Quietly unassuming Milwaukee is a bona fide big-league town, with MLB’s Brewers, the NBA’s Bucks and even claims to the Green Bay Packers, although Lambeau Field is just under two hours away.
But it’s not quite thought of as a golf city and that should change. Three major championship venues and a former PGA Tour host course are within an hour — give or take — of downtown. And with 48 hours, all four are on the itinerary.
The destination on arrival day is Erin Hills Golf Club, situated 43 miles northwest of Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. For such a relatively new course, Erin Hills has already made history and is in position to record much more.
Opened in 2006, Erin Hills was the creation of architects Michael Hurdzan, Dana Fry and Ron Whitten, who at the time, was the architecture editor at Golf Digest. The USGA started paying attention to Erin Hills when it advised Bob Lang, the original owner, about changes to the course in hopes it could host a U.S. Open. The U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links was Erin Hills’ first big tournament to be followed by the 2011 U.S. Amateur.
When Erin Hills passed those tests, it was awarded the 2017 U.S. Open, won by Brooks Koepka. The course went on to host the 2017 U.S. Mid-Amateur and the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open. No longer considered a U.S. Open course, Erin Hills is still highly thought of by the USGA. It is scheduled as the venue for the 2027 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball, the 2030 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball, the 2035 U.S. Amateur and the 2039 U.S. Junior Amateur.
Erin Hills is walking only. You can hire individual caddies or a forecaddie for the group, if you prefer to carry your own bag. (Push carts are not allowed.)
According to Golf Digest’s rankings, Erin Hills is No. 10 among America’s public courses and No. 49 overall.
A visit to Milwaukee begs for beer and bratwurst and one of the most popular spots in downtown is the Milwaukee Brat Haus. Featuring a wide assortment of brats and sausages, the Brat Haus can serve it virtually any way you want it. And it will be strongly suggested that you try two of Wisconsin’s favorites — cheese curds and beer cheese soup. For the brat-averse, the Brat Haus has a number of burger and sandwich selections.
Our 36-hole day takes us to Kohler, Wisconsin, a little more than an hour north of Milwaukee, for rounds at two of the American Club’s highly-acclaimed courses — Blackwolf Run River Course and the Straits Course at Whistling Straits — both ranked in the upper echelon of America’s best.
Designed by Pete Dye, the River Course was named Best New Resort course in 1988. Dye also designed Blackwolf Run Meadow Valley, which completely opened in 1990. A composite of the two courses — 1-4 and 14-18 on River and 10-18 on Meadow Valley (before it was even a full 18 holes) — was used to host the U.S. Women’s Open in 1988 and the same configuration again in 2012.
While Blackwolf Run is situated along the Sheboygan River, the Straits Course sits on the shores of Lake Michigan. (The Whistling Straits complex also includes the Irish Course, opened in 2000.) Also designed by Dye, the Straits is a links-style course and has hosted three PGA Championships (2004, 2010 and 2015) and the 2021 Ryder Cup.
(Note that Whistling Straits is about a 20-minute car ride north of Blackwolf Run. The Straits is walking only and the Blackwolf Run courses have carts.)
After a long day of golf, room service might be voted on but in case you still feel up to going out, three restaurants recommended by locals include: Swingin’ Door Exchange for modern comfort food; Odd Duck for small plates from around the world; and Five O-Clock Steakhouse for butter-soaked steaks. (The Alley Cat Lounge is next door. Once a 1940s piano bar, it hosts live music from jazz, blues and rock acts.)
Getaway day finds Brown Deer Park, a municipal course also just north of downtown Milwaukee. It is Milwaukee County’s flagship course and the parkland layout features tree-lined fairways and undulating greens.
Brown Deer Park, too, has professional heritage, having hosted the U.S. Bank Championship (formerly the Greater Milwaukee Open) on the PGA Tour from 1994-2009. It is most famous as the place where Tiger Woods announced, “Hello, world,” in 1996 and made his professional debut. (He made a hole-in-one and finished 60th.)
It’s about a 20-minute drive to the airport from Brown Deer Park, which should leave time for a shower and lunch before heading home with some bona fide big-league courses to check off the bucket list.