While the focus of this internship has been primarily public golf, I would be doing an injustice to the game of golf to ignore the many outstanding private golf options in the Milwaukee region. Here are my top hits for those that have friends in high places.
1. Milwaukee Country Club
At the beginning of this list, I decided that I was going to search for a legitimate reason to un seed Milwaukee Country Club from it’s perennial spot atop the Wisconsin golf rankings. At every corner of this journey, I ran into another great golf hole and another dead end at moving Milwaukee Country Club down the list.
The golf course is simply too fundamentally sound. The greens are dramatic, yet fair. The conditioning is beyond pristine and the use of the Milwaukee river is simply to good to ignore. With the golden age pedigree of H.S. Colt and C.H. Alison and one of the coolest men’s grills in America, Milwaukee Country Club drips with golf ambiance.
Milwaukee Country Club is your #1 private club in Wisconsin.
2. Blue Mound Golf & Country Club
As the setting for the WSGA internship finale, Blue Mound will always hold a special place in my golfing heart. Even without this world class distinction, Blue Mound would still find its way towards the top of this list. Designed in 1926 by Seth Raynor, Blue Mound is an excellent use of what can be considered relatively plain terrain. Even with this setback, Raynor delivered an excellent routing and some serious template standouts. The result is a fun and world class golfing experience.
The kicker on the Redan template
The clubhouse at Blue Mound
3. Pine Hills Country Club
Pine Hills? More like Pine Thrills. This 1928 creation from lesser known golden age architect Harry Smead hits all the right notes. You have big bold contours. Wild and dramatic green complexes and with the removal of trees across the property, world class golf vistas are emerging.
The most notable example is the recent removal of the trees along the hillside of the 18th hole. Previously they forced the golfer into a narrow chute that allowed for relatively few options for play. With their removal, the view has opened up and the golfer has the option to improve their approach into the green with an aggressive tee shot. Similar tree removals are planned for the future.
Result: Pine Hills is good and its getting even better.
4. West Bend Country Club
It is a tale of two nines at West Bend Country Club. The front nine is classic golden age architecture from Langford & Moreau that opened in 1930. The back nine was added 30 years later by David Gill. Since the two nines were contrasting styles, West Bend wisely chose Kyle Goalby to restore the back nine to more closely resemble the original front nine design. The resulting back is of high quality, but you can still feel the difference. I was a big fan of both.
5. Ozaukee Country Club
A lot of golf courses in Wisconsin suffer from an overabundance of trees that have taken over the golf course. They obstruct views and alter the playing experience and strategy. This is the situation at Ozaukee Country Club. I bring this up at Ozaukee not because the golf course is particularly bad, but the fact that the golf course is that good. The trees are simply getting in the way of allowing the golf course to reach its potential.
While walking the fairways at Ozaukee, it is easy to identify trees that have no business being on the golf course. They add no strategic or aesthetic value and reduce the original strategy intended for the golf course. In many instances, the trees obstruct what would otherwise be outstanding vistas.
With the business of whining about trees out of the way, the round at Ozaukee is still one of my favorites in the Milwaukee area. Even with tress encroaching most golf holes, the greens are excellent and the course is a lot of fun to play. The club also has a fantastic membership with a downright joyous vibe.
6. North Hills Country Club
North Hills is another golden age design originating in 1929 that has certainly stood the test of the time. The course is heavily tree lined and at times felt like I was back in Seattle walking the fairways of Sahalee Country Club. The playing highlight of my round came on the 18th hole when I found the green in 2 and then 3 putted for par. The real highlight was the folks that I made the walk with. Paul Seiffert of Wisco Golf Addict and Jason Kauflin of Wisconsin Golf Trips made this round a special one.
7. Kenosha CC & The Pond
One of 2 Donald Ross designs in the state of Wisconsin is getting better by the day. With a renovation underway at Kenosha Country Club, a lot of excellent moves are being made to bring back the Ross luster. The course has consulted with Drew Rogers to reinstate Ross’ original intentions. Trees have been removed, greens have been widened and cart paths are being repositioned. It all adds up to a very enjoyable walk with the promise of things to come. The 15th hole is an obvious standout on the 1922 Ross design and it made the candidate list for the best WSGA internship par 4.
For those that are truly in the know, there is a golf course located just 3 minutes away from Kenosha CC called The Pond. While The Pond is not a “Golden Age Design” or a “Classic Raynor” it is an original Thompson. Local Kenosha resident Gregg Thompson designed this spectacular 5 hole golf course and it resides in his backyard.
Each of the golf holes plays across the pond, giving the course it’s trademark name. If you are lucky, bratwursts will be provided free of charge by the course owner and operator.
8. South Hills Country Club
The 15th hole at South Hills Country Club
In a surprising twist, South Hills Country Club is located North of North Hills Country Club. Technically it’s not even in the Milwaukee scene but in the Fond du Lac scene. However, it is an excellent little number, so South Hills is getting added to the list. Playing the 15th and 16th holes alone is worth the drive from Milwaukee.
The glorious uphill 16th at South Hills Country Club