Major mecca: Tour the best public golf courses in Wisconsin
Wisconsin has in recent years become a mecca of major championship golf, thanks largely in part to Herb Kohler and his four-course creation at Destination Kohler on the shores of Lake Michigan.
The 2015 PGA Championship returns to Pete Dye's Straits Course at Whistling Straits, while 2017 will welcome a new U.S. Open venue to the rotation, Erin Hills Golf Course. Kohler's Blackwolf Run Golf Course has also hosted the U.S. Women's Open.
Wisconsin may become an even bigger player in the bucket-list golf destination game when Mike Keiser's latest project, Sand Valley, opens in 2017 with a new Coore-Crenshaw design. (David McLay Kidd was hired for the encore, which is tentatively scheduled to open in 2018.)
Beyond the major championship venues, there are many high-profile, top 100-ranked golf to be had in Wisconsin. But the more regional and value-laden daily-fee and resort scene holds its own as well. You don't have to spend big money at the American Club to enjoy a Wisconsin golf trip. Lake Geneva Country Club and the Wisconsin Dells are other golf hotspots, especially popular getaways for golfers in Chicago.
The Golf Advisor staff has compiled this photo gallery of some of our favorite public courses throughout the state, from the major players to the bargains.
Do you have any other hidden gems in the state to share? How does Wisconsin's golf scene stack up to its neighbors, Michigan and Minnesota?