Golf in Oshkosh

With few trees to knock down errant drives, the wide-open course at Kestrel Ridge rewards control and course-management skills for players negotiating its more than 6,000 yards. Players point their tee shots down the center of the fairway from one of four different sets of tees, taking care to avoid numerous lurking fairway bunkers and the water hazards that run alongside the fairways of holes 1, 8, 9, and 10. When they're not engaging in physical altercations with swirling crosswinds, visitors should take time to appreciate the open expanse of rolling Wisconsin countryside through which the course winds. The track saves its crown jewel for last, with an 18th hole that forces players to nail a small, sloping landing area from the tee and then carry their approach over a rock ravine that runs alongside the right of the hole and contains fossils of Neanderthal golfers.

After a round, tired golfers can head to the clubhouse bar for traditional pub fare or re-create dramatic putts on the two large putting greens. A driving range hosts hitters on both grass and rubber mats and challenges them to assail greens located strategically between 125 and 230 yards away.

Fairways stitched by mature trees connect across 6,802 yards of rolling greenery to form Royal Scot Golf Club’s 18-hole, par-72 course. Water hazards come into play on 10 holes, including the par-4 fifth, where a bashful green flanked by bunkers on both sides conceals its ballmarks by hiding behind a front water hazard. Replete with eight yardage signs that extend 250 yards into the distance and a large grass hitting area, the club’s 30-stall driving range gives guests the upper hand by straightening out swings before upcoming rounds.

After hacking their way from green to green, hungry golfers can replenish at the club’s two full dining rooms—both with full-service bars—or place an order from their perch on the expansive outdoor deck. Wireless Internet keeps devices abreast of the latest news, personal emails, or domestic-cat sightings, and golf supplies and veteran instructors wait to enhance games at the pro shop.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par-72 course
• Length of 6,802 yards from the farthest tees
• Course rating of 72.0 from the farthest tees
• Slope rating of 124 from the farthest tees
• Four tee options
• Link to scorecard

Awarded with numerous accolades from the Golf Course Owners of Wisconsin, The Golf Club at Camelot earns recognition for the course's pristine playing conditions of wooded hills and valleys whittled into the landscape by ancient glaciers. Water flows into the picture on half of the holes, including twice on the par 5 ninth, where the fairway bend features an elongated lake and makes players hit their first and second shots with hydrophobic golf balls. On the back nine, the par 3 13th hole places golfers 120 feet higher than the green on a tee box that affords panoramic views of the surrounding landscape and acts as the best place to spot outlaw foursomes on the lam.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 71 course

• Total length of 6,304 yards from the back tees

• Course rating of 69.4 from the back tees

• Course slope of 125 from the back tees

• Four sets of tees per hole

Tucked along the east side of the bay, Shorewood Golf Course’s 2,792-yard, nine-hole layout challenges club-swingers with unforgiving fairways and small, breaking greens whose impressive upkeep earned the course an appearance and maintenance award in 2009. Since the first post-putt strut in 1931, the course’s oak- and hickory-lined fairways have invited players to overcome undulating terrain both scenic and demanding. The zenith of these hilly hazards is found on the 492-yard par 5 fourth hole, where golfers must overcome a dogleg right off the tee before hitting multiple shots to the green located at the end of a narrow fairway that encourages conga lines along its gradual incline. After a day out in the sun, golfers can adjourn to the course’s restaurant to munch on pizza and sandwiches or enjoy a frosty beverage.

Course at a Glance:

• Nine-hole, par-35 course

• Length of 2,792 yards from the farthest set of tees

• Course rating of 35.9 from the farthest set of tees

• Slope rating of 124 from the farthest set of tees

• Two tee options

• Link to helpful course notes

Designed by golf legend Arnold Palmer, The Bog’s 7,221-yard layout sprawls across 297 acres of tree-lined fairways, wetlands, and rolling , mounded terrain. The well-bunkered course incorporates all of the native surroundings into one seamless, award-winning layout, in which golfers must send balls somersaulting over intervening water hazards, avoid sprawling thickets of native tall grasses, and resist the urge to forsake humanity in favor of the vibrant ecosystem of the Cedarburg Bog, which forms a natural border on multiple fairways. Hole 17—a par 5 that forms the longest and most demanding hole on the course—embodies many of the course’s distinct characteristics, as stick-flickersclubbers drive from a low, water-kissed tee-box before climbing an uphill, 593-yard split fairway that doglegs left around sprawling waste hazard areas and into a green fortified by six bunkers and mounded rough. A duo of PGA-certified instructors roam throughout the course and its adjacent driving range, imparting score-shaving advice in lessons and fending off rogue windmills hoping to upgrade from their mini- golf residences.

Course at a Glance:

• Designed by Arnold Palmer
• 18-hole, par 72 course
• Length of 7,221 yards from the farthest tees
• Course rating of 75.3 from the farthest tees
• Slope rating of 143 from the farthest tees
• Five tee options
• View The Bog's scorecard, course flyover, and course layout
• Site of the 2013 WSGA State Amateur Championship
• Rated one of the top-50 public facilities in America by GRAA
• Golf Digest course overview

Deertrak Golf Club's 18-hole course is characterized by numerous bodies of water, most notably Alderley Lake, which borders playable terrain along the course’s western edge. Opened in 1986, the course layout sends players skimming over 6,400 yards of manicured fairways and greens.

More than 34 flowerbeds and eight water fountains lend grandeur to the course's design, and two cascading waterfalls give errant golf balls one last thrill before their final swan dive into the abyss. Before players finish their round and count up divot scores, they must first clear the arduous stretch found at holes 14–17, featuring two long par 5s and a tee shot on the par 3 17th that must clear three bodies of water en route to the green.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course
• Total length of 6,363 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 68.6 from the back tees
• Course slope of 115 from the back tees
• Three sets of tees per hole