The best public-access and private golf courses in Wisconsin, ranked

Looking to play the best golf courses in Wisconsin? Welcome to our annual Golfweek’s Best ranking of public-access and private courses.

Following are the rankings for both types of courses, as judged by our nationwide network of raters. The hundreds of members of our course-ratings panel continually evaluate courses and rate them on 10 criteria on a points basis of 1 through 10. They also file a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings are averaged to produce all our Golfweek’s Best course rankings.

• Best public-access courses in each state
• The best private courses in each state
• The details: How we rank courses

The courses on the first list allow public access in some fashion, be it standard daily green fees, through a resort or by staying at an affiliated hotel. If there’s a will, there’s a tee time – no membership required.

KEY: (m) modern, built in 1960 or after; (c) classic, built before 1960. For courses with a number preceding the (m) or (c), that is where the course ranks on Golfweek’s Best lists for top 200 modern and classic courses in the U.S.

* indicates new or returning to the rankings

Best public-access courses in Wisconsin

The Lido at Sand Valley in Wisconsin (Courtesy of Sand Valley/Brandon Carter)

1. Kohler Whistling Straits (Straits)
Mosel (T8m)

2. Sand Valley (Lido)*
Nekoosa (32m)

3. Sand Valley (Mammoth Dunes)
Nekoosa (36m)

4. Sand Valley (Sand Valley)
Nekoosa (T37m)

5. Lawsonia (Links)
Green Lake (T66c)

6. Erin Hills
Erin (T60m)

7. Kohler Blackwolf Run (River)
Kohler (T143m)

8. Kohler Whistling Straits (Irish)
Mosel (m)

9. SentryWorld
Stevens Point (m)

10. Troy Burne
Hudson (m)

11. University Ridge
Madison (m)

12. Kohler Blackwolf Run (Meadow Valleys)
Kohler (m)

13. The Bull at Pinehurst Farms
Sheboygan Falls (m)

14. Wilderness Resort (Wild Rock)
Wisconsin Dells (m)

15. Club at Lac La Belle*
Oconomowoc (m)

Best private courses in Wisconsin

1. Milwaukee CC
Milwaukee (54)

2. Blue Mound
Wauwatosa (T114)

3. Green Bay CC*
Green Bay (m)

4. Pine Hills
Sheboygan (T186c)

5. Oneida
Green Bay (c)