There are few golf destinations in the Midwest that I’d still consider to be budget-friendly and worth visiting, and Eagle Ridge Golf Resort in Galena, Illinois is right near the top of those.

The crown jewel of Eagle Ridge is undoubtedly The General.

Named for General Ulysses S. Grant who held residence along the glorious bluffs and majestic Mississippi River in Galena, the Andy North and Roger Packard designed General would serve him proud, delivering wonderful highs and dramatic lows as it rolls through the region’s bluff-laden terrain.

With changes in elevation that can best be described as ridiculous (highlighted by the short par four 5th that plays 167 feet downhill and the challenging 8th that plays as dramatically uphill), beautiful scenery, excellent conditioning and challenging yet fair strategic design, this place is a low handicapper’s paradise.

The tee shots are demanding, the greens are undulating and there’s all the visual excitement (and intimidation) you’d expect in one of the country’s top 100 public courses.

It’s a golf experience you can only find at a dozen or so sites across the Midwest and, when you consider the dramatic terrain played across, maybe a handful at most (Greywalls, TimberStone and Wild Rock also certainly come to mind).

To me it’s the dramatic elevation that makes The General so memorable and noteworthy.

Holes like the fifth and eighth certainly stand out as Templars, but so many of the course’s holes are designed in a way that delivers constant thrill across rugged, up and down terrain en route to an enthralling finish.

This course strikes early and never lets up.

The General, Hole-by-Hole

Hole 1: Par 4 (hcp 6, 396/361/354)

With the two nines flipped in 2020, the new first hole is a tough, significantly uphill par four to a very narrow and elevated green site between trees and a big drop-off to the left.

This is a hole you might need to get a little lucky on. For example, I managed to hit a perfect drive followed by a decent approach shot that bounced off the green complex and left, well below and to the side of the putting surface. As I said, this is not an easy start. While I felt a little foolish for messing up such a good drive, I did manage to hole out on a flop shot for birdie from there.

Hole 2: Par 3 (hcp 18, 163/152/141)

High drama tees off early on The General, including on the par three 2nd over a chasm that reminded me a bit of the incredible 6th at Greywalls in Marquette, Michigan.

A short par three, the circular green is a bit less extreme than most on the course despite a back-to-front slope and subtle interior contouring. The back-left pin location during our round had a little wiggle at the end that was especially tough to read.

Hole 3: Par 5 (hcp 14, 499/466/444)

A short par five, the third is a relatively straightforward hole for The General’s standards.

Hole 4: Par 4 (hcp 2, 442/423/383)

Crafted softly right to left along the tree line, the payoff on four is a beautiful vista over the area’s bluffs beyond the green complex (over the fifth, which is coming next).

Hole 5: Par 4 (hcp 16, 357/341/339)

The fifth features one of the most dramatically downhill tee shots I’ve ever hit. With 167 feet in total elevation change from tee to green (thank you, Google Earth!), this is one of the only drivable-ish 340+ yard par fours I’ve ever seen.

The tee shot here is sure to create some anxiety. Any wind is exacerbated at such heights, potentially pushing or pulling drives one way or the other. I cranked one here, down the left side near the tree line, and had about 20 yards in. Had it been down the fairway it would probably have been closer, but the encroaching hillside on the left caromed it down the hill and closer to the fairway.

Get your camera out for five and eight. They’re both absolutely breathtaking.

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Hole 6: Par 3 (hcp 10, 190/170/168)

A fairly long par three, the sixth plays over a valley to a wide green fronted by sand. I liked the railroad tiled backsplash on the front-left bunker.

Hole 7: Par 4 (hcp 12, 398/380/354)

A hard right-to-left around the tree line, get your draw dialed up for seven. This hole features one of the smallest greens on the entire course.

Hole 8: Par 4 (hcp 4, 370/361/340)

WOW. What a golf hole.

Eight is how I picture the golf course at Yale. It also reminds me a lot of Greywalls.

With an elevated tee shot over no man’s land, the playing surface climbs almost as much as the fifth hole drops. This is no ordinary par four, and it’s it’s one of the longest 360-yard par fours I’ve ever seen with such an extreme uphill ascent.

Hole 9: Par 5 (hcp 8, 520/500/471)

The ninth is a really cool finish to the front nine. Playing over a trench from the tee, the fairway doesn’t look massive but is. Mounding runs longitudinally through the fairway, creating a raised playing surface on the right side and lower one to the left.

I hit a good drive here, then pulled three-wood to try getting home under regulation. I hit it hard and snappy – I was sure it would be lost down the left side, but when I got up there it was safely in the rough with an easy chip shot in.

Other than its undulating green, this is a very forgiving finish and gettable par five to end the front nine.

Hole 10: Par 4 (hcp 9, 407/378/346)

Eagle Ridge flipped the nines on The General in 2020, making the then-first hole now the 10th.

It’s easy to see how this was a great round starter, just beyond the back of the clubhouse and with a highly elevated teeing facility that looks out over the gorgeous Eagle Ridge terrain.

A fairly short downhill par four, this is a great opportunity to get your back nine off to a solid start.

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Hole 11: Par 5 (hcp 7, 549/528/501)

Requiring a cut tee shot, the 11th on The General is a long par five over 525 yards from both back sets of tees.

Tumbling downhill and to the right, this hole introduces players to the main area of the course’s back nine. Stay left, if anything, on this hole as shots lost right are sure to be gone.

Hole 12: Par 3 (hcp 17, 170/143/133)

A beautiful little par three, the 12th is a short downhill one-shot hole that’s a bit deceptive in its simplicity. The short grass appears closer than it is, and water surrounds the majority of the green complex.

Hole 13: Par 4 (hcp 13, 376/354/325)

Again playing right-to-left, the 13th is uphill from tee boxes along the pond shared with 12 and 15.

Thirteen has a beautiful little approach area and a long, narrow putting surface that’s as contoured as any green complex on the property. This is another really solid par four.

Hole 14: Par 4 (hcp 1, 437/418/396)

The hardest hole on the course, the 14th on The General is a dogleg left par four well over 400 yards. What makes this hole so challenging is its approach shot. Even with a great drive, chances are you’ll have 175 yards or more in over a ravine and between two trees that frame the target like goal posts to an elevated green set against the hillside…

Take four here all day, if you can!

Hole 15: Par 5 (hcp 5, 505/479/459)

A midrange par five, the 15th is almost cape-style in its setup in that the pond can be flown to set up a shorter approach. It’s a long carry, though, so be sure you’ve got it in your arsenal.

Bending left-to-right around the water, the green is again narrow and has a stark drop-off on the right side.

Hole 16: Par 3 (hcp 11, 187/130/107)

The shortest par three on the course, the 16th plays from a high point to an elevated green that’s mostly unseen from the tee. The green here is larger than I expected, but the front pin location definitely threw us for a loop.

Hole 17: Par 4 (hcp 15, 350/306/280)

One of my favorite par fours on the course, the 17th bends left-to-right and features one of The General’s most interesting green sites.

A depressed area makes up the entire right side of the playing area leading up to the green, and is then abutted by forest. Tee shots that find this lowered surface will likely not have much of a look at the green on their second shot.

Surrounded by rock walls, this is a massive green complex.

Hole 18: Par 4 (hcp 3 (410/390/376)

A brutally difficult finish to the course, the eighteenth tees off over a gap to a fairway that narrows as it gets nearer to the green.

As I mentioned earlier, the course flipped their nines just a few years ago and this is where I can see the obviousness in that decision: This is a perfect finishing hole beneath the clubhouse and, while I really enjoyed nine, is a more suitable 18th.

The green on 18 is perched above two deep greenside pot bunkers, and a hillside lines the entire left side of the green. While a small portion of it can be used to knock tee shots toward the fairway, most of it is kept so long that it will swallow up anything hit that direction.

The 18th is a tough, beautiful way to end a challenging and memorable round of golf on The General.

Originally opened in 1997 and designed by Wisconsin’s own [two-time US Open Champion] Andy North and Roger Packard (who was also part of the design teams for the resort’s other three courses), The General is perfectly quirky, challenging yet fair, and fun. It’s a terrific test of golf with multiple signature holes and great memorability.

Are you looking for a great new destination for an annual buddies’ golf trip, or maybe a getaway with your wife (or husband) with some built-in quality time for the links? With 63 total holes and a centerpiece like The General, Eagle Ridge is the perfect place for either and is less than three hours from Milwaukee!

With spectacular land and a thrilling, efficient layout, this might be my favorite public golf course I’ve played in Illinois. In fact, it shocked me not to find it in Golf Digest’s, Golf.com’s nor GolfWeek’s Top 100 Public Courses lists (although GolfWeek does have it as their #6 rated track in Illinois).

As you can probably tell, I would rank it higher.

Link to Eagle Ridge Resort’s website to book your next getaway