Over the past few years there have been a few glaring omissions in my rankings of the state of Wisconsin’s best private golf courses, and to me the biggest has been Minocqua Country Club.

Those in the know know about MCC and scream its praises, and for very good reason. The golf course is charming, well-designed and beautiful, and the club is friendly and laidback – the kind of membership that’s passionate enough about their course to literally help build it.

During its 2001 renovation/expansion (from nine to 18 holes), for example, members helped with stonework, built fences and kicked in on various areas of its construction. That pride and ownership is palpable when visiting Minocqua Country Club, and it was one of the first things Head Golf Professional Dave Kemnitz shared with me.

The undisputed King of Northwoods Wisconsin golf, Minocqua provides a scenic, challenging golf experience that’s unique among the state’s top private clubs.

Each hole on the Ron Garl design feels like it’s in its own world. While it’s a heavily wooded property it’s not tight off the tee. The greens complexes are well-varied and each hole has its own identity – there’s a uniform feel across the property but I never felt like “I already played this hole.” With each new hole we arrived at I found myself saying, “woah, this is awesome!”

The par threes, especially, are phenomenal.

While I will not get into each hole on the course – Brian did a fantastic job covering that in his 2022 article, linked below, I do need to discuss a few of my favorites from a memorable round spent with great people including fellow golf photographer Keith Lally (Instagram: @thesweetspotgolf), his friend and my coworker, Ryan, and Stevens Point Country Club Superintendent and long-ball extraordinaire Charlie Beyer.

Course Highlights: Minocqua’s Most Memorable Golf Holes

I like to post a signature par three video as an Instagram story at each course I play. I know it’s cheesy but a lot of people watch and “like” them – and I enjoy doing them even though they typically result in errant shots.

“Top Golf Holes” on WiscoGolfAddict Instagram

I was too caught up on the front nine to think of it, but I would have loved to have recorded it on the third. Especially since my 5-iron from 196 yards was pin-seeking – it came up a little short but still led to par.

I did manage to get Keith’s tee shot on this hole, though. As you can see, the third looks just as great from the ground as it does from the air:

Following our round I spent another 45-60 minutes photographing the third in hopes of finding good angles of the hole and its surrounds, including the Tomahawk Thoroughfare that winds around it and the property’s northern perimeter.

The scenic back nine at Minocqua begins with one of my favorite holes on the course. Teeing off downhill into a valley, most of the 10th fairway is hidden from view so is not actually as restrictive as it initially appears.

While the aesthetics of this short par four from the tee are impressive, the greens complex on 10 stars as it runs hard away. Pinned on the front-left upper shelf just beyond a blowout trap, this was one of the hardest hole locations we played all day, but it sure was fun.

A beautiful, short uphill par five, the 12th at Minocqua requires an extra club on approach to reach the putting surface.

The other two par fives, the ninth and 15th are significantly longer than the 12th but both play fairly level with plenty of wiggle-room.

The ninth is the longest hole on the course, stretching to 585 yards from the tips and with an elevated green that’s well-protected by a deep bunker front-left and another trap to its right.

Teeing up over wasteland, the 15th pinches as it nears the green, finishing in a tight, wooded area with sand everywhere.

Another excellent par three, the 13th has water right and plays primarily downhill to an elevated, heavily contoured greens complex fronted by a clover bunker front-center.

The 18th at Minocqua is a terrific finishing hole. I love the aesthetics of a specimen tree designed into a fairway; I wouldn’t want it on every hole, of course, but it’s done beautifully here while guarding the right side of the fairway before a challenging uphill approach.

Wisconsin’s Coolest Non-Golf On-Course Bonus Experience?

Finishing up on 13 we made our way around a sizable pond to the 14th tees. After hitting our tee shots, Stevens Point Country Club Superintendent Charlie Beyer and I walked to the cart and I couldn’t help but say “check out the size of the fish in this pond!” Charlie said something like they must feed the bass well, which led me to take a closer look. These were not bass but trout, each at least a foot and a half long. It was around that time my friend Keith (Instagram: @thesweetspotgolf) noticed a green receptacle on a stand near the pond. He opened it to find fish food. We obviously had to see what this was all about, scooped some pellets and shucked it in the water.

Instantly, dozens of trout entered an absolute feeding frenzy. If I had to guess I’d say there were at least 60 of them. I had to take a little drone video following our round of feeding them – it still doesn’t do the experience justice, and I guess we didn’t even get the greatest possible experience which sounds like it’s feeding the trout and then having bald eagles swoop down for their own free meal.

Either way, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cooler little “Easter egg” on a golf course than this. Well done, MCC!

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Where Does Minocqua Fit in the State’s Top Private Golf Courses?

Minocqua Country Club belongs favorably among the state’s top ten private courses. How high, though?

This is one of those challenging situations where I find myself comparing golf properties that aren’t entirely comparable. How do you compare a brilliant modern Northwoods layout against 1920’s and 30’s golden age stalwarts like Pine Hills, Milwaukee, Blue Mound, Kenosha, West Bend, Ozaukee, North Shore, Oneida, Westmoor, Oconomowoc, Racine, Nakoma, Maple Bluff or North Hills, for example? And how do you really comp Minocqua – an incredibly unique golf experience – against ultra-modern layouts like Strawberry Creek, Green Bay, TPC Wisconsin, Horseshoe Bay, Tuckaway, Bishop’s Bay, Hidden Glen or Hawk’s Landing.

While it may not unseat my top four – The Lido, Pine Hills, Milwaukee and Blue Mound, respectively – it’s justly in that next tier alongside Stevens Point and Kenosha. I’ve got it at number six, in fact, just behind Stevens Point and ahead of Kenosha and West Bend. Now that’s what I’d call esteemed company!

Minocqua Country Club website