Brute at Grand Geneva Resort & Spa

One of the two courses at Grand Geneva resort. I have played the highlands course a few times previously and was hesitant to take on The Brute as most reviews state how difficult it is. As a 16 handicap I actually found The Brute to be a little more enjoyable. Yes, the greens are a little tougher but overall I found it to be just as playable!

Greens were newly aerated BUT rolled well so were not an issue at all.

Staff are always super friendly!

A great value on a fall morning @$70 on golf now!

Amazing greens and layout
It can be brutal on the many hidden dangers on this course
High difficulty on many holes hitting two three cubs up. To get there .
Will test all parts of your game

This is the third time I’ve played this course, and the more I play it the more convinced I am that it’s usually the better of the two layouts. The name of the course, The Brute, makes it sound like a very difficult, intimidating course, but it’s definitely the more forgiving of the two. The Highlands course, which I played two days after playing this course, has many more forced carries, narrow fairways, sharp dog legs, and water carries. All in all, for the mid to the high handicapper like me, this is a much more enjoyable experience and much more fair and less penal If you hit a bad shot. Also, even though they describe this course as the highlands, it sits on low ground, and on humid days there’s a nary a breeze moving and becomes brutally hot even in late summer early fall when the temperature reaches 80° and humid. I can tell you from my experience playing these courses for several years, I will never play the Highlands again.

I’ve played this course many times and never have I not been able to finish a full 18. I went out and had to skip the first hole because of a wedding, which is fine but then was held up by a group of 3 in front of me. No ranger to be seen and was only able to get 11 hold of golf in in 3 and a half hours. Please fix this problem. I should be waiting almost 15 minutes a hole on the tee box to hit. Otherwise this course has always been good. I’m local to the area and will probably not play this course until next season or until I hear the problem is fixed.

If it wasn't for the snot-nosed, punk kids who work at this course this could have easily garnered a 5 Start rating from me. The only downsides to the course were the tees (some of which were too crowned or had you teeing off from a side hill lie) and a few of the greens. More care by golfers AND the course to fix ball marks would be nice. Having said that, the kids who work at this course (at check-in, with carts, etc...) are entitled brats who are smart alecks and aren't there to further your enjoyment of the round.

Just played The Brute for the first time this season. The course was in great shape and our 2 foursomes had a great day. This is not your typical resort style course where wayward drives find the middle of the fairway and the greens are forgiving. You better be on your game, both driving and putting your golf ball. It is a tough test of golf. It is very hilly as well, with uphill and downhill sideway lies that will give your calves and hamstrings a good workout. Looking forward to our next visit and hope to putt better. Kudos to the maintenance team and Rebecca on the beverage cart.

The Brute is definitely the more difficult course. I enjoy playing Grand Geneva's Highlands course, although I would never pay full price to play there (often over $100). Living nearby, I watch for deals and I can play GG for around $50. I saw the deal to play there on July 3rd and took it. Unfortunately it seemed like a lot more riff-raff on this high priced resort course than usual. Lots of players in t-shirts and hardly anyone raking the bunkers. Not one ranger to be seen the whole day. The pace of play was disappointing as there were backups at several tee boxes. On the 18th hole there were children from the resort playing football next to the fairway and occasionally they would have to chase the football onto the course (even through a bunker).
I realize this is not typical for this course as it was a holiday weekend, so my advice is to avoid playing there on holiday weekends.