By George McNeilly
The 2025 American Family Insurance Championship will be held for the first time at the recently re-opened TPC Wisconsin and it is difficult to imagine anyone more invested in this venue than 12-time PGA TOUR winner Steve Stricker.
A long-time resident here in Madison, Stricker led the redesign of his neighborhood golf course along with Steve Wenzloff, Senior VP Design of the PGA TOUR.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to be involved in designing a world-class golf course, and to have this opportunity to redesign my home golf course and upgrade it to TPC standards is especially rewarding,” said Stricker. “I’m proud to partner with American Family Insurance and others to collaborate on the success we’ve had and I’m confident the AmFam Championship at TPC Wisconsin will continue to be a fantastic community event that will raise money to support charitable organizations in our community.”
Stricker served as the American Family Insurance Championship’s tournament host in 2016 and then as a player-host of the PGA TOUR Champions event from 2017, when he turned 50. Last year, he won the tournament by five shots and on June 9th finished runner-up to Ernie Els after missing a 3-footer for par on the first playoff hole.
Since its inception, the American Family Insurance Championship had been held at University Ridge Golf Course in Madison but is moving to TPC Wisconsin next year – and beyond.
Founded in 1962 as Cherokee Country Club on 154 acres of pristine land abutting Madison’s sprawling 5,000-acre Cherokee Marsh, the property underwent a massive renovation in excess of $20 million before being rebranded as TPC Wisconsin in 2022.
The golf course re-opened on August 1 of last year as the 30th TPC Network Golf Club. TPC courses are preferred destinations for PGA TOUR events, including those on the flagship PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, Korn Ferry Tour and PGA TOUR Americas.
The redesign plan received environmental approval from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and it included a significant upgrade to all the fairways, greens and overall turf conditions in order to meet TPC Network standards, along with the creation of natural areas for spectator viewing.
Stricker’s father-in-law, Wisconsin Golf Hall of Famer Dennis Tiziani is the club’s owner and president.
“The redesign of the course has gone exceptionally well; we’ve raised our fairways two feet to ensure drainage and playing surface perfection,” said Tiziani. “The work that has been put in on the property from 2021-2023 is an engineering marvel and an ecological miracle.
I played the course and Tiziani has every reason to be proud. Prior to teeing it up, I asked him which he would consider the signature hole, and he truthfully stated, “all of them”.
“I’ve been around the game of golf for a very long time, and I assure you that what we’ve created is not only going to be a challenging course, but a memorable one. Players will remember every hole – not just two or three ‘signature’ holes like on many courses. And, because golf instruction is my passion, TPC Wisconsin will be among the best places in the world to improve your game.”
Renovations were also made to the clubhouse and in the practice facility, and also in the development of the Steve & Nicki Stricker American Family Insurance Learning Center.
Stricker’s redesign plans incorporated re-grading the course to accent advancements to the game of golf by repositioning features, rebuilding all the infrastructure while implementing an all-new cart path system.
“I’ve lived on this course for many years – since it was Cherokee Country Club,” said Stricker. “This is my home. I consider it a privilege to bring my PGA TOUR career experience to bear on its re-envisioning and I have totally enjoyed working on the project with Steve Wenzloff. TPC Wisconsin will play to exact PGA TOUR standards. It’ll be a fair test for players of all levels, and yes – it’s going to be exceptional.”
TPC Wisconsin now serves as Madison’s only private facility offering an 18-hole golf course, an all-season golf range, indoor and outdoor tennis, pickleball, an athletic performance center and a 25-meter Olympic-size outdoor pool.
The restaurants and function space are smartly designed and stunning as well.
Enhancements now being made to the Steve & Nicki Stricker American Family Insurance Learning Center will result in a new indoor hitting structure that will include club and putter fitting rooms, an indoor putting green, Trackman technology and a new outdoor short game practice area, according to TPC Wisconsin Executive Vice President Dave Olesczuk who took me on a guided tour after my round.
Architectural Design Consultants, Inc. and general Contractor National Construction were tasked with the clubhouse renovation, along with Silver Leaf Interiors, with the objective of modernizing amenities and enriching the member experience. Some of the furniture was actually created from some of the 650 trees that had to be removed for the course redesign according to Olesczuk.
The completed project includes interior and exterior design upgrades to all clubhouse rooms including the TPC Grand, Player dining and Center Court – adding new bar tops, windows, lighting, audio-visual systems – as well as the men’s and women’s locker rooms with new half lockers, while adding in more space and remodeled showers.
