The snow and ice are about to arrive in earnest in Wisconsin, but its golf courses are getting some prestigious recognition, especially those in central Wisconsin.
Golfers, seen here in 2019, approach the final hole on the Mammoth Dunes course at Sand Valley Golf Resort in Adams County. The course came in 26th among Golf Magazine's top 100 public golf courses in the country.
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Sand Valley's namesake course, seen here in 2017, was ranked 20th on Golf Magazine's list of the top 100 public courses in the country. Overall, nine courses from Wisconsin made the list, tying it for second for most courses on the list along with Florida and North Carolina. California was first with 11 courses.
A golf cart rolls path winds through some of the 33,000 flowers planted on the 16th hole of SentryWorld Golf Course. It took 15 workers three days to plant the flowers.
Photos: Stevens Point gears up for the U.S. Senior Open
Stevens Point and the U.S. Senior Open
A replica of the championship trophy for the U.S. Senior Open is on display in the Sports Center at SentryWorld.
Stevens Point and the U.S. Senior Open
PJ's is one of three restaurants at SentryWorld and is located in the Sports Center.
Stevens Point and the U.S. Senior Open
Books with a Wisconsin theme line shelves at the Library Cafe in the Inn at SentryWorld.
Stevens Point and the U.S. Senior Open
The front desk at the Inn at SentryWolrd was made from a tree that had for years been in an elephant enclosure in an Arizona zoo. The wood still bears the rub marks from the elephants.
Stevens Point and the U.S. Senior Open
The three season porch at the Inn at SentryWorld in Stevens Point.
Stevens Point and the U.S. Senior Open
The lobby of the Inn at SentryWorld includes two 10-foot fireplaces while in the distance is a three-season room that overlooks the 18th hole of SentryWorld Golf Course. The hotel incorporates influences from Frank Lloyd Wright and Wisconsin's north woods.
Stevens Point and the U.S. Senior Open
One of the guest suites at the Inn at SentryWorld. The boutique hotel opened in 2022 and has 64 guest rooms.
Stevens Point and the U.S. Senior Open
Chad Bates, general manager of the Inn at SentryWorld, surveys the 18th hole from a third-floor balcony of the 64-room boutique hotel that opened in 2022. The Stevens Point area is expected to get up to 70,000 visitors for the U.S. Senior Open, which begins play Thursday.
Stevens Point and the U.S. Senior Open
A golf cart rolls on a path that winds through some of the 33,000 flowers planted on the 16th hole of SentryWorld Golf Course. The hole is one of the most recognized in the state, but it took 15 workers three days to plant the flowers.
Stevens Point and the U.S. Senior Open
Workers prep the grandstand at the 18th hole of SentryWorld, home to the 2023 U.S. Senior Open.
Stevens Point and the U.S. Senior Open
The Inn at SentryWorld is seen in the background of the 18th hole. Most of its 64 rooms offer views of the course, which opened in 1982.
Stevens Point and the U.S. Senior Open
Work has been underway for two years to prepare SentryWorld for the U.S. Senior Open. The course has not opened for play this season due to the tournament but will reopen July 4th.
Stevens Point and the U.S. Senior Open
A greens keeper mows the seventh hole at SentryWorld in Stevens Point.
Stevens Point and the U.S. Senior Open
The fourth hole at SentryWorld, which opened in 1982.
Stevens Point and the U.S. Senior Open
Rick LaFrombois, a public relations specialist at Sentry Insurance, shows off the 51,000 square-foot Sports Center at SentryWorld. During the U.S. Senior Open the facility will be used as a media center.
Stevens Point and the U.S. Senior Open
Stevens Point is known for its Polish heritage. A bust of Casimir Pulaski, who came to the U.S. in 1777 to serve in General George Washington's army and helped form the American cavalry, is displayed in a city park just north of downtown Stevens Point.
Stevens Point and the U.S. Senior Open
This mural in downtown Stevens Point pays homage to P.J. Jacobs, right, who in 1912 moved what would become Sentry Insurance to Stevens Point from the Green Lake County community of Berlin. John Joanis, left, is the former CEO and president of the company and who oversaw the development of SentryWorld Golf Course.
Stevens Point and the U.S. Senior Open
Melissa Sabel, director of marketing for the Stevens Point Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, shows off a print from a painting by Kinden Vazquez of the "flower hole" at SentryWorld Golf Course. The prints are being sold in conjunction with the upcoming U.S. Senior Open.
Stevens Point and the U.S. Senior Open
The Square in downtown Stevens Point is home to a number of bars and will likely be overrun with golf fans when the U.S. Senior Open comes to the city later this week.
