Wisconsin’s Best-Kept Golf Secret Has Now Made a National Top 10 List

Wisconsin might be best known for cheese, beer, and the Packers, but golf may be its most underappreciated heavyweight.

A statewide study found the game generates $6.44 billion in annual economic impact. That's more than Packers home games and the state's craft beer, wine and spirits business combined.

The numbers behind it are impressive. In 2023, about 538,000 golfers played 11.24 million rounds across the state's 528 courses, and Wisconsin ranks ninth nationally in total golf courses despite its cold winters.

Golf Digest has even called Wisconsin the best state for public golf, with 11 courses on its list of America's 100 greatest public courses.

Wisconsin has the big-event resume too. Whistling Straits hosted the 2021 Ryder Cup, Erin Hills hosted the 2017 U.S. Open, and destination courses like Blackwolf Run and Sand Valley have helped turn the state into a golf tourism heavyweight.

However, with so many famous names, even a great course can get lost in the crowd. Now a national study has the 10 most underrated golf courses in America, and one just so happens to be tucked into the sand hills of central Wisconsin.

The Most Underrated Golf Courses in America

The list was put together by Betway. Its team researched and selected 39 public courses across the country that fly a bit under the radar, then compared them using five measurements.

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Those included each course's Google rating and Golf Digest rating, what a full round costs in peak season (with lower prices earning better scores), how much rain the area gets in a year, and how windy it gets in its breeziest month.

The results were turned into a score out of 100 for each course, based on data from September 2026. Old Works in Montana came out on top with 90.10.

Sand Valley's Mammoth Dunes Is the 10th Most Underrated Golf Course

Wisconsin's entry is Mammoth Dunes at Sand Valley Golf Resort near Nekoosa, which rounded out the top 10 with a score of 79.47.

The course is the work of Scottish architect David McLay Kidd, best known for designing the original Bandon Dunes in Oregon. Fun fact: another Kidd design, Tetherow in Oregon, landed at No. 5 on the same list.

Mammoth Dunes opened on May 31, 2018, and GOLF Magazine named it the Best New Course of that year.

True to its name, everything about it is big. Kidd built the course around a massive V-shaped ridge, with wide, nearly unmissable fairways and oversized greens. He set out to make it fun for golfers of every skill level rather than punishing.

Golf Digest currently ranks Mammoth Dunes 25th among America's greatest public courses, its highest ranking yet, and seventh in Wisconsin.

It's also part of a much bigger golf destination. Sand Valley is now home to several courses, including Sand Valley, Sedge Valley, The Lido, and a par-3 course called the Sandbox. The resort is also walking-only, so bring comfortable shoes.

Can You Still Golf Mammoth Dunes This Year?

If you're hoping to play it this fall, you'll need to move quickly. Sand Valley's courses obviously close for the winter. Last year's season wrapped up on October 19, and the resort's 2026 booking policies run through mid-October, which suggests a similar finish this year.

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Tee times at Sand Valley can also be hard to come by, so check with the resort before making plans. For most golfers, this one is probably best circled on the calendar for next spring.

The 10 Most Underrated Golf Courses in America

Here's the full top 10 from the study:

• 1. Old Works, Montana (90.10)
• 2. Running Y Resort Arnold Palmer Signature Golf Course, Oregon (89.91)
• 3. Circling Raven, Idaho (85.61)
• 4. Wine Valley Golf Club, Washington (85.48)
• 5. Tetherow, Oregon (82.46)
• 6. Sweetens Cove, Tennessee (82.09)
• 7. Sunriver – Crosswater, Oregon (81.86)
• 8. The Quarry at Giants Ridge, Minnesota (80.94)
• 9. Palouse Ridge, Washington (80.60)
• 10. Sand Valley – Mammoth Dunes, Wisconsin (79.47)