Back
When most golfers think of Wisconsin, three big names come to mind immediately.
Kohler. Sand Valley. Erin Hills.
All great places, to be sure, but they don't come close to telling the whole story of the state's golf riches. Farther south, but still well within the Badger State's warm - but not too hot - summer embrace lies Lake Geneva, which Chicagoans and golfers from points farther afield have visited for decades. It's less than two hours from the Windy City to Lake Geneva and just over an hour from Milwaukee. Anchored by two proud resorts and complemented by three other accessible independent golf courses, Lake Geneva provides a nice mix of variety and familiarity for groups who want to return year after year.
For golfers, Lake Geneva's pillars are Grand Geneva Resort and Destination Geneva National, home to 36 and 54 holes of golf, respectively. Both properties have invested millions in improving the experience both on and off the course in recent years and both are intent on keeping that positive momentum rolling in order to help them fly up the discerning traveling golfer's wishlist.
Grand Geneva Resort's midcentury-modern allure and busy future
Ever since the sensation around TV series Mad Men helped thrust it back into the wider culture in the late Oughts, midcentury modern style has remained popular in seemingly every part of life, from fashion to furniture. Golf architecture, though? Not so much. Courses inspired by the best pre-World War II layouts have dominated social media feeds and enjoyed particular commercial success in the last decade-plus. While they might not be quite as iconic, the best golf courses built in the 1950s, 60s and early 70s do share a curvilinear coolness with Eames chairs and Noguchi tables. They are worthy of study and preservation as artifacts of a distinct era in the history of golf's main art form.
Originally opened in 1968, The Brute at Grand Geneva Resort & Spa is a stirring example of midcentury modern golf. Laid out by prolific postwar architect Robert Bruce Harris, it strikes a strong pose on exciting parkland terrain just west of Lake Geneva's northwestern tip. Harris often pursued what he perceived as an "ideal" golf course routing, striving to have as few instances of consecutive holes sharing the same par as possible within a given nine-hole stretch. Only twice does a golfer encounter back-to-back par 4s: at 9 and 10, then at 17 and 18. The rest of the time, par 4s alternate with par 5s and par 3s to constantly keep golfers hitting different clubs. It is a clever, deeper level of mental engagement than many contemporaneous courses offer.
Tree-lined fairways, tilted greens and 68 vast oval-shaped bunkers mark The Brute in time while also playing subtle mind games with the golfer. Playing the course is a constant confrontation with surprising scale, specifically relative to the enormity of the bunkers. They function to dwarf what are actually generous fairways and outright huge greens, often turning what should be routine approaches into slightly uncomfortable battles not just with the golf course but with the self. While some modest tree management would help open up some views across the property, The Brute balances challenge and playability nicely, subverting its name.
The overall resort also opened in '68 and was known as The Playboy Club until the 80s, when it changed hands before being acquired by its current ownership, Marcus Hotels. It has made several key improvements in recent years, including a full overhaul of its guestrooms in 2023. The common spaces of the main hotel are squarely midcentury-modern themselves, inspired by the iconic architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, whose home base, Taliesin, sits two hours north and west of Grand Geneva. Its Geneva ChopHouse, located just off the main lobby, is one of the finest steakhouses I have visited, at a golf property or otherwise.
Grand Geneva will soon bring a bit of new golf to future visitors as it joins the growing list of resorts building short courses. Wee Nip, a 10-hole short loop with holes averaging just under 100 yards will be laid out by Milwaukee-based architect Matt Dusenberry and is expected to open for play in 2026. That course will occupy the site of Grand Geneva's former driving range, which will now be located on the site of the resort's former airstrip and will open fully in June.
In the meantime, in addition to The Brute, golfers will continue to enjoy The Highlands, a 1970 Pete Dye/Jack Nicklaus collaboration that was redesigned in the 1990s by Bob Cupp. Whereas The Brute invites aggressive play and big swings, The Highlands is a little tighter, wandering over some more abrupt terrain and into some narrower corridors. Its intimate routing rewards precision in a way that compliments The Brute's grander feel.
Destination Geneva National's buddy-trip bona fides
Destination Geneva National is also a great option for visiting golfers, especially multi-foursome groups. Whereas there's a clear hierarchy among Grand Geneva's two golf courses (Brute beats Highlands 4 & 3), Geneva National's 54 holes by Lee Trevino (1990), Arnold Palmer (1991) and Gary Player (1995), respectively, tend to inspire lively 19th-Hole - or perhaps 55th-Hole - debate among the groups that visit. Of the three courses, I actually favor the up-and-down-and-all-around Player course by a hair over Palmer, though Palmer's par-3 16th and par-5 17th holes, which run along the north shore of Lake Como (Geneva's neighbor to the north) offer the type of scenery that elevates a golf experience from good to great.
Like Grand Geneva, Geneva National has invested heavily in improvements over the last few years. In early 2024, longtime Arnold Palmer Design associate Brandon Johnson came west to advise on key changes to a handful of holes on Geneva National's Palmer course, including a renovation of the first hole, which used to be overly penal and leave golfers with a rough first impression. Most recently, Wisconsin-based architect Craig Haltom has made some similar playability updates to the Trevino course, including more than doubling the size of the 14th fairway, which was often criticized by golfers as excessively penal. Haltom also designed a rollicking-fun putting course, The Dance Floor, which sits perfectly between the clubhouse and the driving range. A Mexican-themed bar is close at hand for golfers who putt better on tequila. All three spots have an enchanting view of Lake Como, which is part of the reason why Geneva National garnered the top spot in Golfers' Choice 2025's list of facilities with the best off-course amenities nationwide.
Geneva National has a distinct buddy-trip vibe thanks in large part to its large and growing clutch of accommodations, anchored by a group of wonderful multi-bedroom cottages. In recent months, the resort also acquired a hotel across Lake Como called The Ridge, rebranding it Lodge Geneva National and renovating all of its interior spaces and rooms. This adds yet another lodging option for guests. Like Grand Geneva, Geneva National is home to a superb steakhouse, the Hunt Club. Even if you don't play your best golf on property, you can always eat like you did.
Other golf around Lake Geneva
Most of Lake Geneva's other golf options range from somewhat to extremely private - e.g. Lake Geneva Country Club and Big Foot Country Club - but there are three courses outside of the two aforementioned resorts that golfers can consider. Just down the street from Grand Geneva, Hawk's View Golf Club, a 2001 Craig Schreiner design, has a strong 4.7 rating across more than 250 reviews from visiting golfers. There is also a short course, Barn Hollow, on site.
On the other side of the lake lie 27 more holes of accessible golf. Originally laid out by Ken Killian & Dick Nugent, Abbey Springs opened in 1971 and was renovated in 2021 by Bob Lohmann and Todd Quitno. It is mostly a members' club but does allow public tee times as well. "The course truly has no bad holes now and some of the best rolling most challenging greens you can play," according to one glowing GolfPass review from 2022.
Last but not least, Country Club Estates is a 9-hole course close to Abbey Springs that I did not play but drove by during my whirlwind visit. It appears to have all the hallmarks of a hidden gem: modest green fees, nice-looking conditions and a relatively untouched Tom Bendelow design dating to 1929. Having hit that trifecta six years ago at Grand Beach Golf Course in southwest Michigan, I have Country Club Estates squarely on my radar for my next Lake Geneva visit.
Comments (0)