Wisconsin Golf Course

Here’s what’s new from some of our favorite travel destinations

[caption id="attachment_1241" align="alignnone" width="584"]Ziehm at LaCosta California’s famed LaCosta was one of our favorite stops during our coast to coast golf tour.[/caption] Len Ziehm on GolfBy Len Ziehm Our latest, extended travels to golf destinations are over now, and they were unprecedented. We were basically on the road for six months - from Oct. 1 to April 10 - and made visits to destinations in Nebraska, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California. Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia and Indiana. We covered about 14,000 miles on this all-driving odyssey and hit 18 destinations with a lengthy stay in Winter Haven, FL., in between - a period during which we tested a number of golf facilities in the Orlando area. All were chronicled in my reports and Joy’s photos. (more…)

97th PGA Championship at Whistling Straits

2015 PGA Championship Find more photos from the PGA Championship in our Flickr album here. JASON DAY WINS PGA CHAMPIONSHIP; CLAIMS FIRST MAJOR OF HIS CAREER Jason Day seized the 97th PGA Championship today with a final-round 67 to edge Jordan Spieth by three strokes. Day’s closing 67 included seven birdies, nine pars and two bogeys. Day was playing in his sixth PGA Championship. Before today, his best finish in this Championship was T-8 in 2013 at Oak Hill. The win was the fifth of his career; two have come in three weeks. He won the RBC Canadian Open on July 26. (more…)

Erin Hills update: 2017 U.S. Open site keeps getting better

Len Ziehm on GolfBy Len Zeihm ERIN, Wis. - Erin Hills has gotten nothing but better since its opening in 2006. That was clearly evident when the facility on the outskirts of Milwaukee conducted what has become an annual outing leading into its ultimate showing - as the site of the 2017 U.S. Open. Jim Reinhart, general chairman for the big event, was presented with a good opportunity to compare Erin Hills with a similar facility. Chambers Bay, in Washington, hosted a U.S. Open that wasn’t without controversy a week before Erin opened its doors to about 50 media members from around the Midwest. Reinhart tried hard to steer clearly of controversy in making comparisons. "Both courses are in new areas that had never hosted a U.S. Open," said Reinhart. "Both have incredible community support. Both areas are naturally beautiful, but Chambers Bay was manufactured on a gravel pit while Erin Hills’ architects took advantage of a more natural area. Both have fescue fairways, and both play long. Erin Hills is not a true links-style course. Chambers Bay is much more a links style. We have eight times as many trees – we have eight!" (more…)

It Ziehms to Me: Flower Hole is still golf’s most beautiful

Len Ziehm on GolfBy Len Ziehm When you visit the SentryWorld course in Stevens Point, WI., there’s always the temptation to get overwhelmed by its world-renowned Flower Hole. I've seen lots of beautiful golf holes, but No. 16 at SentryWorld remains my choice as the most beautiful. SentryWorld Hole 16 SunsetThe course opened in 1982 and was recently renovated by Robert Trent Jones Jr. in collaboration with Bruce Charlton and Jay Blasi. I’d planned to make the unveiling of the renovated layout, but it was rained out. (more…)

It Ziehms to Me: Lawsonia may be in Wisconsin, but its roots are in Chicago

Len Ziehm on GolfBy Len Ziehm GREEN LAKE, Wis. - Shame on me. This golf writer of nearly 50 years didn't know nearly enough about the work of William Langford until playing in last week's Langford Shield outing at The Links of Lawsonia. The course got its name from the legendary newspaperman Victor Lawson. He was the publisher of the Chicago Daily News prior to his death in 1925, and The Links of Lawsonia was built on a three-hour drive from Chicago near the small college town of Ripon. [caption id="attachment_785" align="alignleft" width="300"]There’s reportedly a boxcar under the No. 7 green at The Links of Lawsonia. The elevation it created makes for a most interesting par-3. There’s reportedly a boxcar under the No. 7 green at The Links of Lawsonia. The elevation it created makes for a most interesting par-3.[/caption] Langford was a Chicago golf architect and very prominent in his profession. He and partner Theodore Moreau were the course designers. The Links of Lawsonia course didn't open until 1930, and it has had a partner course, Woodlands, since 1985. It was designed by Rocky Roquemore, who participated in the design of Cog Hill's Dubsdread course in Lemont. (more…)

It Ziehms to Me: Tweaking is almost done at Erin Hills

Len Ziehm on GolfBy Len Ziehm Erin Hills has undergone more than its share of tweaks in its brief history, but interest in the layout 35 miles northwest of Milwaukee has never wavered. In fact, enthusiasm for the course has grown with each of the changes made since the opening in 2006. It's good news, though, that the alterations are just about done. (more…)

Erin Hills: Wisconsin layout will be a popular destination prior to ’17 Open

By Len Ziehm Erin HillsErin, Wis. - The hoopla was extraordinary when Erin Hills first welcomed golfers in 2006.  The very upscale public course on the outskirts of Milwaukee was even awarded a U.S. Golf Assn. national championship (the 2008 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links) before its land was even seeded. By 2009 - following an ownership change from creator Bob Lang to Milwaukee businessman Andy Ziegler, co-founder of the investment firm Artisan Partners - Erin Hills was named a site for both the 2011 U.S. Amateur and the 2017 U.S. Open. Frankly, I couldn't understand why. (more…)