Original 9 at Thornberry Creek Country Club

The Original 9 at Thornberry Creek Country Club represents Rick Jacobson's initial design work at this northeastern Wisconsin facility near Green Bay. Jacobson, a Wisconsin-based architect known for his work throughout the upper Midwest, routed these holes across terrain characteristic of the region—gently rolling land with natural water features and mature tree corridors that define playing corridors and frame strategic decisions.

The nine holes occupy what became the foundation of Thornberry Creek's larger golf operation, which later expanded to accommodate championship-length layouts. Jacobson's design approach here emphasizes playability across skill levels while incorporating the property's natural drainage patterns and wooded edges. The routing takes advantage of elevation changes modest by regional standards but sufficient to create variety in shot requirements and visual interest from tee to green.

Thornberry Creek sits in Wisconsin's Fox River Valley, an area with deep ties to paper manufacturing and a growing golf culture that accelerated in the late twentieth century. The club has evolved to include additional nine-hole loops and facilities that support both member play and outside events. The Original 9 remains part of the rotation, offering a more traditional scale and rhythm compared to the longer championship configurations. The course reflects the straightforward design sensibilities common to regional daily-fee and semi-private facilities of its era, with tree-lined fairways, water hazards positioned to challenge approach shots, and greens sized for reasonable maintenance and pace of play.