Wild about Wisconsin

I just got back from a trip to Lamar, Colo., to pay my last respects to my great uncle Jesse Ramirez, a 92-year-old Mexican-American World War II vet. I saw cousins I hadn’t seen in 20 years. Over drinks at the wake, my job came up, and I got a question I often get when discussing my job: What’s the nicest course you’ve ever played?

If you know me, you know I’d rather tell a golf story — like the time I hung out with Nick Price in Mexico, or for these Broncos fans, the time I interviewed John Elway on the golf course — over boasting about all the great golf courses I’ve hacked up. But whenever I’m pressed on the subject of “nicest course,” depending on my mood, I’ll usually go with one of three courses: Prairie Dunes in Hutchinson, Kan.; Corales in Punta Cana, the Dominican Republic; or the Straits Course at Whistling Straits, Kohler, Wis.

While coming up with a favorite course is hard, coming up with favorite golf destinations is easy. With the gained wisdom of nearly 20 years as a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America, I know what many golf nuts around the country already know: Wisconsin is a great golf destination.

There’s already so much to love about Wisconsin: Its easy-going people, its delicious food (cheese curds!), its dedication to great beer (the only state where you can buy both Spotted Cow and Jigger Ale) and a rock-solid airport.

I’ve also played a decent amount of golf in Wisconsin and it was all memorable. The Wee One Foundation event at Pine Hills CC in Sheboygan, hosted every year by CGCS Rod Johnson, is a great time. I did a guys’ trip to Kohler, stayed at the American Club and played both Black Wolf Run and the Straits Course, where I had the round of my life. Last summer, I got up there to play Erin Hills with Jason Straka, ASGCA, and Greg Martin, current president of the ASGCA. Another great trip. The list goes on.

Previous PGA Championships at Whistling Straits have shown, Erin Hills will emphasize, and a new course will put it in stone: Wisconsin is a bucket-list golfer destination.

For my 2017 U.S. Open preview story I had the pleasure of doing a conference call with the course’s three architects. Mike Hurdzan, Ph.D., Dana Fry and Ron Whitten all took the time to talk Erin Hills with me. I also asked them for their take on where Wisconsin stood in the pantheon of great American golf locales.

“Among real golf people, Wisconsin is well known,” Fry told me. “Now (with the U.S. Open) to the casual golfer and sports fans, it’s going to be well known throughout the world.”

“I’ve always thought Wisconsin was a great, diverse state for golf,” Whitten said. “You’ve got every site you want, from tree-lined like Brown Deer or SentryWorld, to the manufactured dunes of Whistling Straits, to the natural thing you’ll see at Erin Hills and you’re going to see at Sand Valley.”

Which got us to talking about that new course, Sand Valley, which will have had its grand opening by the time you get this magazine. The first 18 is a Coore and Crenshaw, and a David Kidd course will follow. Expectations are high. I have not yet been to that property, but I’ll bet you a basket of cheese curds that I remedy this soon. And I’ll bet you a Spotted Cow that Wisconsin sees a U.S. Open spike in golfers that lasts for a long time.

“It started with Whistling straits, but throw in Sand Valley and now Erin Hills — Wisconsin is a major worldwide golfing destination,” Fry said. “It’s become one of three iconic areas for golf, along with Bandon Dunes and Pebble Beach. Who would have thought you’d have that in Wisconsin? It seems unbelievable to me, but it is. It has an awesome variety of golf and it’s going to do a lot for golf tourism as the years go by.”

I can practically taste that Spotted Cow already.