Back in 2022, I took on the seemingly simple exercise of building my Wisconsin “Dream 18” – choosing my favorite first hole in the state, favorite second hole, favorite third and so on until I had assembled what I considered the quintessential Wisconsin golf course.
A few years, a lot more golf and several new courses later, it was time to do it again.
The result is certainly not a conventional championship layout. My 2026 Wisconsin Dream 18 plays to a par 69 and totals just 6,225 yards, with five par 3s, 11 par 4s and only two par 5s. Many of those par 4s are short and potentially drivable. There are even back-to-back par 3s at the third and fourth.
And I’m completely good with all of that.
Tom Doak showed with Sedge Valley that a course doesn’t need 7,500 yards and a par of 72 to be challenging, memorable or great. Pacific Dunes – my favorite golf course I’ve ever played – has back-to-back par 3s, too. Give me interesting shots, bold architecture and that distinct fun factor – holes I’ll remember for years to come.
That’s what I tried to capture here. These 18 holes come from some of Wisconsin’s biggest golf resorts and destinations along with many of its best private clubs, and I genuinely believe they represent some of the finest individual holes in the state. At 6,225 yards, this Dream 18 may look friendly on the scorecard. I can assure you it would be no pushover.
The hardest part was everything that didn’t make it. Leaving out holes like the seventh and 15th at Lawsonia Links, the seventh or 15th at North Hills, 16th at University Ridge, 12th at Erin Hills, 15th at Wild Rock, fourth at The Club at Lac La Belle and the 17th at Strawberry Creek hurt. So did putting together an entire course without representation from places like Ozaukee, Green Bay, Hidden Glen, Strawberry Creek, Mammoth Dunes and plenty of others. That’s the brutal part of choosing one hole for each number: an incredible 15th hole does you no good when another 15th narrowly beats it out.
And there were a lot of narrow decisions. In several cases I went back and forth between two or three holes that I could have happily included. When I truly couldn’t separate them, I generally gave the edge to the hole I had the strongest photography of. If I’m going to build a fictional golf course filled with some of my favorite holes in Wisconsin, I might as well make sure it looks good, too.
So, no, this probably isn’t how anyone would actually route a golf course. But if you gave me one Wisconsin hole at every number from 1 through 18 and told me to build the most fun, interesting and memorable round possible?
This is the course I’d want to play.
My Ultimate Wisconsin Dream 18
Hole 1
Eagle Springs Golf Resort (Eagle)
Designer(s): Potentially A.G. Spaulding; Mike Boulan (1893)
Yardages: White-298, Red-248
Article – Eagle Springs Golf Resort: Where Time Stands Graciously Still
Hole 2
Erin Hills (Erin)
Designer(s): Mike Hurdzan, Dana Fry, Ron Whitten (2006)
Yardages: Black-363, Blue-341, Green-322
Article – My Five Favorite Holes at Erin Hills
Hole 3
Minocqua Country Club (Minocqua)
Designer(s): Ron Garl (2001)
Yardages: Bear-212, Wolf-190, Loon-185
Article – Minocqua Country Club: The Northwoods’ Best Golf Experience
Hole 4
The Baths at Blackwolf Run (Kohler)
Designer(s): Chris Lutzke, Herb Kohler (2021)
Yardages: 1-139
Article – The Baths at Blackwolf Run: Short on Yardage, Huge on Fun
Hole 5
Destination Geneva National, Gary Player Course (Lake Geneva)
Designer(s): Gary Player (1995)
Yardages: Black-354, Gold-322, White-290
Article – The Player Course: Geneva National’s Top Billing
Hole 6
Wild Rock Golf Club (Wisconsin Dells)
Designer(s): Michael Hurdzan, Dana Fry (2008)
Yardages: Quartzite-588, Granite-551, Shale-525
Article – Wild Rock: Wisconsin’s Most Underrated Public Golf Course
Hole 7
West Bend Country Club (West Bend)
Designer(s): Langford & Moreau (1928)
Yardages: Black/Blue-361, Gold-349, White-322
Article – West Bend Country Club: The Best Front Nine in Wisconsin
Hole 8
Oneida Golf & Country Club (Green Bay)
Designer(s): Stanley Pelcher (1928)
Yardages: Black-173, Blue-151, White-138
Article – Oneida Golf & Country Club
Hole 9
Milwaukee Country Club (River Hills)
Designer(s): C.H. Alison (1929)
Yardages: Black/Blue-332, White-299, Green-225
Article – Milwaukee Country Club: Wisconsin’s Ultimate Private Golf Experience
Hole 10
Pine Hills Country Club (Sheboygan)
Designer(s): Harry Smead (1928)
Yardages: Blue-376, White-360, Silver-355
Article – Pine Hills Country Club: One of the State’s Best Keeps Getting Better
Hole 11
The Commons at Sand Valley (Rome)
Designer(s): Jim Craig (2026)
Yardages: Back-188, Middle-145, Forward-109
Article – The Commons: Sand Valley’s Un-Common New Golf Experience
Hole 12
Blue Mound Golf & Country Club (Wauwatosa)
Designer(s): Seth Raynor (1926)
Yardages: Black-485, Blue-440, White-390
Article – Blue Mound Golf & Country Club: Wisconsin’s Raynor Classic
Hole 13
Whistling Straits, Straits Course (Haven)
Designer(s): Pete Dye (1998)
Yardages: Black-402, Blue-389, Green-364
Article – Whistling Straits: Walking in the Footsteps of Legends
Hole 14
Blackwolf Run, Meadow Valleys Course (Kohler)
Designer(s): Pete Dye (1988)
Yardages: Black-423, Blue-409, Green-384
Article – The River at Blackwolf Run: Kohler’s Dye-Namic Parkland Playground
Hole 15
The Lido at Sand Valley Golf Resort (Rome)
Designer(s): CB Macdonald (1917); Tom Doak and Brian Schneider (2023)
Yardages: Black-427, Navy-410, White-386
Article – The Lido: An American Masterpiece, Once More
Hole 16
SentryWorld (Stevens Point)
Designer(s): Robert Trent Jones, Jr. (1982)
Yardages: Black-204, Blue-168, White-143
Article – The Flower Hole: Robert Trent Jones, Jr.’s Mona Lisa at SentryWorld
Hole 17
Destination Geneva National, Arnold Palmer Course (Lake Geneva)
Designer(s): Arnold Palmer (1991)
Yardages: Black-568, Gold-533, White-477
Article – N/A
Hole 18
Sedge Valley at Sand Valley Golf Resort (Rome)
Designer(s): Tom Doak (2024)
Yardages: Back-332, Middle-317, Front-234
Article – Sedge Valley: Out of the Ordinary, Pure Sand Valley
Scorecard – The Tale of the Tape
