History
Nemadji was designed by Stanley Pelchar in 1932 and later expanded through the contributions of Don Herfort in 1984 and Roger Packard in 1991. The golf course received some early acclaim when it was played by two time Masters tournament champion Horton Smith. Smith came to the course for a showcase of golf skills with fellow professionals Lawson Little, Harry Cooper, and Jimmy Thomson.
Today, the golf course has become known for its quality and accessibility to the average golfer. The Duluth News Tribune has awarded Nemadji as its Best of the Best award 6 years running from 2021 to 2026. Nemadji also received the 2024 Outstanding Business of the Year award from the Superior Chamber of Commerce. Golf Course Superintendent, Brian Wallin, has been on the grounds crew at Nemadji for over 15 years and is a certified member of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.
A survey of led by independent consultants of the ten public golf courses in the Twin Ports area ranked Nemadji No. 1 in six out of seven categories including best golf course, best clubhouse, best golf shop, best value, conditioning and more.
In 2017, The Superior City Council signed off on a recommendation allowing the Superior Police Department to kill problem birds in the city. Nemadji was the home to the first major hunt of nuisance waterfowl, geese and pigeons.
In 2018, An explosion and subsequent fire occurred at the Superior Refining Company LLC, which is located next to Nemadji, sharing a border with Holes five and six on the East Nine. No golfers were hurt but air and soil quality where threatened over the subsequent season. One of the plants major piplines flows below the fairways of the Nemadji Golf Course.
Nemadji Golf Course is also the location of water quality monitoring cites along the Nemadji River.
NCAA Competition
Nemadji Golf Course is the location where the University of Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjacket men's and women's golf teams host their yearly matches. It is also the main practice facility for both programs.
Nemadji's East/West course in particular has a reputation as a championship-caliber venue and has hosted competitive golf for many years. The course's size gives UW-Superior a venue capable of accommodating varsity tournaments and large collegiate events in a way that many smaller municipal courses could not. The 36 hole venue also allows the college teams to practice while the city owned course remains accessible to the public.
Additionally, UW-Superior's men's and women's cross country running teams use the facility as well to host their home event annually.
Events
One of the oldest recurring tournaments associated with the course is the Nemadji Women's Invitational. This tournament has been going for 73 years and the event has been one of the Twin Ports' most enduring women's golf competitions
Nemadji has also become a significant venue for junior golf in the Twin Ports. The course hosts the Star of the North Junior Tournament, a youth event that has become one of the facility's signature competitions.
Given Nemadji's status as a premier and accessible golf course of the northwest region of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin State Golf Association routinely uses the venue to host regional qualifiers for statewide events.
