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NEW FOR 2006
Wisconsin's Newest Golf Holes
By Rick Pledl
 Northern Bay Golf Course
In the shadow of Holy Hill about 35 miles northwest of downtown Milwaukee, Erin Hills GC is the creation of the dynamic golf design team of Michael Hurdzan, Dana Fry and Ron Whitten, and the advance billings were so good that Erin Hills was awarded the 2008 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship a year before the course is scheduled to open this summer. It likely won't be the last, as the course, which can be stretched to 8,100 yards, will be able to host just about any tournament.
Erin Hills promises to offer a pure golf experience. No pool or tennis courts. No wedding receptions. Just golf. (For more on Erin Hills, see the May/June issue of Wisconsin Golfer.)
Northern Bay Golf Resort & Marina in Arkdale is a new real estate and recreational development along the shores of Castle Rock Lake.
The centerpiece of the property is a golf course which has borrowed from some of America’s most famous golf venues. Northern Bay is the Midwest’s first replica golf course, meaning it has seven holes copied from such major championship venues as Augusta National GC and Oakmont CC. Another is a dead-ringer for the 17th hole at the TPC at Sawgrass, the dreaded island green hole cooked-up in the laboratory of Pete Dye.
Northern Bay plays 7,039 from the back tees and also features 11 original holes. Nos. 13-17 in particular are original holes which offer a fun romp through a distant corner of the property.
The Club at Strawberry Creek in Kenosha was designed by Rick Jacobson as a thought-provoking 18 holes. Built on the site of a former strawberry farm, Strawberry Creek requires a variety of skills with two short par-4s and one long par-3 (No. 15 at 230 yards from the back tee).
Controlling the distances of shots is vital at Strawberry Creek, and players who don’t are bound to find bunkers, ponds, creeks and knee-high grasses. But Jacobson isn’t big on deception, so players see all the hazards laid before them from the tee. Furthermore, most of the greens are open in front, so players can roll the ball on putting surfaces.
Strawberry Creek will be a private golf club, but the public is welcome as the membership builds.
Devil’s Head Resort in Merrimac will expand to 36 holes with the addition of its fourth nine this season. The new holes – like the other 27 they are designed by Art Johnson – play over rolling terrain and through prairies and woodlots.
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