LAKE GENEVA, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 26, 2026--
Grand Geneva Resort & Spa, the award-winning, AAA Four-Diamond all-seasons resort, offers a first look at Wee Nip, its new 11-hole short course opening on May 19, 2026. Wee Nip introduces a relaxed, social way to experience golf at the resort.
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Designed by award-winning Dusenberry Design, Wee Nip is an inviting yet thoughtfully challenging short course created for golfers of all skill levels. Combining creativity, strategy and fun, the course features holes averaging about 90 yards and is built for the pure enjoyment of the game. With rounds typically taking 90 minutes or less, the new course is perfect for golfers of all skill levels — from beginners trying golf for the first time to experienced players looking for a playful contest. Wee Nip encourages golfers to enjoy a quick round, improve their short-game skills, or add an extra layer of fun to a traditional golf day.
Wee Nip celebrates the long-standing tradition of camaraderie that follows a round of golf. While “wee” may suggest something small, the course delivers meaningful challenge through creative shot-making and strategic layout, paired with nostalgic touches including a physical scorecard for those who want to track their progress. Shots can be played low, under the wind, skimming the ground before reaching the greens, used for practice or as an introduction to the sport. The course is also available for full group buyouts, making it ideal for groups of avid golfers and newcomers to the game.
“In Scotland they say, ‘let’s have a wee nip of Scotch,’ and it felt like the perfect inspiration for a short course like this," shared Greg Marcus, CEO of Marcus Corporation. “Wee Nip is meant to be welcoming. Keep score or don’t. Just come out, take a swing, and have some fun. It’s about enjoying the game in a lighter, more social way, whether you’re a serious golfer or just picking up a club for the first time.”
The Wee Nip experience concludes at the “12th hole,” a designated gathering spot where players can relax with a drink or share stories and extend the round beyond the final putt. Designed as a social extension of play, the 12th hole features a whiskey-inspired menu, music, yard games and casual seating for groups. Guests can relax around fire pits in teak Adirondack chairs, enjoy lawn games and the beautiful golf setting. Casual and inviting, the space encourages guests to kick off their shoes, turn their hats backward, and enjoy one final round together, complete with a welcoming wee nip for every guest.
All revenue from golf rounds on Wee Nip’s opening day will be donated to the local nonprofit, United Way of Walworth County, which unites and empowers Walworth County by mobilizing financial resources and fostering collaboration among nonprofits.
“We’re excited to announce the official opening of Wee Nip,” shared Skip Harless, Managing Director of Grand Geneva Resort & Spa. “Wee Nip invites players to embrace creativity and enjoy the social aspects of golf. A short course, yes - but one that celebrates skill, strategy, a well-placed wedge, and moments you won’t forget. Let’s have a ‘wee nip’ of curated whiskey before or after a fun round of golf.”
Wee Nip joins Grand Geneva’s established golf offerings, which include two championship courses, Brute and Highlands, opening in April before Wee Nip’s debut.
Brute, Grand Geneva’s signature course, is widely regarded as one of the Midwest’s most challenging courses. The par-72 course, designed by the legendary Robert Bruce Harris, features massive bunkers, expansive greens and picturesque challenges. Highlands, designed by Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus and later refined by Bob Cupp, offers a complementary experience with scenic terrain, rolling elevation and wide fairways for bold swings and thoughtful play.
Together, Wee Nip, Brute and Highlands create three distinct ways to play, ranging from championship golf to fast, social short-course rounds, reinforcing Grand Geneva Resort & Spa as a premier Midwest destination for golfers seeking a variety of traditional and modern experiences in one setting.
For more information on Wee Nip and golf at Grand Geneva Resort & Spa, visit www.grandgeneva.com
About Grand Geneva® Resort & Spa
Grand Geneva Resort & Spa is an award-winning, AAA Four-Diamond all-seasons resort set on 1,300 acres in the legendary southeastern Wisconsin community of Lake Geneva. Located 90 minutes from Chicago and 50 minutes from Milwaukee, Grand Geneva Resort & Spa features 358 guest accommodations, including deluxe rooms and suites, along with 29 villas. On site, guests can enjoy the WELL Spa + Salon; two championship 18-hole golf courses; The Mountain Top, a ski and snowboard facility; 62,000-square-feet of meeting and convention space and three restaurants. Also on the resort’s grounds is the Timber Ridge Lodge & Waterpark, featuring 225 guest suites and 50,000 square feet of year-round, indoor/outdoor waterpark excitement, bringing the total number of rooms on the Grand Geneva campus to 612. For more information, please visit www.grandgeneva.com and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
About Marcus Hotels & Resorts
Marcus Hotels & Resorts owns and/or manages 17 hotels, resorts and other properties in the U.S. The company’s distinctive portfolio includes city-center meeting hotels, upscale resorts, historic properties, and premium branded and independent first-class hotels. Marcus Hotels & Resorts is an approved operator for all major lodging brands. A leader in the hospitality industry since 1962, Marcus Hotels & Resorts creates asset value for hotel owners through its expertise in management, development and product repositioning. This includes unique food and beverage concepts, developed by Marcus Hotels & Resorts, such as Mason Street Grill, The Studio Kitchen & Cocktails, Milwaukee ChopHouse, Miller Time® Pub & Grill, and SafeHouse® Restaurant. For more information, please visit: http://media.marcushotels.com and follow the company on Facebook,Instagram and LinkedIn.
About Marcus Corporation
Headquartered in Milwaukee, Marcus Corporation is a leader in the lodging and entertainment industries, with significant company-owned real estate assets. In addition to its lodging division, its theatre division, Marcus Theatres ®, is the fourth largest theatre circuit in the U.S. and currently owns or operates 985 screens at 78 locations in 17 states under the Marcus Theatres, Movie Tavern® by Marcus and Bistro Plex ® brands. For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.marcuscorp.com.
The new 11-hole short course Wee Nip at Grand Geneva Resort & Spa will open to the public on May 19, 2026
U.S. President Donald Trump issued a warning to Tehran on social media to “get serious soon” on negotiating a deal to end the war. The post comes a day after Trump said a deal to end the war is near, despite Tehran’s dismissal of his 15-point ceasefire plan.
Iran has been blocking ships it perceives as linked to the U.S. and Israeli war effort from the Strait of Hormuz, but it is letting through a trickle of others through the crucial waterway. Jasem Mohamed al-Budaiwi, of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a bloc of six Gulf Arab nations, said Iran was charging for safe passage through the strait.
Meanwhile, the U.S. was preparing for the arrival of thousands of troops that could be used on the ground in Iran.
The death toll from the war has risen to more than 1,900 people in Iran and nearly 1,100 people in Lebanon, with dozens more killed in Israel and elsewhere in the region. Thirteen US. military members have died. Millions of people in Lebanon and Iran have been displaced.
Here is the latest:
Uganda’s top general threatened to join the widening war in the Middle East, warning “any talk of destroying or defeating Israel will bring us into the war. On the side of Israel!”
In a series of posts Thursday, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, chief of Uganda’s Defense Forces, said Uganda would be willing to come to Israel’s assistance if asked, citing the Bible as a basis for the deeply Christian East African nation’s support.
The country has a robust military known for campaigns against militias in Congo and for supplying troops to international forces, including in Somalia. Kainerugaba is known as Uganda’s “tweeting general” and was fired by his father, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in 2022 over provocative posts about faraway wars.
Israel has in recent years attempted to expand its economic inroads in East Africa, including in Somaliland, a breakaway territory in the Horn of Africa, across the Gulf of Aden from Houthi-controlled Yemen. Israel developed an alliance with Uganda decades ago when its early leaders sought allies outside the Middle East.
The Iran war has deflected global attention from Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbor Ukraine as Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II enters its fifth year and an emboldened Kremlin undertakes a spring offensive.
The past week showed neither side is easing up. Russia on Tuesday fired almost 1,000 drones and 34 missiles at Ukraine in one of the war’s biggest bombardments. The following day Ukraine launched almost 400 drones in the largest reported overnight attack on Russian regions and Crimea.
Ukraine’s fate is still Europe’s top foreign policy issue, fueled by fears that Moscow has wider ambitions. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has wound down talks with Russian and Ukrainian delegations as the Iran war grips its attention. The administration has warned it could turn its back on the conflict if peace efforts come to nothing.
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Iran’s internet shutdown is badly hurting many businesses, as well as limiting access to news of the war inside the country. A designer in her mid-twenties says her fashion products company is “on the verge of closing” as online sales have ground to a halt.
She added a nearby strike had damaged her apartment in central Tehran. Speaking on condition of anonymity, she shared with The Associated Press a photo of her street showing it filled with debris and broken glass from the blast wave.
She said she had gone to stay at her parent’s house where she felt safer.
“I don’t leave the house much except to buy necessities. The checkpoints are still in place and every night, a few supporters of the government hold rallies throughout the city. To be honest, I don’t dare go near the damaged or dangerous areas,” she added, referring to security checkpoints set up across the capital.
Iran has repeatedly restricted internet access since security forces shot thousands of anti-government protesters in early January. Rampant inflation has also throttled the economy. The designer said she has been forced to live on her small savings.
“I think we’ve experienced everything bad possible. We’ve seen it all, from the terrible atmosphere of January and the killings and arrests to the war.”
— Amir-Hussein Radjy
The vast majority of Republicans in the AP-NORC poll, 81%, say it’s “extremely” or “very” important for the U.S. to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, lending support to one of the goals Trump has articulated since the war began. But only about half of Republicans see replacing Iran’s government with leaders who are more friendly to the U.S. as a high priority.
Stephen Hauss, 40, is a state Agriculture Department employee in Camden, Delaware, where he manages environmental programs. Hauss described his political views as libertarian-leaning, and he voted for Trump in 2024. But the start of the Iran war has changed his views about the president.
“Before the war I was just kind of like, ‘OK, like, I voted for him. I got to give him, like, some benefit of the doubt,’” he said.
Now, Hauss said he can’t support the U.S. trying to change the leadership of another country. He added, “I don’t think I am on board with this anymore.”
About three-quarters of Republicans approve of Trump’s handling of the presidency, and a similar 70% approve of how he’s handling Iran.
Many Republicans continue to have “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of trust in the president to make the right decisions on foreign issues. About half place a high level of trust in him when it comes to the use of military force outside the U.S. Roughly the same percentage of Republicans have a high level of trust on his dealings with adversaries and allies.
Sharon Fuller, 68, is a firm backer of the president and approves of his handling of the job, as well as the war in Iran.
A retired hospital analyst from Ocklawaha, Florida, Fuller expressed some reservations about the war but called Trump a “huge patriot” and said she’s been impressed with how the stock market has done since he became president again.
“I don’t really agree with the war, but on the other hand, I think it’s a necessity at this point,” she said.
Oil depots spewing black smoke. Debris sinking in the Persian Gulf. Missiles pounding military sites.
The Iran war has unleashed a toxic mix of chemicals, heavy metals and other pollutants that threaten everything from agriculture to drinking water to people’s health — and will leave behind environmental damage and health risks that could persist for decades, experts said.
“All the burning of oil and gas fields in the coastal areas, all the ships that are there, the oil tankers that are being burned or (sunk) — all of these mean pollution,” said Kaveh Madani, an Iranian scientist and director of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health. “For someone like me who has fought for sustainability and protection of the environment in that region, this is like going many years backward.”
Documenting the damage has proved daunting, with a full accounting impossible for now, said Doug Weir, director of the Conflict and Environment Observatory, a U.K.-based nonprofit that monitors environmental harms from armed conflicts.
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It’s costing more and more to gas up the hot rods Donnie Beson has spent a lifetime tinkering with. He’s not questioning his support for Trump, but he feels as though the war in Iran has distracted the Republican president from the issues that got him elected.
“Come on, Trump. Worry about us,” said Beson, 68, of Woodland Park, Colorado. “We’re in a billion-dollar-a-day war. It’s like, ‘Man, you forgot about the other stuff, and you got to take care of that first.’”
Trump still has deep support among Republicans, but a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research indicates the president risks frustrating his voters during a midterm election year if the United States gets involved in the kind of prolonged war in the Middle East that he promised to avoid.
Although 63% of Republicans back airstrikes against Iranian military targets, the survey found, only 20% back deploying American ground troops.
Rising gas prices could also pose a problem for Trump. The cost of oil and gas has soared since the Iran war began nearly four weeks ago, adding more financial pressure when many Americans are already worried about affording essentials.
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Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty met Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Beirut on Thursday amid a swirl of diplomatic discussions about the Iran war.
Abdelatty said that, in shuttling messages between Iran and the United States, Egypt has noted a mutual “desire for calm, for the exploration of negotiations” on both sides. But he warned the talks have not yielded “specific conclusions.”
When asked about Egypt’s role in mediating between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, he told reporters that Egyptian diplomats were voicing to all parties their opposition to Israeli occupation and destruction of civilian infrastructure in southern Lebanon.
He said the goal was to prevent the region “from sinking into a state of chaos from which it cannot emerge.”
The Israeli military says Behnam Rezaei was a “central knowledge authority in maritime intelligence.”
Earlier Thursday, Israel said it had killed the commander of Iran’s navy, Alireza Tangsiri, in an overnight airstrike in Bandar Abbas. Israel said Tangsiri had been responsible for bombing operations that blocked the Strait of Hormuz.
But Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry did not confirm whether direct talks would take place in Islamabad later this week.
At a weekly news briefing, ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said details on the timing, venue and itinerary would be shared in due course. Asked whether Iranian or U.S. delegations were expected to hold talks in Islamabad later this week, he said, “We will let you know when these developments take place.”
He added that Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts are aimed at ending the conflict and emphasized that the initiative is not directed against any country.
In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, residents say they’re increasingly confronting missile debris after it’s intercepted by Israel’s air defenses. Debris was reported Wednesday and Thursday, including in Silwad, Ramallah and Beitin as well as in Israeli settlements.
Palestinians in the West Bank lack the siren alerts and shelter infrastructure that most of Israel has relied on to limit wartime fatalities, leaving communities exposed to missiles and debris. In Beitin, Bahjat Mousa Haj said he heard a boom and later learned through social media that debris had fallen nearby Thursday morning. Nobody was killed. Emergency crews tended to the missile fragment’s husk in a nearby field.
Last week, shrapnel struck a beauty salon near Hebron, killing four women. Despite the dangers, bystanders have filmed interceptions and gathered around the fallen fragments and scorched casings, drawn by a mix of curiosity and disbelief.
Wall Street followed global markets lower and oil prices jumped above $100 per barrel Thursday as a de-escalation of the Iran war appeared further out of reach.
Futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average each fell 0.7% before the opening bell. Nasdaq futures lost 0.8%.
Iran and the United States hardened their positions as a diplomatic push for a ceasefire in the Middle East war appeared to falter Thursday, sending oil prices back up.
Brent crude, the international standard, rose 3.4% to $100.61 per barrel. It was below $95 on Wednesday. Benchmark U.S. crude was 3.2% higher at $93.25 a barrel.
The rise in oil prices lifted shares of energy producers such as ConocoPhillips and Valero Energy, though the gains were modest at about 1%.
President Trump has said a deal to end the Iran war is near, even after Tehran dismissed his 15-point ceasefire plan.
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The Philippines has received a shipment of Russian crude oil as the country scrambled to secure fuel from non-traditional sources to boost its buffer amid global price spikes, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said Thursday.
More than 700,000 barrels of Russian crude oil has been received by Petron Corp., the country’s only refiner, this week, Garin told The Associated Press.
She didn’t elaborate but said a second Russian oil shipment bound for the Philippines, a longtime treaty ally of the United States, has been finalized.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a state of national energy emergency Tuesday to brace for the impact of the Middle East hostilities which his administration said posed “an imminent danger of a critically low energy supply.”
Marcos later said the Philippines has more than a month of fuel stockpiled and there was no need for people to panic.
Frigid temperatures have lingered into spring in Gaza, where the flow of humanitarian aid remains limited and the Iran war has set back progress on last year’s phased ceasefire.
Tareq Hamouda, a man displaced from Jabaliya, told The Associated Press that the tent where he and his daughters live has collapsed five times since they moved there.
“No matter how prepared we are, it’s still just a tent,” he said from Gaza City.
Muddy waters coursed through displacement camps in Gaza City and Khan Younis, where many residents faced soaked mattresses and flooded floors inside their waterlogged tents.
Aid groups say broken infrastructure and inconsistent electricity have turned untreated sewage into a growing public health risk in the territory.
An Iranian health official says the death toll from the war in Iran has reached at least 1,937 people.
Iran’s Deputy Health Minister Ali Jafarian gave the figure to the pan-Arab broadcaster Al Jazeera on Thursday. He said 240 of the dead were women and 212 were children.
More than 24,800 others have been wounded so far, he added.
Iran has not offered any official death toll figures in days.
The booms could be heard in Tel Aviv, the central Israel city of Modiin and Jerusalem after the Israeli military warned of another wave of incoming missiles from Iran.
The barrage is the eighth such wave launched at Israel on Thursday.
Pakistan’s top diplomat says indirect talks between the United States and Iran are still ongoing, even as Washington and Tehran offer opposing proposals.
The comment by Ishaq Dar mark the first time Islamabad has publicly acknowledged being the channel by which the two countries were negotiating.
“US-Iran indirect talks are taking place through messages being relayed by Pakistan,” Dar wrote on X.
He said Egypt and Turkey, as well as other countries, are working to back the talks.
Without offering a specific threat, Trump said on Truth Social that Iranian leaders should engage “before it is too late, because once that happens, there is NOT TURNING BACK.”
The post comes a day after Trump insisted a deal is near. He said again Thursday that Iran is “‘begging’ us to make a deal” after the U.S. pitched a 15-point ceasefire plan that Iran rejected.
Israel said Thursday it killed Commodore Alireza Tangsiri, the head of Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s navy.
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tangsiri had been killed along with other senior naval commanders in a strike overnight.
Katz said Tangsiri was responsible for bombing operations that have blocked ships from crossing the Strait of Hormuz. He said the strike should serve as a “clear message” to top Iranian military officials that the Israeli military would hunt them down.
Iran did not immediately acknowledge Tangsiri’s killing.
The secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council said Thursday that Iran is charging fees for ships to safely transit the Strait of Hormuz.
Jasem Mohamed al-Budaiwi is the first top official to accuse Iran of charging for safe passage through the strait, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of all natural gas and oil once passed.
Al-Budaiwi oversees the GCC, a bloc of six Gulf Arab nations including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. He spoke during a news conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The chief of France’s armed forces is gathering counterparts from about 20 nations Thursday to examine how shipping in the Strait of Hormuz could be reestablished and safeguarded after the Iran war dies down, an official involved in the planning said.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the video meeting hosted by Gen. Fabien Mandon, chief of the French defense staff.
French President Emmanuel Macron has said that “when circumstances permit” and fighting has subsided, he envisions warships escorting oil tankers and other commercial shipping through the narrow strait.
The meeting hosted by Mandon aims to help determine what resources such a mission could expect from countries interested in taking part, including warships, intelligence and other military assistance.
Members of a family, who fled Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, sit around a bonfire outside a tent used as a shelter in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Pro-government supporters chant slogans and wave Iranian flags during a rally, in a square in western Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
People take cover in a bomb shelter as air raid sirens warn of incoming Iranian missile strikes in Bnei Brak, Israel, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Smoke and flames rise following an Israeli military strike on a target in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March, 25, 2026.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Members of the displaced Abd el-Hajj family, and two of their cousins, right, who fled Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, sit inside a tent used as a shelter in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Members of a family, who fled Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, sit around a bonfire outside a tent used as a shelter in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Pro-government supporters chant slogans and wave Iranian flags during a rally, in a square in western Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
