Mike:
University Ridge (which I'm milk-warm about) is the best public bet in the greater Madison area; I was just there for an outing, and the course as usual is in fine shape, and the URidge folks very accomodating. It has its rabid supporters; I'm not one of them, but probably worth playing if you haven't seen it.
http://golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,38431.0/Harbottle's Hawks Landing is right next door to URidge; a "big" course that winds around high-end housing and condos, if that's your thing. I haven't played, and have heard mixed things about it. Worth a call ahead if you really want to see it; the owner a few years ago said he planned to take it private, arguing the course was "too good to be a public course." Said to still have some public access, but I honestly haven't followed up.
A good friend and golfer, whose views I trust, came back from a recent round at Wild Rock with good things to say about it. Strictly carts; the course is affiliated with the Wilderness Resort up in Wisc. Dells. I have yet to play.
http://www.wildrockgolf.com/A decent bet not far from Madison -- 45 minutes or so -- is Old Hickory GC, dating back to 1920 with most of an original and interesting nine designed by Bendelow still intact, expanded to 18 in the 1960s. Well-regarded; hosted the State Am last year:
http://golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,36792.msg753023/topicseen/Here's a lengthy review of Janesville Riverside, about 30 miles down the road, where Matt Rose learned the game
:
http://golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,40066.0/Andy North's Bergamont is about 15 south of Madison, an easy trip. I played it right after it opened, and it was still a little rough around the edges, but others like it a lot. Some attempts at Midwestern links-style golf:
http://www.thelegendatbergamont.com/Greg Martin has done two well-regarded courses in the area: The Oaks, outside Cottage Grove, about 10 miles east of Madison, and Glen Erin, near Janesville. I like Glen Erin better, but both feature some solid greens and good bunkering. Here's my review of GE:
http://golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,39725.0/Spring Valley is quite good, a fairly untouched original Langford, but a hike from Madison -- at least 90 minutes.