Grand Geneva Resort & Spa

This was my first time playing either course at Grand Geneva. Even before stepping foot on the course, I was impressed with the facilities. The pro shop is very nice. The practice green is very large with a variety of slopes to get you ready for the greens on the courses. The is a chipping/pitching area next to the practice green. Balls on the driving range are included with your greens fees. You have to hit off of turf but the range is large with a variety of flags set at different distances to get you warmed up. The golf carts are set up with a very nice GPS unit which gives readings of distance to the pin, front and back of the greens, hazards, etc. Probably the nicest GPS set-up I've seen on a cart.

The starter at the first tee recommended the blue tees for my group. In doing so, he said it really doesn't matter what set of tees you play from. He stated The Highlands course will give you multiple chances for birdies and pars but it will also give you multiple chances for double and triple bogeys.

The course does not play extremely long as even from the tips it is less than 6700 yards. Where this course will beat you up is the par 4's. Many of them have such tight landing areas off the tee where you will have to hit a wood or a hybrid off the tee to play it safe. If you miss badly, you are in the woods or waste areas, and are scrambling for bogey. Elevations changes will also play havoc with your club selection and distances. Overall, the course was in excellent condition. Just be aware, the course was closed on 4/25, as they were starting to aerate the greens. If you play The Highlands in the next week or two, the greens may run a little rough.

Pace of play on a Sunday afternoon was just OK. There were waits on some tees and several holes had multiple groups on them. I believe we finished our round in a little over 4.5 hours.

Out of the two course, I enjoyed The Brute more but will definitely play The Highlands again. The two courses compliment each other well. If you play The Highlands first, it is a good warm-up for The Brute. If you play The Brute first and get beat up, The Highlands will be a welcome recovery round. For perspective, I shot 10 strokes better on The Highlands than I did The Brute.

TheHighlands used to be called The Briar Patch. It was one of the early, and few, Pete Dye-Jack Nicklaus collaborations, opened in 1968 as part of the Playboy Resort. Some older buddies of mine who played the original said it was much tougher at that time than its sister course, The Brute. But it was reworked and softened in the mid-late 1990s by Bob Cupp and Bob Lohman -- and renamed to sound less threatening. A bit more target-golf than The Brute, but "getable". A guy I played with had 5 birdies and an eagle, but still shot 80, due to some triple-bogeys. In other words: getable, but still plenty of trouble to find -- wetlands, woods, high grass. Lots of short par 4s, which will challenge your club selections and strategy, depending on the tees you play -- anything from a driver down to hybrid will be an option. Undulating greens that still show telltale hallmarks of the Dye-Nicklaus days. Great staff and practice area!

The Brute is carved into the rolling woodlands of southern Wisconsin. The 1968 Robert Bruce Harris design is a big-hitter's course, with some forced carries, tough fairways to hit, and plenty of woods to avoid. Elevation changes make for lots of fun, though. Greens can be large, but often very firm and elevated and difficult to stick close to the pins. Do not start to count up your score until you hole out on 18, as the last two holes are maybe the toughest on the course. Great practice facilities and excellent staff and pro shop.

Played the brute today. Course is cool with its huge greens and huge bunkers. Stuff you are not used to seeing. Staff is very friendly and inviting, and driving range is very nice also. Tee to green course was a in very good shape they have taken out some trees on some holes especially #2 which has made things a little better more golfer friendly. Greens were slow and a little fuzzy. The highlands seem to be fast all the time and the brute always seem to be slow, doesnt make much sense. Wish they kept them the same. The sand is too soft as always and they have really raised their prices on bev cart (buy at the bar its cheaper). Course is very nice but for the regular price save your money way better courses to play for a better price.

The Highlands at grand geneva is a very nice course with very good amenities. Staff is friendly and helpful and the bag of tees and repair tools are a great addition. You can score on this course very well but the course is tight which can make the score go up up up. Fairways are some of the best around and greens are always in good shape too. The 9th hole is for sure the hardest hole in walworth county maybe the hardest in southern wi. 450yd par 4 uphill with a landing zone off the tee about 30 yds wide with ob on both sides. Then have a long iron or hybrid up hill to a false front green. Getting out of here with 5 is a good score. The golf course is a top 5 lg cpurse to me the bev carts are huge and obnoxious and the price for the course is far to high, but they always throw out deals with the hotel so check for those. Great course to play if you can find a deal.

My first time ever playing. Got tomplay for $25. This is unheard of. Very challenging. Absolutely beutiful. You cant go wrong.

This is a very nice upscale coarse and got a very good price from golfnow.com . I was supposed to be paired up with other golfers but was told the coarse was wide open and could go out when ever I felt like it. I hit a couple at the range first and when i went to the 1 tee there was no one waiting so I just went out alone. The coarse was in great condition for mid Oct. and it had some quite challenging holes. I would definitely play this coarse again.

I made a morning tee time with the weather man being dead wrong again. Rain and cold drizzle hampered the day but not my spirits on enjoying my round. The golf course was wet and slow with several balls plugging and no role from fairways hit...so it played long.
The course was fair, challenging and enjoyable to play at every turn. I would go back with a fall deal but can't afford the peek season.
The only negative was the number of reminders to fix divots, ball marks and staying on cart paths the GPS gave. I was frustrated by the number of times I had to touch the GPS screen to get things going again.

This time I played the Brute. I have played the highland and I enjoy both courses. The Brute is a bit more challenging. The course was in excellent condition like aways and the staff are all very helpful. I'm looking forward to the next time I can enjoy a round of golf at The Grand Geneva.

It would have been nice to know they aerated the greens. We would have played a different course and waited to play this one another time.

good value --will be back-will attend with regular four-some

Love the glacier terraine of the Highlands. There's hardly no houses. Mostly woids and fields. I think this course is harder than the Brute. It has a couple of short par 4, blind holes.
Considering it had rain for two days, 50° and 20 mph winds it was cart path only..The grounds crew was working hard to blow the leaves away. The $10 rate (Golfnow.com) was worth the trip to Grand Geneva National..

great golf course that I was able to play all 18 by myself. There's even a runway in the middle of the course that caught my eye. A leftover from the playboy club era days I suppose.

We really had a great day at the Highlands. The layout is great with ample landing areas on most holes, great conditions and tricky, sloping greens. Played the senior tees (around 5700+) yards which made the course very playable for my ability.

We had some concerns with the help we received upon check-in. The guy at the bag drop who seemed very busy, never put my clubs on the cart, so I had to do that myself. Also, the women in the golf shop asked me to prove that we had prepaid. Luckily, I was able to show her the confirmation email on my iPhone. Despite these minor issues, we had a great day and would return .

too much slow play but ranger did not care of that.
I took 5 hours for 17 hols (skip 10 hols) .

Fairly long with someelevated tees and greens, long carries and large undulating greens. Fairways, rough and greens all in top notch condition.

Great course with fun elevation and challenging holes. Greens somewhat slow and Huge! Staff is great . Fun day.

I highly recommend the Brute. The facilities are top notch, and the course is outstanding. it is challenging but not punishing. Anyone who love to play golf will the the Brute. The pace of play is very good as well. A+

Played white tees long but challenge ing, great views, beautiful elevation changes,

Want to come back as soon as we can. Very well maintained and laid out. Lots of elevation changes and twists and turns. Many bunkers which were very large and guarded most every approach shot. Greens were very large and rolled well with breaks that were hard to read . Course was tough but rewarded good shots and penalized bad shots. Great day of golf