Bishops Bay Country Club
Middleton, Dane County, Wisconsin · Madison golf market
- Access
- mixed
- Holes
- 18
- Architect(s)
- Bob Lohmann
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Bishops Bay Country Club is a private, 18-hole Bob Lohmann-designed championship course (par 72, 7,160 yards) that opened in 1995 on the north shore of Lake Mendota in Middleton, founded by Madison entrepreneur Sam Jacobsen on the former site of the Wisconsin Catholic Diocese's episcopal residence (the club's Manor clubhouse). What makes Bishops Bay relevant to a golf-oriented Madison-area buyer today is not the club itself acting as a developer, but the large residential master plan that grew up around it starting roughly 15 years later: the Community of Bishops Bay, developed by Terrence Wall/T. Wall Enterprises after acquiring the surrounding land from the Jacobsen estate. The community's plan calls for seven distinct neighborhoods -- The Back Nine, Watermark, Town Center, Reserve Hill, The Farm, The Prairie, and The Woods -- with The Back Nine specifically sited to overlook the golf course and priced from roughly $299,900 starter homes to multi-million-dollar estates, plus villas from $730,000. The community's own amenities (a separate community clubhouse with fitness center, hot tub, and zero-entry pool) are HOA-funded and distinct from Country Club membership, which remains a separately priced, independently governed private membership.
Golf & Course
Bishops Bay's 18-hole, par-72 course was designed by Illinois architect Bob Lohmann across 220-plus acres, opened in 1995, and plays to 7,160 yards with water hazards and bunkering integrated along Lake Mendota's shoreline. The clubhouse, known as The Manor, is a renovated 1933 home that once served as the residence of the first Bishops of the Catholic Diocese of Madison, giving the club its name.
Membership & Access
Does buying a home here include club membership?
Home purchase in the Community of Bishops Bay does not include or require Bishops Bay Country Club membership. The Club is a separately governed private membership (reported categories include Full Family, Corporate, Out of Area, and Senior memberships, plus a multi-year capital assessment reported for existing members) with its own independent fee schedule; the Community of Bishops Bay Homeowners Association -- mandatory for every lot owner per the HOA's own bylaws -- funds a separate community clubhouse, pool, and fitness center that is distinct from Club amenities.
Living in Bishops Bay Country Club
The Community of Bishops Bay is a large master-planned new-construction development spanning Middleton and Westport, planned across seven named neighborhoods with a range of housing types from $299,900 starter homes to multi-million-dollar estate homes and villas from $730,000; The Back Nine neighborhood alone comprises 37 housing lots sited to overlook the golf course.
Lifestyle & Amenities
The Community of Bishops Bay markets a working farm ('The Farm' neighborhood) alongside its own clubhouse with meeting rooms, a full kitchen, fitness center, hot tub, and zero-entry pool, plus planned parks, trails, and shops -- independent of and in addition to whatever amenities Country Club membership itself provides.
Location & Surrounding Area
Bishops Bay Country Club and the surrounding Community of Bishops Bay sit on the north shore of Lake Mendota in Middleton and Westport, Dane County, roughly 15 minutes from downtown Madison.
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What Buyers Should Verify
- Confirm current Bishops Bay Country Club initiation fee and dues directly with the club -- only unverified secondary-aggregator estimates were found this session.
- Confirm whether the Community of Bishops Bay HOA is gated and whether any homeowner discount or priority-access arrangement with the Country Club exists beyond marketing proximity.
- Confirm current HOA dues for the Community of Bishops Bay -- this session could not access the HOA's fee schedule directly (network egress block on bishopsbaycommunity.com).
Notable
- Bishops Bay Country Club's Manor clubhouse is a renovated 1933 home that once housed the first Bishops of the Catholic Diocese of Madison, giving the club its name.
- The Community of Bishops Bay's residential master plan (7 planned neighborhoods, an estimated multi-thousand-resident buildout) was developed by Terrence Wall's T. Wall Enterprises starting around 2011, roughly 15 years after Sam Jacobsen founded the golf club -- a distinct, later development rather than the club's own developer building the neighborhood.
Considering a Move to Bishops Bay Country Club?
Whether you're comparing Bishops Bay Country Club with another Madison golf community or you're ready to start looking at homes, US Golf Living can connect you with a local real-estate specialist.
US Golf Living provides independent real-estate research and can connect consumers with real-estate professionals. Golf membership, availability, fees and approval are determined independently by the applicable club.