If you’re an avid golfer, you may have watched the best over-50 golfers compete in the 2023 US Senior Open. It was contested last month at the beautiful SentryWorld Golf Course in central Wisconsin. Built by Sentry Insurance in 1982 by architect Robert Trent Jones Jr the course is renowned for its iconic flower hole. The author grew up only 100 miles north and has played the course many times. The course has special significance for me as my father watched me play not long before he passed away.
SentryWorld is a golf complex that features luxury housing at the Inn, a sports & recreation center (The Fieldhouse) with volleyball, tennis and other games, and multiple fine restaurants. In preparation for the Senior Open they closed the course for two years (2020-2021) to make major changes. The same SubAir system used at Augusta National was installed on every green to achieve pristine green quality. They are simply perfect. They installed drip irrigation around every bunker to achieve a dramatic green picture frame around the beautiful white sand bunkers.
Changes were made not only for the Pros but also for their regular customers. Tee times are now spaced every 20 minutes instead of the usual 10 minutes to eliminate any feeling of being rushed. Now included in the $295 green fee are unlimited food and beverages (including alcohol) are stocked at four refreshment stations. A bartender can make your favorite cocktail on the course. The extensive candy selection compliments the homemade ice cream. This is a very rare inclusive experience few other golf courses can match.
Cut through immense towering pines are pristine fairways surrounded by large white bunkers and very blue water. Amply placed gorgeous flowers among the perfectly manicured grass creates a surreal outdoor feeling. I was almost afraid to take a divot.
And then there is the infamous “flower hole” – Par 3 Hole 16. Between 20,000 and 30,000 flowers are blooming depending on the design for the year. My favorite Snapdragons (amply planted in my yard on Deer Meadow Drive in Blackhawk), Petunias, Geraniums, and others abound. Planted near Memorial Day, they reach the best bloom in late July through middle of August, so you may want to plan your trip accordingly. The SentryWorld course is far more than the flower hole. An island green, multiple forced carries, drivable Par4s and reachable Par5s make this a very fun golf course to play.
Rated as #50 in Golf Digest’s Top 100 Public Courses You Can Play, I guarantee that you will have an amazing experience.
If You Go:
Course Info – SentryWorld includes eighteen holes of championship golf.
Location – Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Twenty miles south of the Central Wisconsin Airport in Mosinee WI, 110 miles north of the Madison, WI Airport and 160 miles northwest of the Milwaukee, WI airport.
Lodging – The Inn at SentryWorld is on the property.
Find other high-resolution photos at: https://www.quintessentialgolf. com/destinations/waldorf-astoria-golf-club
Quintessential Golf (https://www.quintessentialgolf.com)
A source of golf travel inspiration, Quintessential Golf online magazine spotlights the most spectacular, enduring and scenic courses, resorts and golf adventures. Written from a players point-of-view, articles include magnificent high-resolution course images. Brought to you by Chuck Fox, single-digit golfer, writer and photographer based in Danville, California, he is fulfilling his passion and dream to play, photograph and share the romance and beauty of golf throughout North America.
By Chuck Fox, Owner, Quintessential Golf, Resident since 2012