A staggering increase of 1 state has boosted our Top 100 Courses ranking

Jump into that time machine, folks. We go back 25 years, to 1999.

That Tiger Woods kid sure can play. I hope Y2K is not ready for the tee time system. Have you seen the latest ranking from GOLF Magazine?

The impetus for our time travel is the latest ranking of the Top 100 Courses to Play from GOLF Mag. Because that same list 25 years ago, before this website existed, was a sight to behold. Pebble Beach was Number 1, and still is! Pinehurst No. 2 was … no. 2. Still! But the paradox of time proves no. 3: Blackwolf Run’s River Course, Sheboygan, Wisc., built in 1988.

Blackwolf Run is a lovely, tough and commendable course. But it was the third best public course in America 25 years ago and it is not the third best course in itself. region these days. That’s no disrespect to Blackwolf, either. It’s exciting that in 25 years, there has been an amazing golf movement in Wisconsin. And not just golf, either the community golf.

No state has seen a greater increase in its public golf offerings than Wisconsin has over the past three decades. Admittedly, the arrival of good golf in western Oregon is surprising – Bandon’s five courses are all ranked in the top 30. But Wisconsin now has eight in the third-highest ranking.

Importantly, and perhaps improbably, they are not owned by the same company, which drives real competition (even cooperation) between a group of elite subjects. Whistling Straits fully understands your golf journey may start at Erin Hills and will definitely head to Sand Valley, Lawsonia and maybe even SentryWorld. They just want to be included in the itinerary, too.

In all, Wisconsin has nine courses on this new list of the Top 100 Courses to Play, ranking tied for second with Florida and North Carolina. Sure, California has 11 courses on the list, but only one of those built in the 21st century. North Carolina has nine on the list, but only two of those courses were built recently. Wisconsin has deservedly earned the label of the least golfing state over the years because, unless you’re blessed with the gift of an annual golf trip, you’re likely to go for it. the need play many of them. Every few years a new one is added to the list.

The Lido up in Sand Valley made this year’s list with a huge following, but it’s not even a new Wisconsin must-play. That’s Sedge Valley, down the road, opening in 2024. (The empire built in Sand Valley is by no means done growing, either. The world up there seems to go on forever.)

The proliferation of new courses in the Badger State has been such a steady stream that it’s become commonplace to suggest it as the next destination on your golfing journey. This time, we’ll allow the clichés. Because you don’t forget that the exercise machine is time up. That list from 1999 had just three Wisconsin courses on it. Now it has nine. And those three from 25 years ago should have been there, and they didn’t go. Blackwolf Run landed at No. 29, thanks to the 17 courses that have come since. Its sister course, the Meadows, makes your trip to Blackwolf a little more fun.

Then there’s University Ridge, which was ranked 97th back in 1999. The Ridge has never been better; every year it hosts the Champions Tour and was on our first list of Best Value courses back in 2021. When that list was updated in September, it came with a shout from an uninformed muni called Washington County. That sits just up the road from Erin Hills, costs just $65, and is the perfect meal for a great nearby resort course. Was it there 25 years ago? It was a child at the time, as were many of the ideas for the lessons that would follow.

We could go on and on, but the bottom line should be clear. If there’s a must-do list of courses you can take, Wisconsin is full.