In March 2023, Sun Prairie's only golf course changed hands with less than a month before the season started. PAC Acquisitions took ownership on March 13. A Big Eight high school boys meet was booked for April 6, and public opening day was set for April 8. The Sun Prairie Star reported that the new owners were "rapidly working to get the course ready."
Three and a half years later, the course on Happy Valley Road has a new name, rebuilt greens on the front nine, and a clubhouse that opened this summer. The clubhouse is the piece that matters most for anyone who doesn't golf. The owners have said plainly that it's meant to earn money in seasons when nobody is teeing off. That money is supposed to pay for the half of the course they haven't rebuilt yet.
Sixty-Five Years, Three Names
The course opened in 1961 as the Sun Prairie Country Club. The Sun Prairie Lions Club founded it, and Homer Fieldhouse designed it. Fieldhouse was a Wisconsin-born golf course architect behind roughly 60 Midwest courses, and this was one of his earliest. In 1982, Leon Veith and his family bought it from the club and renamed it Sun Prairie Golf Course.
By early 2023, rumors were going around town that the course might close. Pete and Jenny Simon heard them too. Pete had played there since he was 13. The Veith family then asked him whether he'd buy it, which the Star reported surprised him. Jenny Simon thanked the Veiths "for their 39 years and allowing that legacy of the course to continue with us." The new owners renamed it Prairie Pines Golf Club.
The buyers weren't new to Sun Prairie. PAC Acquisitions LLC is an affiliate of Prairie Athletic Club. Jenny Simon's father, Bruce Thompson, started the club as a racquetball club and bar in 1976. Pete and Jen Simon now own it with her brothers, Andy and Dan Thompson. Wisconsin.Golf described it as the largest athletic club in the state, with around 15,000 members.
In that same interview, Pete Simon explained why they stepped in. "We were devastated," he said. "Both Jen and I were born in Sun Prairie, and we just couldn't accept that this town, with how it is growing, couldn't have a golf course." He also proposed to Jen on the course.
Greens First, Then the Building
The Simons did the work in a set order. They put money into what golfers notice first, and the building came later than first planned.
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| March 13, 2023 | PAC Acquisitions buys the course from the Veith family |
| Spring 2024 | Front-nine renovation underway, aimed at finishing "sometime in June" |
| Spring 2024 | Clubhouse, restaurant and event venue announced for 2025 |
| Mid-summer 2026 | New clubhouse completed |
| Sept. 2, 2026 | Ribbon cutting for the clubhouse, event space and restaurant |
The club's Spring & Summer 2024 newsletter laid out the front-nine plan: three new greens, one new hole, one heavily reworked hole, better tee boxes on many holes, tree work on every hole, and fescue and bunkers on many holes. The back nine stayed open while that work went on.
An independent reviewer at WisGolfReviews found the new greens "wonderful" and said their ridges and slopes recalled Sand Valley. The same review said much of the rest of the course still needed work, and that work was underway. It's the clearest outside look at what the front nine bought and what's still left.
The clubhouse was promised for 2025 and finished in mid-summer 2026, about a year late. That reviewer's August 2026 update says the building has a new pro shop separate from the dining and bar area. Splitting the two is what lets the restaurant work as its own place to eat, for golfers and everyone else.
Why the Off-Season Matters
At the September ribbon cutting, Jenny Simon spelled out how the rest of the plan gets paid for. The Sun Prairie Star recorded her remarks:
"When we took over, every corner of the property needed something put into it. Time, energy, money, and we're not even done. We started with the front nine renovation to show people what was to come, and then we felt that the clubhouse was the next thing... We hope to have events out here outside of golf, and we hope to reinvest that back into the other side of the golf course."
So the clubhouse is how the owners plan to fund the back nine. Wisconsin golf runs on a short calendar, and a building that only does business from spring through fall would leave the reinvestment waiting on the weather. That's why Pete Simon's comment that day matters. He said there are plans to keep the restaurant open in the off-season, at least a few days a week, and that the menu will be refined over the coming weeks.
The Simons had some reason to be hopeful going into fall. Jenny Simon said at the event that she'd worried the "mess, the dust, the inconvenience" of construction since March 1 would keep people away. Instead, she said, "We have been busy all season, busier than last year." That was the course's fourth season under the Simons.
Local leaders came to celebrate. Christina Williams, executive director of the Sun Prairie Chamber of Commerce, thanked the couple for "their vision and for the hard work that they put in." Mayor Steve Stocker said, "Golf is much more than a game. It's an opportunity to enjoy the outdoors, stay active, spend time with family and friends, and build relationships."
A Ticketed Night With No Golf in It
The club's events page lists a ticketed fall party at the new clubhouse. It isn't a golf event.
- What: Prairie Pines Adult Costume Party
- When: Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, starting at 6 p.m.
- Schedule: Bar opens at 6 p.m., appetizers from 6 to 8 p.m., DJ from 7 to 10:30 p.m.
- Included: Heavy appetizers, one drink ticket per person for Halloween-themed cocktails, and prizes including best costume
- Tickets: $30 single or $60 couple for nonmembers; $25 or $50 for Prairie Pines members
- Deadline: Registration closes Oct. 30
The clubhouse also takes private bookings. Groups can send a date, event type, expected headcount and timing through the event booking request form. The club's weddings page advertises indoor and outdoor space for up to 150 guests.
Hours are worth checking before you go. The club's hours page lists the clubhouse at 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and the driving range at 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, weather permitting, and gives no separate winter schedule.
Where the Back Nine Fits
The owners haven't announced a scope or timeline for the back nine. Jenny Simon has only said that's where the reinvestment will go. Some smaller projects have moved ahead in the meantime. After an August 2026 round, the reviewer wrote that hole 9 "continues its makeover." The same review mentions hearing of plans for a larger short-game practice area built to match the new front-nine greens.
The clubhouse came about a year after it was first promised, and it arrived after the front nine, just as the owners planned. The back nine is next in line, and in Jenny Simon's own words, it depends on how much business the clubhouse does outside golf season. The Oct. 30 costume party, eight days after this post goes up, is one early sign of that business. Whether the restaurant is serving in January will be another.
If you'd like to talk about what a reinvestment like this means for the homes around it, I'm always happy to share what I'm seeing across Sun Prairie. You can learn more about the community on my Sun Prairie neighborhood page, or reach out to Beth Baty directly. Let's Connect.
