
Shangri-La Expansion Continues: New Par 3 Golf Course Planned for Opening Late Summer 2022
By Brian Weis
Construction is underway on yet another major attraction at Shangri-La Resort. On the heels of the new $12 million indoor/outdoor activity park at the resort, comes "The Battlefield," an 18- hole par three golf course slated for opening in late summer, 2022. The course will be located at the north edge of the resort property, directly behind the Monkey Island Fire Department, and will operate as a separate destination course, independent from the club house golf operations for the resort's 27-hole Championship course.
"The setting is beautiful," said Shangri-La Executive Chairman Jason Sheffield, "but the motif will be more rugged - like a World War II battlefield set in a wooded area with dramatic elevation changes. The facility will have its own small clubhouse and turn house concessions and golf carts, as well as a short driving range for warm-ups and a putting green. The full practice facility and driving range will remain adjacent to the main Shangri-La club house," he said.
Designed by architects Tom Clark and Kevin Atkinson, with building designs by Mark Thomas, the course will feature Bermuda grass fairways and Bent Grass greens, just like the Championship course at Shangri-La. Although the course can be walked, golfers who choose that method of play may want to make sure they're in good shape due to dramatic elevation changes. From beginning to end, there is a 100-foot change in elevation as the course winds from hilltop to the bank of Grand Lake. With multiple tee boxes like the Championship course, difficulty of the course will vary depending on the tee boxes chosen by players.
"The Par 3 course is a great addition to the golf offerings at Shangri-La," said PGA Director of Golf Rob Yanovitch. "Our course can be challenging, and many players - especially resort guests - prefer the relatively lesser challenging of playing only par 3 holes. If time is a factor, naturally it takes a lot less time to play 18 par 3 holes than the more traditional Championship course."
Due to the distance of "The Battlefield" from the existing course, separate parking will be available for automobiles and the course will have its own golf cart storage facility separate from the Championship courses.
At "The Anchor," Shangri-La's indoor/outdoor activity park which opened in June 2021, the resort added a variety of new entertainment options - four tennis courts, six pickleball courts, a basketball court, a mini-Fenway Wiffle® Ball park and immensely popular indoor gamingranging from pool, darts, ping, pong and shuffleboard to Trackman Golf Simulators, LaserShot Shooting Simulators, virtual reality games, a Hologate virtual reality arena, and a plethora of traditional arcade games with an eye-popping indoor/outdoor sports bar area, video walls, and fun food options at The Galley.
"The increase in both tourism, group events, and membership at Shangri-La, combined with the recent upsurge in the popularity of golf make this a natural move for Shangri-La," said Sheffield. "We are constantly planning ways to set Grand Lake and Shangri-La in position to be the ultimate destination in our region."
Shangri-La's Resort Hotel also offers 119 guest rooms, 9,000 square feet of indoor meeting & convention space, a medical spa, an indoor pool as well as a massive 6,500 square foot outdoor pool, a children's playground, and multiple dining and drinking options at 10 different venues. Boat and personal watercraft rentals, yacht charters, and parasailing adventures are also available seasonally at Shangri-La Marina.
Resort development also includes two residential housing communities: the 15-home "Gallery" and thirty-eight homesites at "The Ridge." For additional information visit the Shangri-La website at www.shangrilaok.com, download their mobile app, or follow them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
More Information »
Revised: 12/20/2022 - Article Viewed 2,872 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.
Contact Brian Weis:
GolfTrips.com - Publisher and Golf Traveler
262-255-7600