Since the opening of its newest golf course, The General, in 1997, Eagle Ridge Inn and Resort has gone from being one of the finest golf resorts in the Midwest, to being one of the finest golf resorts in the country.

Many of you have probably read stories about Eagle Ridge and its great golf. This is a story about the great golf and everything else the Jo Daviess County area has to offer to not only golfers, but to families, children and couples.

First a few geographical definitions. Eagle Ridge Inn and Resort is located just five minutes from downtown Galena and is part of the Galena Territory. Galena and Eagle Ridge/The Galena Territory are located in Jo Daviess County. Jo Daviess County is located in the northwest corner of Illinois.

My story starts in 1996 when I took my first trip to Eagle Ridge. It was a trip to check out the progress of The General, which was being touted as the finest golf course in the state of Illinois. Bad weather in the months prior to my wife and I visiting Eagle Ridge, left us with only a glimpse of the fine course that was being built.

I had to settle for playing an 18-hole round of golf on the South Course and an 18-hole round on the North Course.

I am only kidding about settling!

These two courses are among the top 10 courses in the state. Both were designed by Roger Packard, who has done great courses such as Cantigny in Wheaton.

This is where my story takes a turn away from golf for a moment.

While the golf was great, the other amenities of this fine resort were just as great. We stayed in an Inn room. The Inn rooms are quite comfortable and cookies and milk at bedtime is an excellent amenity my wife loved.

We ate at the Inn on Sunday for breakfast, but enjoyed dinner out at a local restaurant in downtown Galena.

Galena is an old town that was put on the map by iron-ore mining and General and President Ulysses S. Grant. Grant made his home in Galena and during the iron-ore boom of the 19th century, Galena was a town in the league of New York.

We chose to eat dinner one evening at DeSoto House, a hotel with a great deal of history. The DeSoto House has a courtyard restaurant that serves a great breakfast buffet on Sunday and features The General’s Restaurant, a fine dining restaurant.

While enjoying great dining in Galena, the shops were also a great attraction. Galena is full of great shops that offer unique items, great art and many other features.

Our first trip was incredible. We learned a lot about the area and enjoyed it immensely, but as the golfer I am, I was awaiting the opportunity to return and play the highly-touted General.

Our next trip in 1997 was highly-anticipated. I was finally going to play the newly opened General course. My wife and I had a two-bedroom villa located near the nine-hole east course at Eagle Ridge.

From the first hole at The General you get the feeling you are about to embark on something very special in the state of Illinois. There is no terrain anywhere in Illinois like the terrain of Jo Daviess County and The General uses this hilly terrain to perfection.

I am not going to go into detail about The General, because this is a story about more than just the General and Eagle Ridge, but I have to say that I have not seen any golf course like it in Illinois. I have played the finest courses that Wisconsin and Michigan have to offer and I feel that The General has to be thought of as one of the top five courses in the Midwest.