In 2023, Golf Digest embarked on an ambitious project to identify America’s best overall golf state. The article proved buzzworthy in golf circles, but it also inspired a follow-up project.
“Since the list was dominated by private clubs, it neglected the experience of the everyday golfer,” wrote Drew Powell, who in his February 2024 Golf Digest follow-up article ranked the Dairy State as the nation’s No. 1 for public golf, housing 10 of the nation’s top 100 public courses.
What’s more, six of the 10 honored courses are located in the New North region — with the other four located in adjacent counties or within short driving distance, including Sand Valley in Nekoosa, Sentryworld in Stevens Point, and the site of the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open: Erin Hills.
Rob Jansen, executive director of the Wisconsin State Golf Association, says the 2025 Open is the latest on a distinguished roster of events that have come to Wisconsin during his 15-year tenure with WSGA. Whistling Straits in Kohler has hosted the men’s PGA Championship three times (2004, 2010, 2015) as well as the 2021 Ryder Cup. Blackwolf Run in Kohler hosted the U.S. Women’s Open in 2012, and Erin Hills hosted the men’s U.S. Open in 2017.
Wisconsin has earned a reputation for supporting the sport and turning out for those professional events, Jansen says: “The great part is you see these championships on TV, and you can go out and play some of these same courses.”
And while the national attention of major events and magazine rankings has drawn golf tourism, Jansen points to the development of centrally located Sand Valley as pivotal in establishing Northeast and North Central Wisconsin as a destination. Golf tourists are flocking to the state, knowing they can easily drive between elite courses.
One of those courses, located less than 70 miles from Sand Valley, is Lawsonia Links in Green Lake. The Golden Age course has undergone significant improvements and recently landed itself in the No. 16 spot on GOLF’s list of “Top 100 Courses You Can Play.”
Mark Wilton, executive director of the Green Lake Area Chamber, says he has absolutely seen tourism surge following Lawsonia’s national recognition and the development of Sand Valley. He credits collaborative marketing efforts, a commitment to maintenance and renovations, and statewide efforts to push tourism.
The impact of golf on the Green Lake economy has also been noticeable, Wilton says. In a small town anchored by small businesses such as retail stores, bars and restaurants, summertime and tourism traffic are paramount. He also says people who come for the golf are enticed to stay for Wisconsin’s deepest inland lake.
“People are discovering Green Lake for the first time [because of] Lawsonia getting the recognition it did,” Wilton says.
Jansen says that, in addition to the tourism and economic development benefits associated with the game, golf also brings value by being “the most charitable game on the planet.”
Dawn Ruchala organizes the U.S. Venture Open, the nation’s largest one-day charity event. The golf outing, which started in 1986, utilizes six courses in and around the Fox Cities. The event attracts nearly 1,000 golfers and in 2024 raised $4,825,895 for the Basic Needs Giving Partnership to help alleviate poverty in Northeast Wisconsin.
Approximately 22% of attendees fly in for the event, which has only been growing, Ruchala says, with the possibility of adding a seventh course in the near future likely.
“We’re not stopping,” Ruchala says.
Because of the proximity of the event to highly-rated courses, Ruchala says she is also seeing an increase in residual golf tourism: “They will golf the U.S. Venture Open on Wednesday, and then the following day they will hit up some of these other courses like Kohler, Erin Hills or Sand Valley,” she says.
Ruchala says the U.S. Venture Open is uniquely Wisconsin.
“We can’t find anything like it anywhere else,” she says. “I think that showcases how unique this area is, especially around golf.”
America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses
Golf Digest, 2024
4. Whistling Straits: Straits Course, Kohler
18. Blackwolf Run: River Course, Kohler
56. Whistling Straits: Irish Course, Kohler
62. The Golf Courses of Lawsonia: Links, Green Lake
74. Blackwolf Run: Meadow Valleys, Kohler
88. The Bull at Pinehurst Farms, Sheboygan Falls
