We’ve made it.

After what seemed like an eternity waiting through the cold months, we stand at the cusp of the next golf season, as grass explodes with green, courses have opened in droves and we can finally enjoy the sweet feel of warm air.

In other words, it’s time to finally put the 2025 golf season to bed and tell the tale of a phenomenal year, one where I played 44 courses, photographed 21 properties, traveled to play in five different states, wrote 16 articles and dabbled with new equipment.

Indeed, the 2025 golf season proved to be another rich run of content creation, travel and great golfing experiences, and not taking the time to reflect on it feels like it would be an injustice.

Plus, I just finished updating my personal course rankings, making it the perfect time to finally put this article together. This year, I’ve decided to expand the list from 50 to 75 courses in reflection of a great season filled with many first-time plays of courses I’ve had on my radar for some time – 50 simply wasn’t enough.

Michigan: The Focal Point of the 2025 Golf Season

Topping the highlights of my 2025 golf season was a binge in Michigan – I crossed the border for golfing purposes four times this year, with visits to three destinations I had never seen before.

As I’ve written in the past, great golf beckons at every turn in Michigan – its geology, location and summer climate have made it one of America’s top settings for golf trips. My past excursions to the state, including BOYNE, Arcadia Bluffs and Crystal Downs hinted at this, but only scratched the surface. This year, I explored other top Michigan destinations for the first time – Forest Dunes, The Island Resort and Casino (twice) paired with Greywalls at Marquette Golf Club and TimberStone at Pine Mountain, and The Dunes Club.

Forest Dunes

In late July I joined up with the same crew from a 2024 Sand Valley trip – my longtime friend Wrede and his buddies Blake and Mike – and headed to one of Michigan’s top golf resorts that I think just doesn’t get enough love, Forest Dunes Golf Club.

The first thing you’ll notice about Forest Dunes is its remoteness, sitting in a vast stretch of sparsely populated woodland right in the middle of the northern Lower Peninsula.

After a three-hour drive from the Detroit airport across mostly listless, rural terrain, we finally arrived at the gates of a golf paradise.

Forest Dunes struck me as “Sand Valley-lite” – its three golf courses (or four, depending on how you classify a reversible course) are all world-class, routed over sandy land leftover from glacial retreat. The impressive sand blowouts and rolling terrain struck vivid memories of Sand Valley, yet the scale of the operation remains small and more intimate in comparison.

Much of the original Tom Weiskopf-designed layout winds through a forest of majestic, towering pines, presenting an immaculate target golf experience with tight landing zones and raised, well-protected greens.

Where Forest Dunes stands out, though, is its exceptional variety. Each nine starts and ends in a grand strip of sand dunes emerging on the east side of resort property, hitting golfers with wild, imaginative holes that play firm and fast over the gifted land.

The conditioning was pristine, as well, and we couldn’t get enough of this course, looping it three times in three days and even scrapping our planned round at The Bootlegger par three course for another go.

The second course at Forest Dunes is a totally distinct experience, a mind-bending reversible adventure, The Loop.

Tom Doak’s ingenious routing yields two distinct golf courses, each playing to the same 18 green sites but approaching from different angles.

On even-numbered days, you’ll play the Red routing, which traverses the property in a counter-clockwise direction. And then on odd-numbered days, you’ll embark in the opposite direction, playing the Black course clockwise around the property.

And trust me when I say this – it feels like two completely different golf courses.

It’s easy to get lost in the vastness of this property, oblivious to the fact you’ve played it in a different direction. But, at various moments it’ll hit and you’ll realize that the green you’re looking at is the same one you played in reverse, from a completely different angle and approaching with a different club.

The layout spills over rolling, open terrain, with firm and blazing fast fescue surfaces that promote using the ground to your advantage. I had my Texas Wedge on call throughout both of our rounds at The Loop, a game I’m totally comfortable with as evidenced by two sub-80 rounds.

While we didn’t actually play The Bootlegger, we got plenty of views of the nifty par three course, located right next to the resort clubhouse. Occupying a small plot on a hill cut out of pine forest, The Bootlegger features ten holes ranging from 50 to 150 yards with heavily-sloping greens guarded by heavy bunkering.

Overall, I couldn’t have been more impressed with Forest Dunes. While the amenities are smaller in scale (one clubhouse, one restaurant and a handful of guest cabins) compared to the largest Midwest golf resorts, the service was impeccable, our cabin was spacious and comfortable and everything was a short walk from our doorstep.

Most importantly, though, the golf was spectacular, so much so that the original course has debuted at #9 in my course rankings, followed by The Loop at #24 and #33 (Black and Red, respectively).

Forest Dunes is continuing to expand with its next course, Skyfall, a Gil Hanse/Jim Wagner design just north of the current resort footprint. Set to open in 2027 or 2028, Skyfall will have a mostly-private model, similar to that of The Lido where only resort guests will have limited public access.

From everything I’ve seen, Skyfall promises to meet the mark as a destination-worthy course and will expand the scale of Forest Dunes to make it an even more epic destination.

The Upper Peninsula – My Most-Visited Destination of the 2025 Golf Season

Headed into the season, I had heard many raving reviews about golf in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, in particular The Island Resort and Casino’s outstanding duo paired up with two other regional standouts accessible through its best-in-class stay-and-play package, The Perfect Foursome.

Somehow, though, I had yet to golf in the U.P., but that changed in a big way in 2025.

First, in early June, I joined up with buddies John, Kyle and Phil to see if the Perfect Foursome hype was for real. Four rounds and three nights later, I can report that if anything the resort is still underrated – the golf was world-class across the board, while the hotel and casino met the mark for non-golf entertainment, particularly since I enjoy a night at the tables every so often.

As if that weren’t enough, WiscoGolfAddict founder Paul Seifert teed up a team trip to the U.P. at the end of summer, and on the heels of my first adventure I simply couldn’t pass up the opportunity. The quick-hitting three-round, two-night getaway with Paul, Contributing Writers Rich Bauer and Dario Melendez confirmed that everything I took away from the June trip wasn’t a fluke – this place lives up to its reputation.

Sweetgrass (on site) and Sage Run (10-minute drive from hotel) are the main attractions for golfers at The Island Resort & Casino, featuring top-tier course conditions and exceptional variety. Sweetgrass bounds over open prairie with dramatic design and laid-back vibes, while Sage Run is routed through glacially-molded hills and ridges, challenging with severe elevation change and a prevalence of waste areas.

To the north, iconic Greywalls of Marquette Golf Club occupies a one-of-a-kind setting, perched atop a steep hill overlooking Lake Superior with astonishing elevation changes and holes that were literally blasted out of rock outcroppings. Widely considered the crown jewel of U.P. golf, I was especially excited to tee it up here, and it didn’t disappoint even though the course kicked my butt – Greywalls has impressively debuted at #22 in my personal course rankings.

Greywalls tours a riveting site filled with beauty, challenge and drama – it may not be the most “fair” course with severe elevation changes and rock outcroppings very much in play, but it’s a spot that you’ll remember forever and is well worth the long drive north to see at least once. I certainly can’t wait to get another crack at it later this year!

The final course of The Perfect Foursome package is TimberStone at Pine Mountain, located in the border town of Iron Mountain amidst sweeping bluffs next to the Menominee River. This property is a legitimate ski destination in the winter, and the golf course traverses extreme topography that often feels like an actual ski run.

With extremely tight corridors cut out of dense pine forest, TimberStone is target golf on steroids. My two rounds here illustrated that perfectly – in round one, I was on point with my driver and irons, only losing a ball or two and carding a three-putt filled 84. Then, in my August round, driver accuracy abandoned me and I limped my way to a 90.

In both cases, I was so taken by the beauty and boldness of the property that score was very much a secondary consideration – if you’re about to play your first round at TimberStone, put aside any concerns about your performance and bask in the setting.

Of course, any trip to The Island Resort and Casino isn’t complete without a little gaming. I indulged at the blackjack and craps tables during both trips, even encountering the same dealers during each stay. Paul also got me hooked on the Wicked Wheel slots, where a big bonus payout turned my gambling ledger to green for the summer.

The Dunes Club

In early June, Paul Seifert set up a visit to one of the Midwest’s most exclusive, mysterious golf properties, The Dunes Club in New Buffalo, Michigan.

When the invite came my way, there was only one problem – it was scheduled for the day after my first trip to the Upper Peninsula.

Yes, the logistics were messy – I would need to drive home from Greywalls in the evening, grab a few hours of sleep at home and depart in the wee hours for the exact opposite end of Michigan and an early-morning arrival.

There was no way I’d decline this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, though, exhaustion be damned. And who can say that they’ve played Greywalls and The Dunes Club on back-to-back days? Not many, I’m sure, but I was up to the task.

The Dunes Club was a key watershed moment in the modern golf architecture revolution, but at the time it almost went unnoticed. Dream Golf founder Mike Keiser first dipped his toes into the golf business by developing land he owned near Lake Michigan, taking a wooded, sandy property and, with Dick Nugent overseeing the design, created the Midwest’s answer to Pine Valley in the early 1990’s.

There was only enough room for nine holes on the tiny property, but with pin positions and the tee locations of the par 3’s routinely changed midday, this feels like every bit of an 18-hole experience looping it twice.

Secluded and exclusive, the mystique of The Dunes Club is virtually unsurpassed in the Midwest, home to an important opening chapter of the Dream Golf enterprise. Keiser’s success with The Dunes Club paved the foundation for a passion that would yield Bandon Dunes and the rest of his company’s magnificent portfolio, which continues shepherd American golf to new heights.

Paul and I, along with our friend Kevin and our loopers – completed two nine-hole rounds, one in the morning and one early afternoon, but then rain moved in to squash any hope of a bonus nine. I could play this course all day, though, and while I generally don’t include nine-hole courses in my rankings, I couldn’t leave this one out and it’s debuted at #23.

Green Bay, and the Art of the Day trip

Aside from the handful of adventures in Michigan, the heart of my 2025 golf season was more locally-focused. As a result, I found myself making routine day trips across the state to visit top-ranked courses, hidden gems I had never seen and places I’ve enjoyed many years ago but finally re-visited.

The odometer was working overtime this year, as I literally drove my old Audi S4 sedan into the ground (just replaced with a newer Audi Q7 – ready to get after it this year!).

The standout experience of the bunch was an August trip to Green Bay to meet up with Paul Seifert and fellow Contributing Writers Dario Melendez and Sam Sova, celebrity chef Adam Pawlak, Collin Yelich, and Ryan Roethle and Kody Aulenbacher of AKA Custom Lids. This was a great crew to team up with for 36 holes on two impressive and strikingly distinct layouts.

In the morning, we took on Oneida Golf & Country Club, marking the second time I’ve visited the outstanding club. This classic gem occupies a phenomenal natural setting, weaving through the woods and dancing alongside Duck Creek. Its design matches the sublime setting, with thoughfully restored greens from a Hills & Forrest renovation several years ago pumping classic charm into the layout.

Despite a brief bout with the shanks on the back nine that sunk my round, everything about the experience was immaculate, including top-notch conditioning, a challenging yet playable layout and excellent service. It was one of the top five Wisconsin private courses I’d played heading into the round, as I wrote about previously, and if anything it was even better than I had remembered from my first visit in 2021.

Next up that day was my first-ever round at Green Bay Country Club, and it lived up to the lofty feedback I’ve heard from other Wisconsin golf enthusiasts over the years.

Dick Nugent, also the original architect of The Dunes Club, conjured a terrific routing that snakes through a dramatic property filled with ravines, creeks, forest and sweeping elevation changes. While serious trouble lurks on the margins, the fairways and greens are reasonably proportioned, granting room for marginal misses and encouraging aggressive play.

Green Bay Country Club is also the site of one of the more impressive clubhouses I’ve seen in Wisconsin, a modern spectacle placed atop a ridge with a clear view of the dramatic, reachable par four 1st hole.

Checking in at #51 in my personal course rankings, GBCC met every optimistic expectation I had coming into the round, and as one of Wisconsin’s top modern private clubs it’s a can’t-miss destination for Midwest enthusiasts.

Aside from that wonderful day, here are the other noteworthy day trips of the season, mostly in chronological order:

• Glen Erin
• University Ridge
• The Club at Lac La Belle*
• Janesville Riverside*
• Evansville Golf Club*
• Whispering Springs Golf Club
• The Meadows of Sixmile Creek*
• Monroe Golf Club*
• Pleasant View Golf Course*
• The Club at Strawberry Creek
• Bishops Bay Country Club*
• Bull Valley Golf Club (IL)
• Washington County*
• Stevens Point Country Club
• Morningstar Golfers Club
• Sand Valley
• Lawsonia Links for the Langford Shield

*Included drone photography and/or a course review

It was a thrill to experience so many excellent properties across the state and beyond, and as always, the people I connected with along the way proved to be the best part. From family to friends to social media pals, I paired up with a wide variety of personalities during these trips, deepening my connections with other enthusiasts as we enjoyed these excellent venues.

Nakoma’s Renovation – The Coolest Project of the 2025 Golf Season

For all the projects, rounds, articles and events I was lucky enough to be a part of this year, the initiative that hit closest to my heart in the 2025 golf season was covering the renovation of my home course, Nakoma Golf Club.

It’s been nearly 30 years since Nakoma’s last major renovation, and for this round of updates, Craig Haltom and his team at Oliphant Golf Management are comprehensively redesigning the bunkers and surrounds to modernize their construction, enhance strategy and add playability. Upgrades to drainage, water feature redesign and building a snack shack are also on tap for this project.

After seeing Craig’s brilliant work at places like The Club at Lac La Belle and Stevens Point Country Club, I know we’re in great hands and the club stands to elevate itself significantly.

Last fall, I documented the first stage of the project which focused on the front nine, including several rounds of drone photography during active construction. Check out my article detailing the background of the renovation and early thoughts on the changes to the front nine:

The new bunkers and other improvements on the front nine already look phenomenal, especially as the course explodes in green in the wake of recent heavy rainfall. I’m looking forward to continuing my coverage of this important project, so stay tuned for content on the completed state of the front nine followed by the work on the back nine starting this fall!

Other Highlights of the 2025 Golf Season

I’ve barely scratched the surface on what was an incredible 2025 golf season, but here are a few other highlights to note:

• Attending the 2025 PGA Show with WiscoGolfAddict teammates Paul, Troy and Dario, including golf on all of Streamsong’s courses, connecting with industry figures including renowned architect David McLay Kidd, a day of golf at Cabot Citrus Farms and a round at Tanquilo Golf Club in Orlando
• A round at The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island with my brother Dave, where we were “randomly” paired up with Paul Seifert who happened to be on a family vacation at the same time as us
• Playing the South Course at Torrey Pines and staying at The Lodge at Torrey Pines during a trip to San Diego with my wife, Heidi
• My first-ever round of Glow Ball golf in an outing at The Oaks Golf Course, with Heidi and our friends Cyndi and Jim
• A beautiful peak fall evening of drone photography at a local favorite, Door Creek Golf Course
• A family trip to Disney World, including rounds at Disney’s Magnolia and Mission Resort and Club

It was a slightly less active season reviewing products, but I did get to review my first-ever heated apparel from Venustas, a new rangefinder from Shot Scope and my new favorite club brush from Caddy Splash that’s kept my grooves clean in the inevitably muddy early spring season.

After another successful PGA Show this past January, I’m already working on a few leads to review some innovative products this year, particularly in the physical and mental wellness space.

Closing Thoughts

I’m glad I finally got around to writing this article, since it’s brought back many vivid memories of a wonderful 2025 golf season. The people I spent time with, the places I saw (some for the first time) and the skills I continued building throughout the year all helped immerse me in this awesome game at a deeper level.

Every year of content creation can be a springboard to even more epic adventures in the future, and that’s exactly how I feel about the upcoming season.

2026 is off to a great start, with another PGA Show and adventures in Palm Springs and South Carolina already in the books.

The first half of the season is starting to come into focus with my first-ever trip to Landmand, another golf weekend at The Island Resort and Casino, photo work with Nakoma and other local properties, and the grand opening of Uncle Henry’s Backyard at The Club at Lac La Belle already on tap for the months ahead.

I can’t wait to see the rest of the 2026 calendar come to fruition.

What were some of your favorite moments from the 2025 golf season? Where are you planning/hoping to play in 2026? We’d love to hear all about it – drop us a comment!