Hello all - planning a road trip to Lawsonia/Sand Valley later this summer. Both of those being all day events (obviously) - but we have 1 more day to fill in. We have accommodations at Northern Bay so was thinking a twilight round there… where else should we consider for the AM round? (note - my vote for “More Sand Valley” was not accepted)
Lake Arrowhead? SentryWorld? Lac La Belle? Am I missing anything?
Thanks!
Edit - I realize Lac La Belle probably out of range for the itinerary…
Just to be clear, you’re staying at Northern Bay for all of this? And what’s your order of things here? Are you doing both Lawsonia and Sand Valley on “day trips”?
I’ve never played the Lake Arrowhead courses. @midwestgolfbum would be able to speak to which is the better of those two courses. I forget what he said… SentryWorld isn’t bad by any means. Very well conditioned course that you likely won’t be disappointed you played, but it just didn’t “do anything” for me. As far as LLB, it sounds like it still needs a couple months for conditioning purposes, so it somewhat depends on when you’re up and where you’re coming from, as it is nowhere close to the others.
Edit: If you’re coming from the south, I’d look at Wild Rock or Trapper’s Turn in the Dells.
Yep that’s right, home base will be Northern Bay - day trips to SV and Lawsonia (we have not booked times yet, but will soon). This is like a Thurs - Sat trip.
Also - thanks for the Dells tracks - I ahve played Trappers and enjoyed it a bunch. Have not hit up Wild Rock yet, so will throw those in.
We are coming from the south (Chicago/St. Louis), so likely hitting U Ridge on the way home Sunday.
When did you play Sentry World last? Post renovation its phenomenal. I would definitely recommend it over Lake Arrowhead (haven’t played) and trappers. Over Wild Rock too unless you just want to see the view on the 4th (or is it 5th) hole.
If you are going to go and play the Lake Arrowhead courses, I would suggest the Pines. The Lake is the more difficult and tighter of the 2 18s, which maybe that’s your thing, but for a trip like what you are talking about, the Pines is probably a better option. It’s a bit more open and forgiving, but still has challenges. Lake Arrowhead hosted the WSGA 4 ball last year and was set to again this year until Covid had other ideas. They keep both courses in great shape and have actually improved some seeing as they are trying to draw people over from SV.
Wild Rock and Trappers are both solid options on the way, but I would actually rather play Sentry World over them. It certainly isn’t my favorite course, but as @Klebs01 said, it’s a hell of a lot better since the renovation. If you had the 2 Dells courses as a for sure, pick Wild Rock if you have played Trappers.
Played it last July or August, basically a week after the US Girls Junior Am.
Conditions were great, but as I said, it just didn’t do anything for me. Maybe I was just more excited to play the Sandbox that afternoon. I do want to be clear, I don’t dislike the course, and would play it again, but I would play any of the SV courses (including Sandbox) nine times out of ten over SentryWorld.
I haven’t played Wild Rock in probably seven or eight years, but each time I’ve played it I’ve enjoyed it. Might have been the company I was with. If I had to play WR or SW today, I’d pick WR, but that’s more for the aforementioned ‘haven’t played in 7/8 years’ and that it’d be a hell of a lot shorter drive.
I’m sorry (…not sorry…) I sparked a debate! Seems like the ~$50 rack-rate savings of Wild Rock over SentryWorld is probably enough to break any ties or near ties.
Thanks for all the feedback - you guys are awesome!
(If you find yourself stuck in St. Louis ever, hit me up!)