Geneva National Resort & Club

Unseasonably warm today so I went up to Lake Geneva to play at Geneva National. The course was still in pretty good shape for November. There were some repairs that were in progress, and they had just aerated and sanded the greens, so putting was difficult. But overall it was a great day to be outside. This course has very beautiful views.

I feel the Palmer course is the best course on the property. The back 9 is more challenging than the front. Holes along Lake Como provide great views.

Had a beautiful fall Indian summer day temperatures in the high 70s. Course was in fantastic shape. Beautiful layout. Punishes you when you miss the fairway or the green. Be prepared to lose a few balls and have your score impacted by penalty strokes unless you keep it in the short grass. Fantastic time.

Our group of 24 was first off at 7:30am on the Player course before we departed for home. It was refreshing to be out there with the mowers and set the pace of play that had been an issue our first 2 rounds at GN. The Player course felt like it had the most character and it was the most evident on the holes that went around the halfway shack/steak house. With holes that provided some risk/reward and some shapely par 5's the Player course provides the most playability for all handicaps. With some nice views of Lake Como as well as some holes winding through some of the neighborhoods there was a nice blend of holes on the Player. One small issue was it looked like the 18th hole has been re-done and the yardage book I purchased was out of date. It made for an interesting finish....

In all Geneva National is a great resort with a great setup if you choose to a group outing since you can stay within walking distance of the clubhouse. There look to be some institutional things that need to be corrected and the value is a little higher than I would expect but our group had a great time.

Day 2 at Geneva National for our 24 man buddy trip was a morning (9:30am) round at the Trevino course. The Trevino course was my least favorite of the 3 courses at Geneva National mostly because there is so much left-to-right bias that it made it less fun. I believe 7 of the par 4's as well as most par 5's all favor a fade which can get a little redundant especially when you are a natural drawer of the ball. The Trevino course seemed to be a little more playable than the Palmer course and the greens were definitely less severe. While both courses were well manicured it seemed like the Trevino course greens were not as fast. As was the case with our first round, pace of play was horrendous. Our group teed off at 9:00 and the 1st group was done in 5:15 which is completely unacceptable. This again was attributed to a slow group in front of us but nothing was done by the ranger to try and get back on pace. The Trevino course would rank 3rd on my rankings for the 3 courses at Geneva National.

We arrived at Geneva National for our 1st of 3 rounds to be played on the Palmer course. I had played the course a few years ago and struggled to remember a lot of the holes until stepping back on the tee. The course itself is a fun course with lots of tee shots requiring a little shape or a layup if you don't want to try it with driver. The first few pins were very severe making a 3-putt almost un-avoidable which but after #4 things got more under control. The unfortunate part was the pace of play, we were unable to complete our round because the 1st tee was 25 minutes behind schedule and the pace of play was horrible. 4:35 into the round and we were only on the 16th tee in the dark and were not able to enjoy what is the best stretch of the course. We saw a ranger on multiple occasions and nothing got better, based on how the bar/restaurant was staffed this felt like it was strictly a money grab and the resort was stuffing in as many people as possible. When I brought this up with the pro shop that evening they said there was a slow group ahead of us but they did nothing to speed them up. Our group was given a slight refund on golf but it wasn't enough to get the sour taste out of our mouths. When compared to U. Ridge the day before, this course pales in comparison for value and playability.

This is a truly exceptional golf course. The setting of the front nine is like playing through an old stand of oak trees with beautiful home scattered throughout. The back nine opens up a bit after 14 to get you with lake views.

What truly stands out is that the layout offers risk reward decisions on most holes but always leaves a safe out if you choose to play conservatively course was in gear shape and the greens were fast and took some time to get the feel for the speed and the grain.

Will definitely be back

Living just north of Lake Geneva and only playing one area course when the opportunity to play a Geneva National course for $60 presented itself I knew I had to jump on the opportunity. At this price point, there was extreme value in the course. With normal weekend rates touching $120 it may be a bit of a stretch but the conditions seemed fair and the holes were interesting and challenging.

Having never been on location and only hearing stories, I assumed it would have been more upscale and stuffy. I was pleasantly surprised when I got there. It was nice and accommodating, the club drop and check in let everyone know the tone for the day. It would be one of the nicer experiences of the year.

The course itself was very interesting to me and the layout kept us engaged all afternoon. Although we were told this was the 3rd of the 3 courses because it wasn't on the lake, it had plenty of views and changes in scenery. The conditions throughout were what you would expect and the greens were rolling really well from what we saw. The greens featured a good amount of movement which as fun to navigate all day. A few of the par 3's seemed to be under construction as the approaches were being removed and used for other parts of the resort. It didn't factor into play at all which you would expect at a place like this.

Overall we really enjoyed or time on the course and enjoyed the bar area for the post round wrap up and discussion. Will certainly put the Palmer and Nicklaus course on the list, but may continue to watch for another deal before splurging on them.

The Good: Very challenging and interesting layout from golf king Arnold Palmer has some of the most picturesque holes of the entire Geneva National Resort. Many holes weave through forests sprinkled with ponds and creeks, while the course closes with several super views alongside Lake Como. Superb course conditions, a top-notch practice amenities, and an exceptional clubhouse and service for a public facility. Make sure to eat at the Hunt Club Restaurant after your round! On-site accommodations are very nice.

The Bad: Some holes have great character with elevation changes or intimidating hazards, while the holes in the middle of the track (particularly the Par-4's) appear to be "filler" holes until the great closing stretch on the back half. The $130 greens fee during peak season is steep for the course. The greens, while putting very true, are extremely slick and difficult to the point that it can ruin a happy-go-lucky round. Lack of GPS on the carts is a glaring amenities omission.

The Verdict: The Palmer course at Geneva National has arguably some of the best holes of the entire resort, yet the Player course is the better all-around track. A joy to play if you can avoid 3-putting all of the greens. A great option if you are in the Lake Geneva area.

Best Hole: The closing is a great capper to this impressive track; however, the best hole of the resort is the long Par 5 #17. The hole borders Lake Como and winds around the water to a green pinched between sand traps. Make sure to bring your camera!

The Good: Well-conditioned Lee Trevino layout is a great addition to the Geneva National resort. Not as intimidating or appealing to the eye as the Palmer and Player courses, this track has an excellent first 6 holes that weave through the most densely wooded area of the 54-hole property. Outstanding course conditions, very smooth greens, and very nice on-course amenities. I was particularly impressed with how the course has drained considering how much rain the area has gotten the past two-weeks. Top-notch practice facility and an exceptional clubhouse and service for a public facility. Make sure to eat at the Hunt Club Restaurant after your round!

The Bad: The middle portion of the course routing seems to drag a little and does not provide the eye-candy as the first and final third. While its expected because a Trevino design, there are SEVEN dogleg right holes and not enough overall variety of shot-making required. A really solid course, but overpriced at the $85 price tag during off-season weekdays. Lack of GPS is a glaring omission from the resort that has amazing amenities.

The Verdict: The Trevino course is a great experience, but the "weakest" of the three at Geneva National. This is no slight though, as it is more playable than the other tracks. Trevino's layout certainly favors those who slice!

Best Hole: While the back nine is not as impressive as the front half, the closing #18 is a great par 4. The drive must avoid big trouble left & right, and the approach with a long-to-mid-iron must carry a ravine to the green. Great finisher!

Still absurdly priced on weekends. They must be subsidizing the broader condo assn with their fees. Over a hundy to play and carts don't even have GPS. Play Hawks view down the road where they value customers.

This is a very cool course with great views of Lake Como. There are large elevation changes and lots of natural wildlife areas. The conditions are always first-class at Geneva National.

The staff is fantastic, even loading your clubs to the cart and bringing them down below. Prime rates are fairly steep; however, they provide great deals in spring/fall, especially for the condition the course is usually in those times of year.

I consider this one of the top 5 courses in SE Wisconsin.

There are better courses in the area for less money.

This course is about 45 minutes away from Milwaukee and is a great alternative option to expensive courses such as Erin Hills or Whistling Straits. Twilight hour rates are around $50 and if you get a tee time right when they begin you will finish with sunlight. Practice facilities include putting green, short game area, and driving range(all in great condition). I played the last week of July and the course was basically in perfect condition with a few minor issues with the tee boxes and fringes. Greens are in good shape and aren't too fast, giving easy approach shots and aggressive putts to score low. Only complaint was our round took 4:45 to finish and waited on every tee box past the 12th hole. I would definitely recommend this course to anyone looking to pay a low price for amazing quality.

I played Palmer course and did a replay at Player course for $30!! awesome price for great course.

This was my first time playing any of the courses at Geneva National. Since I was playing with my girlfriend (a newish golfer), I called ahead and asked which was the easiest of their three courses. Their answer was the Trevino course. After playing this one, I'll certainly be back to test myself on the other two courses.

Pros: I'll start with the staff. From the bag drop to the starter, to the beverage cart attendants, to the rangers, all were top notch and very friendly and helpful. Everyone seemed genuinely happy to be working there. The pro shop has anything and everything you could ask for. The driving range is awesome. It provides a beautiful view over Lake Como. I liked the course design by Trevino. He definitely forcused on playability when he designed this course. For better players that can fade the ball, they can attack pins all day and try and cut off some corners on the dog leg holes. But for players who are just happy to hit the ball straight, they'll be able to enjoy the round with scoring opportunities on multiple holes. I felt that as the round progressed, the holes got thougher with there being narrower fairways and decisions to be made with forced carries or lay ups. This is not a course where you just hit driver off the tee on every hole. Good variety of holes with enough hazards to punish wayward shots yet not take you out of the hole. Large green complexes with multiple ridges and levels running through them. Be sure to pay attention to pin placement or risk a 50+ ft putt over multiple ridges.

Cons: The course is in nice condition but I've played better conditioned courses this year for a much better price. For me, the value of playing a casual round here is just not there. Special events/occasions? Sure. A normal weekday morning match with my normal golfing buddies? Too steep of a price for me. That reason alone is what differentiates this from being a five star course. My only other big criticism was the inconsistent speed of the greens. It was difficult to lag putt as some were very fast and others were much slower. The caveat to this is that we played after some heavy rains and it also briefly drizzled during our round. That may have had something to do with it. Being a walker for almost half of the rounds I play, there's no way that I would attempt to walk this course. Several of the tee shots can be quite intimidating for players that may spray the ball a bit off the tee with houses coming up right next to the fairways. There were multiple tee shots my girlfriend refused to hit because she was worried about slicing one into a house.

Verdict: The Trevino course is one on which you can score. It offers a good variety of holes. It has picturesque tee shots and approaches. I took multiple photos of various holes. Multiple tee options make it playable for all. I enjoyed myself enough that I'm willing to recommend it to others as well as to give the other two courses a try. Conditioning, value, and design wise, I would place it on the same level of both courses at the Grand Geneva resort (The Brute and The Highlands).

Extra tip: The Hunt Club steakhouse was excellent. Great food and great views overlooking several golf holes and Lake Como in the distance. Gorgeous in the evening. Golf attire is appropriate for the dress code.

Beautiful day at a stunning course. Only drawback was pace of play.

high quality course but course had groups stacked on tee box , fairway and greens. Love the courses but this should not happen at a five star course.