2 hours from Milwaukee, Waushara Country Club is a public course located right outside of Wautoma, WI. The course has 3 separate 9’s that rotate to make a different 18 hole course each day. This review goes through a foggy early morning round I played on their Westwoods 9.
Atmosphere
The course sits just north of the main road through town, highway 21. The entrance to the course is up a hill which hides the majority of the course from the busy road. Unsurprisingly my 9 the Westwoods is to the west of the clubhouse. 4 of the 9 holes sit in a section of pines, while the remainder is more open near the remainder of the 27. All of them have a nice atmosphere though, as they do a nice job in the more open areas using native grasses and scattered trees to separate/distinguish the holes.
Conditions
Overall I was impressed. The fairway were quite full albeit long, however I was playing very early and they were in the process of cutting them. I suspect them to be well above average after the mow. Green were not super fast but quite smooth and consistent for having some in deeply wooded/shady areas.
The bunkers were a bit ragged on the edges. I think they would look nice with having the top edges left to grow a bit to give it a wild look. The only other time I had played it looked like they did that intentionally and I liked it. This time though they looked to be knocked down.
Design
I think the layout is just good enough. There are a few weak holes, but they never were strung together. Of the aspects to note the open area of the course has nice land movement. While not dramatic in any sense, it has nice rolling hills that, along with the fairway bunkering, added some uncertainty to tee shots and layups. The other aspect that I really like is the greens themselves. They are quite large and very sloped. There are a few old ones from the original course that are bland, but for my 9 only holes 1 and 8 had those.
Facilities
Not much to say as it was a pretty quick in and out, but the gentleman in the clubhouse was friendly in getting me a 9 to play without a tee time early in the morning.
Value
With a good amount of lakes and vacationers in the area during the summer the rates are a bit high for my blood during the summer but not atrocious. Around $50 on a weekend to ride 18 is pretty standard, just not something I will be doing too often.
It is worth noting that the rates do drop off pretty drastically in the spring and fall because of the seasonality of the area with vacationers.
- Newer greens were quite sloped and provided interest
- Very few flat holes
- Good variety of holes
- Conditions was above average
The Good
The Bad
- #8 and #9 were disappointing
- Prices are just fair
- A couple of bunkers are unnecessary and could be removed.
Holes to Note
1st Hole – Par 4
The 1st on the Westwoods 9 is a dogleg left par 4. The tee box sits in the open while the hole works its way into the trees. If hitting a tee shot longer then 200 yards the fairway gets very tight and moves left. A leave of 150 yards into the green is the best case scenario here.
The approach is played downhill to a old school push up green that is sloped back to front. The green has sharp drop-offs behind and to the sides.
2nd Hole – Par 4
A very, very tight tee shot is in store for the 2nd. The hole is short however with an mid to long iron being all that is needed off the tee. I appreciated the green being unique in that it has 3 tiers while being very long and narrow. The bunkers in front look pretty lame and are unnecessary, but the shaping of the green made it not particularly bothersome.
4th Hole – Par 5
Out in to the more open area of the course for the 4th, the hole looks pretty straight forward from the tee as it moves slightly uphill to a landing area pinched by a bunker left and two to the right. One thing I’d like to see is the fairway line pushed out to the bunkers on the right to better incorporate them.
6th Hole – Par 5
My favorite hole on this 9 is the 6th. The tee shot moves left to right with pines and bunkers to the left and a pond and bunkers to the right. The second then snakes around another grove of pine trees and onto some rolling terrain. The green is on the far side of a hump and then dip in the fairway.
7th Hole – Par 3
Unfortunately I forgot to get a picture from the tee on the 7th, but the hole plays pretty drastically downhill to a large green surrounded by water on 3 sides.
As you can see from the pictures, the green has a lot of internal contours that gives the player something else to think about besides the water.
Final Thoughts & Grade
Waushara is not a course I would drive 2 hours to play on its own, but that is not what the course is about. It’s about providing reasonable to good golf for the communities within the immediate area of the course. For that it does quite well. If we had more courses with a thoughtful design and ownership who, seems like based on my experiences, cares/has the money/knows what they are doing like Waushara. I think golf would be in a better position.
So in ending, if you are in the area play Waushara. It has my recommendation.