high season. The Highlands is a $75 track that disguises itself as a premium resort course. Some holes are beautiful while others seem lackluster. Several tee boxes are uneven. Greens are almost too fast for the resort golfer.

The Verdict: The Highlands is the little sister to The Brute and for a reason. While it does offer great greens and a playable layout, there are only a few holes that justify the hefty greens fee. Nonetheless, there aren't too many more beautiful walks in the park in Southern Wisconsin.

Best Hole: The Par 3's #4 and #12 are great, but the downhill Par 4 #14 offers the best photo of the course. A downhill tee shot to a well-guarded uphill green.

Was in Lake Geneva area for my wife's family reunion. I was able to sneak away for some golf and decided to play The Highlands for the first time. There were some pretty heavy rains the night before but course was in excellent shape. It was cart path only which made the course a bit of a walk at times. Course conditions were very good, greens had been aerated weeks ago and ran very nice. Bunkers needed to be worked from the rains but that would be expected. Definitely recommend this course and next time in LG I will be back.