Meet one of the best Wisconsin golf resort you (in all probability) by no means heard of

Whenever you flip off Freeway 50 and arrive at one of the best Wisconsin golf resort you (in all probability) have by no means heard of, you’ll drive by imposing homes, wind round intriguing golf holes and go completely manicured flower beds.

The velocity restrict throughout this 90-second drive en path to the stately clubhouse is an arbitrarily 26 mph, for no different motive than to easily seize guests’ consideration. It actually works, however the complete eye-catching property accomplishes that too.

And hand up, till not too long ago, I by no means knew this place existed. However the images appeared nice and the drive from the Twin Cities appeared straightforward sufficient, so we gave it a strive one steamy August morning. Quick ahead 36 hours and 54 holes after arriving — whereas standing on high of the large Dance Ground placing inexperienced on the ultimate night of a fast two-night keep — I rolled putts because the solar set over Lake Como and couldn’t imagine I had been so naive.

How didn’t I find out about this place? And was I the one one?

I’ve spent most of my life 300-ish miles away in a neighboring golf state and the previous decade working for a golf web site. Positive, I knew of Sand Valley and Lawsonia and Whistling Straits and Erin Hills and others, however I hadn’t heard of Vacation spot Geneva Nationwide till this summer time. I’m positive most of Wisconsin and Illinois’ die-hard golfers comprehend it nicely, however I nonetheless felt prefer it slipped below the radar for somebody even a state away. It appeared worthy of a go to, and shortly it was on the to-do listing.

Undiscovered is a subjective time period, however I left Geneva Nationwide with the purpose of constructing positive a number of extra folks knew of among the best golfy getaways in Wisconsin.

Vacation spot Geneva Nationwide — a reasonably new title; it used to go by Geneva Nationwide Resort & Membership — is positioned in southeast Wisconsin, within the small resort city of Lake Geneva, Wis. It’s about an hour from Milwaukee, lower than two hours from Chicago and 5 hours from Minneapolis. The city has a singular historical past as a hideaway for Chicago gangsters like George “Child Face” Nelson and George “Bugs” Moran, however today it’s principally referred to as a laid-back household getaway boasting a pleasant downtown with wonderful eating places and buying and a handful of resorts and good golf programs, a lot of that are sprinkled round Geneva Lake or Lake Como.

A type of spots is Vacation spot Geneva Nationwide, a sprawling property that sits on the west facet of Lake Como. Its draw is that it primarily does all the pieces — and does all of it nicely. It hosts weddings, company outings, household getaways and buddies’ golf journeys. And its setting — laborious towards the lake — is nearly like a cheat code to make any of the aforementioned particular. (However the swimming pools, half dozen eating places and plethora of lodging choices don’t damage, both.)

An enormous promoting level for golfers, you may assume, is the golf. There are three 18-hole programs, so a 54-hole getaway means you by no means play the identical golf gap twice. The programs are good, too, and weekday stay-and-play charges are $145 throughout peak season ($190 weekend, cart included). Spring and fall are cheaper, and this time of yr — October — you may play for $100.

What you get is three distinctive programs designed by a trio of hall-of-famers whom we are able to merely establish by their final names: Participant, Trevino, Palmer. The Trevino Course begins within the woods and is a principally forgiving setup that opens up on the again 9. The Participant Course will check your shot-making and problem your aggressiveness (and was residence to a few my favourite holes). And the Palmer Course boasts a picturesque ending stretch alongside Lake Como and a ending gap within the 18th that performs again as much as the spectacular Geneva Nationwide clubhouse, a full of life space flooded with golfers, wedding-goers and dozens of others bellied as much as the bar or snacking on the patio.

However this busy space is all by design, and the nucleus of all of it is the model new Dance Ground, a 27-hole illuminated Himalayas-style placing course that opened in 2022 and spreads out throughout the again of the clubhouse. It’s 44,000 sq. ft and complementary for anybody staying on the resort (and simply $9 for anybody else) and is open till 11 p.m. on weekends. There are drink holders propped up all through the wildly undulating placing floor with music blasting by means of the encompassing audio system. Only a few ft away sits one other current addition, the Paloma Cantina, an out of doors bar the place you may order tacos, craft cocktails and beer. It’s flanked by extra new centerpieces — a bocce ball court docket, two hearth pits and extra patio seating.

Overlooking all of that is the elevated turf. smokehouse patio, the restaurant that sits on the bottom of the clubhouse (which, by the way in which, is sufficiently big to accommodate the professional store, resort check-in in and upstairs occasion areas). Turf serves breakfast, lunch and dinner — go along with the wings and woodfire pizzas — however there are additionally different resort eating places a few miles off property (there’s a free shuttle you should utilize). Crafted Italia serves up pasta, pizzas and extra — all of the carbs you want after an extended day on the golf course — and Hunt Membership Steakhouse affords mouth-watering wet- and dry-aged cuts, an incredible wine catalog and an extended listing of tasty outdated fashioneds inside one of many space’s most historic buildings. Oh, and the heavenly thick-cut applewood smoked bacon appetizer will actually be lit on hearth by your waiter earlier than it’s able to devour (it’s the little issues).

After you’ve had your fill of golf, crimson meat and wine, the digs are good, too. There are cottages, suites and a lodge to remain in, and a few with sufficient house to accommodate larger teams (and customised stay-and-play packages as nicely).

It’s straightforward to be a fan of Vacation spot Geneva Nationwide. Everybody there appeared to be. Nonetheless there was one factor few agreed on — which course they preferred greatest. Some stated the Palmer. Others swore by the Participant and others preferred the Trevino. It’s sort of the working joke right here; everybody has a unique opinion with no outright winner. When you’ve been there, the drill. Simply don’t inform me it’s something aside from the Participant.

Discover our all-new Course Finder

Golf programs close to you? Search right here!

Start Searching

Josh Berhow

Golf.com Editor

As GOLF.com’s managing editor, Berhow handles the day-to-day and long-term planning of one of many sport’s most-read information and repair web sites. He spends most of his days writing, enhancing, planning and questioning if he’ll ever break 80. Earlier than becoming a member of GOLF.com in 2015, he labored at newspapers in Minnesota and Iowa. A graduate of Minnesota State College in Mankato, Minn., he resides within the Twin Cities together with his spouse and two youngsters. You may attain him at joshua_berhow@golf.com.