A short drive north of Milwaukee lies Washington County Golf Course. As you might glean from the name, the course is run by the county. That being said, this is not your typical municipal course. Built on the side of a broad, sloping hill, this “American links” is some of the best golf Milwaukee has to offer.
To enter the course, you drive down a couple of country roads to get to the entrance. The clubhouse is fairly large, but appropriate for the course. As you take your bag out of your car and walk toward the clubhouse you are greeted with a great view of the course. As I mentioned, the course sits on the side of a broad hill with the clubhouse at its peak. The atmosphere is decidedly not pretentious in any way and feels very much about the golf.
I am not one to usually hit range balls before my round, but, before setting off on your round, I would highly recommend the practice facility at Washington County. I believe it is the best around Milwaukee. On top of a very large, well manicured, grass tee (mats also available), they also have 3 practice holes, a large putting green and a short game area with multiple bunkers. It really is excellent.
On top of the practice facility the condition of the entire course is also excellent. There has been nothing to critique in my numerous times playing. For an under $100 course it’s hard to get much better. Now on to the hole by hole!
- Excellent conditions
- Best public practice facility around
- Good value for quality of course
- Offset fairways to tees provide quite a few intriguing tee shots for a sometimes vanilla “american links”
The Good
The Bad
- Some may find the layout vanilla
- While generally a good value, price can get a bit too high on weekends
1st Hole – Par 4
A wide and slightly downhill tee shot greets you on the 1st. The 1st also features one of only 2 tee shots in which the tee sits more or less in the center of the fairway, and not with the fairway offset. The offset of the fairways to the tees is key at Washington County, and really helps give a vanilla looking course an interesting design. All of that being said, the first is not a bad hole. After hopefully finding the fairway, the green sits slightly downhill and features a prominent ridge that cuts vertically through the green. Avoid the bunker on the left and you should have a chance for par.
2nd Hole – Par 4
The long par 4 2nd runs parallel to the 11th, and shares a large fairway bunker. The tee shot is hit onto what looks like a plateau, with the shared bunker on the right having a steep face. If you manage to hit your tee shot in the fairway, the green is somewhat open in the front, and is fairly benign in terms of contours.
This is a reoccurring feature at Washington County. Long par 4’s have greens in which you can bounce balls on, while short 4’s offer greens that have bunkers or mounding fronting them. Not a mind blowing concept, but one that some designers don’t incorporate enough.
3rd Hole – Par 5
The 3rd is a prime example of the offset fairways. The cut of said fairway is almost perfectly straight if seen on a overhead satellite image, but the hole plays as a slight dogleg. This way of placing tees provides quite a few instances where hitting your tee shot closer to the trouble results in better angles to greens and shortens the holes. In the example of the 3rd, hitting your tee shot near or over the native area on the right makes the hole much shorter and possible to reach in 2. While if you bail out to the wide landing area to the left, you are safe, but it is most likely a 3 shot hole.
No matter where you hit your tee shot, your second and third shots are played down hill to a perched green that is somewhat shallow and is fronted by a deep bunker. One thing to consider on your layup is the significant dip around 100 yards from the green. It is best to either lay back behind that, or hit your 2nd shot within 50 yards. Anywhere in between those yardages will leave you a funky downhill lie to the shallow green.
4th Hole – Par 3
The 4th tee is located directly behind the 3rd green. One of the more benign holes on the course the 4th is a mid length par 3 that plays slightly uphill. Any shot missing the green will leave a fairly easy chance at an up and down.
5th Hole – Par 4
5 is a fun short par 4. The safe line is shown in the picture on the left, where only a shot of 200ish yards will leave you a wedge in. The more aggressive player can take the line shown in the picture on the right. I played late in the year and the native grass, as you can see, was cut down making the more aggressive line much less risky.
As I described on the 3rd hole, Arthur Hills does do a nice job changing up the green styles based on the length of the hole. In the case of the 5th, the green has a deep bunker right and a drop off/somewhat severe mounding on the left making the approach much more challenging.
6th Hole – Par 3
The mid length par 3 6th is not a pushover like the 4th, in fact, I believe the 6th is one of the hardest holes on the course. Although it may look unassuming from the picture below, the 6th features a narrow turtle shell like green that slopes away from the center. It also has a notable valley that runs through the middle of its surface as well, cutting the green into 2 tiers. All of the above leaves very small targets, and the reason why this blogger has made a fair share of 5’s on this 3.
7th Hole – Par 5
The 7th may be the “signature hole” for many, and I agree it is a memorable one. The 7th is located at the lowest point on the property, and because of that features water for the first time in the round.
The tee shot can be deceiving as a shot that lands on the left third of the fairway may bounce/roll into the water because of the pitch of the fairway. That being said, it is important to try and skirt the water as it will leave a shorter shot for the all important 2nd. Speaking of the 2nd, it is squeezed by a large mound on the right and of course the water on the left. To have a reasonable 3rd shot you must hit your tee shot past the large mound that juts in on the right. If not, you are left with a shot longer than 150 yards to a narrow green with a hazard on 3 sides.
The 7th is confounding because if you pass up the challenge on the tee shot and bail right, the 2nd shot becomes that much harder. Pass on the challenge again on your 2nd, and the 3rd becomes even harder. This makes it a mentally taxing hole, but rewarding if you’re able to pull off the shots required.
8th Hole – Par 4
8 is another short par 4, but unlike the 5th features water on the left. The tee is elevated substantially, and overlooks a wide fairway. A tee shot that is hit closer to the hazard on the left will leave a better angle as the green is unusual as it is shaped like a boomerang wrapping left to right around a bunker. Water sits both to the left and behind so be cautious with your approach.
9th Hole – Par 4
The 9th is an uphill sharp dogleg right par 4. Your length off the tee will dictate a lot. Shorter hitters will not be able to cut off much of the corner. This can leave players around 200 yards off of a side hill lie into the green. The hole is much easier for longer hitters. The line is about over the 17th tee for players that can carry the ball over 250 yards and tee shots like one of my friends (seen below) can end up less then 100 yards from the green.
The approach is then played to a large 2 tiered green.
10th Hole – Par 4
A basic downhill par 4 the 10th is one of only a few holes in which trees come into play. While the trees in the right rough are not large, they can still obstruct 2nd shots if one misses on that side. The approach is then played downhill to the green below. It is one of the flatter greens on the property, giving the player a good chance at birdie.
11th Hole – Par 4
The 11th sits just below the 2nd, and therefore shares the same fairway bunker. While there are also bunkers down the right, the fairway is quite wide and the hole itself is quite short. The smart play is to hit less than driver and leave yourself a short iron in.
12th Hole – Par 4
Just behind the 11th green is the 12th tee. The stoutest of all the par 4’s at Washington County, the 12th runs slightly left to right. At well over 400 yards from most tees, the 12th features a wide fairway and a green that allows you to bounce one in. A 5 is not a bad score on this hole.
I think 10-12 are some of the weaker holes on the course. For short holes with wide fairways the greens don’t quite match up in terms of difficulty on 10 and 11, and I find the 12th bland. That being said the course does start to improve as we get deeper into the back nine.
13th Hole – Par 5
One of the best driving holes on the course, especially if your a righty that hits a draw. The 13th is slightly downhill to an extremely wide fairway. The bunkers on the left should be more for aesthetics as they are an easy carry. Once in the fairway, it is a long way home. Hit as much as you can towards the perched green. Speaking of the green, it is one of the best on the course as it shaped right to left with some tricky pin positions back left.
14th Hole – Par 3
On to the toughest par 3 on the course. The 14th is downhill to a green flanked by a pond on the left. There is however a kick slope that will funnel balls on to the green on the right. That right side comes highly recommended as many a ball have found their grave in that pond.
15th Hole – Par 4
Unfortunately with the low light the pictures are quite bad for the last couple of holes. A new camera is being ordered for the new year though!
The 15th again is great for a right hander who hits a draw. Aim down the right hand side and swing away. After finding your tee shot, your approach is uphill to a fairly small green. Some of the deepest bunkers on the course are located to the right of this green and are to be avoided if at all possible.
16th Hole – Par 3
While difficult to see, the 16th is a long downhill par 3. I find long par 3’s to be poor on a many courses as architects tend to make them bland, as they don’t want to make them too difficult. In the case of the 16th this is not the case. A deep bunker on the left provides some challenge, while the large green, and the fact that the hole plays significantly downhill, makes it feel doable.
In this bloggers opinion it is one of the best long par 3’s in the Greater Milwaukee area.
17th Hole – Par 5
The penultimate hole at Washington County is a long par 5. The tee shot features a familiar feature. A more aggressive line over the natural grass on the right will make the hole reachable, while the safe line is playing short of the bunkers on the left side of the fairway. Your 2nd shot is played to an absolutely HUGE fairway if you layup. However, it is best to be on the left hand side if you do use that option. The green is odd with a large mound around the front right of the green leaving almost none of the green surface visible. Getting a view means hitting your 2nd within 75 yards of the green. Not something many players are capable of. A poor choice for a green in my opinion.
18th Hole – Par 4
18 is an uphill par 4 with bunkers situated on the left. If you are able to carry those the hole becomes much easier leaving most players a short iron into the green. The green is tough with a large mound more or less in the center that protects back pins quite well.
I will wrap up the course itself below, but I wanted to note how the round finished. Playing a round with 3 good friends, in beautiful weather, with it being the last round of the year. Admittedly gave me “the feels.” Not to get too melodramatic, but for myself this is what I love about the game. A match between friends, you’re outdoors walking, a beautiful sunset and a good course. Truly a great round and a moment I won’t forget with the sunset walking up 18.
Final Thoughts and Grade
While not a resort course with dramatic shots Washington County is a good golf course with good shot value. To me, Washington County is the perfect example of a property doing everything they could with what they had.
They were never going to have an Erin Hills with the features of the land, but they put a good design on a above average piece of land. Couple that with always keeping the course in excellent condition, and in my mind you have a top 3 public course around Milwaukee.