SentryWorld named Destination Golf Course of the Year

Golf Course Owners of Wisconsin (GCOW) has named SentryWorld—located in Stevens Point, Wis.—its 2019 Destination Golf Course of the Year. SentryWorld, an 18-hole parkland course, hosted the USGA’s 71st U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship to great acclaim this past summer. It’s owned and operated by Sentry, one of the nation’s largest mutual insurance companies, headquartered here in Stevens Point.

Each year, the GCOW presents awards recognizing golf courses around the state in numerous categories. The awards are voted on by the public—the very people who enjoy the wide variety of golf courses available in Wisconsin. Established in 1984, GCOW is a Wisconsin-based organization whose mission is to provide both education and advocacy on behalf of its members and promote golf throughout the state.

“Earning this recognition justifies the work our team puts into this course every day, especially since it’s coming from our customers who come to our course and play,” said Danny Rainbow, director of golf at SentryWorld. “We strive to make SentryWorld an enjoyable experience that brings great joy to our visitors while providing a beautiful and challenging round of golf.”

When it opened in 1982, SentryWorld was the state’s first destination course. Legendary architect Robert Trent Jones Jr. designed the course, calling it his “Mona Lisa.” Reimagined and renovated in 2014, SentryWorld is a lush, innovative public course that, due to its white sands, parkland style, and impeccable fairways and greens, Jones Jr. refers to as the “Augusta of the north.”

During a live broadcast of the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship, a Fox Sports commentator called it a “gem of a track that forces players to shape their tee shots and avoid being distracted by one of the most unique golf holes in the world (the Flower Hole), one that is visually stunning as any you’ll find.”

The course reflects the region’s scenic beauty and includes such memorable holes as a par five on the shore of SentryWorld’s big lake, and the legendary Flower Hole, where 30,000 flowers surround the green. The campus also offers two unique restaurants, one-of-a-kind event venues, and a state-of-the-art sports complex.

Adding to the robust destination experience, SentryWorld will build a boutique hotel on the grounds, with groundbreaking in spring 2020 and a spring 2021 opening. The hotel will provide guests a luxurious experience, paired with renowned Midwestern hospitality.

In past years, SentryWorld has won several GCOW awards, including Course of the Year, Top Golf Shop Service, and Top Teaching Center of the Year.