The Grand Geneva - The Brute Course

Grand Geneva

A Grand Experience For All Golf Experiences

By Brian Weis

It is hard in life to be all things to all people. Even golf resorts cater to a niche and few can claim they truly cater to all golf travelers. Over the last 12 months the Grand Geneva has been host to some memorable golf trips for me. From a guy's getaway, to a romantic retreat and even a fun family vacation.

Most recently my family embarked on a waterpark adventure at the TimberRidge Lodge. While my kids dashed and splashed at the Moose Mountain Falls, a 50,000 square foot indoor/outdoor waterpark, I found solace on the links. Grand Geneva sports 36 championship holes. The Highlands course was initially designed by Jack Nicklaus and Pete Dye and recently renovated by Bob Cupp. The Scottish style course was initially known as "Briar Patch." I am sure the name was a "bunny" reference when the resort was operating as The Play Boy Club. The sister course, The Brute Course, is a 7,000 yard challenge fortified with 70 bunkers and massive rolling greens. Consistently rated in the top courses in the state, The Brute is a must play if you are staying at the resort.

My autumn golf rounds were truly enjoyable but the fun was had by my kids as they enjoyed everything the resort had to offer from Lego workshops, arts and crafts and a movie night. The mini vacation was topped off with journey through the corn maze and haunted hayride at the Dan Patch Stables.

Early in the summer, my wife and I needed a love weekend to reconnect and unwind. While the kids found safe haven at the grandparents' house my wife and I played some golf, enjoyed treatments at the Well Spa and savored steak and seafood at The Chop House. As a traveling golf couple the Grand Geneva provided us a couples retreat filled with world class dining and an oasis of relaxation.

For the last decade, a group of buddies have played in The Bob and Brian, a local radio station's golf outing that benefits the MacFund. A few years ago the event moved to the Grand Geneva and the one day event for us has morphed into a guy's weekend filled with a ton of golf and some adult beverages. Since I am forbidden by my foursome to share any details I will sum it by saying the laughs and memories are worth every penny.

Traveling golfers take note, Grand Geneva provides a top notch destination for buddy trips, romantic getaways and family retreats.

Revised: 10/28/2012 - Article Viewed 35,136 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.