Well off the beaten path for Milwaukee area golfers, Monroe Golf Club is a public facility, that is located about and hour south of Madison and 2 hours from Milwaukee. While I am not 100% sure of the history, I believe the course was at one time private, but has now become public.
This was quite a drive for a course that I knew most likely wasn’t going to be anything mind blowing. I knew their was going to be some elevation change, and based on some pictures I had seen of the course before going, some at least decent greens. I more or less did find just that, and was quite content.
To top it off it was a beautiful fall day weather wise, and there was less then 10 people on the course. Being able to play without waiting always adds to the enjoyment of the round.
Atmosphere
Being on old private club the atmosphere is quite good. There is a tree line that surrounds basically the entire course. Only on holes 7 and 9 do you have houses in view, and those shouldn’t come into play. The land has a low point with the creek that runs through the middle of the property. The layout however does a nice job of really only putting 2 holes in the dead flat portion(3 & 17). Most of the holes use the banks that are on the east and west borders of the course to add land movement.
Conditions
Overall there were no complaints on the condition. I don’t think the course gets a whole lot of play, so the greens were very smooth and quite fast. Fairways were average or slightly above. Not carpet smooth, but not bad enough to impact the enjoyment of the round. Bunkers, and the rest of the course were well maintained with no weeds or wear.
Design
I will say the course is quite straight. The front 9 doesn’t feel quite as bad as both 1 and 9 are both doglegs and in general the front is the better of the two 9’s. Holes 10, 11, 14 and 17 are weak holes on the back. While on the front only 3 I find weak.
Facilites
The clubhouse is a ranch style and relatively small. I did not spend much time in the building, but when checking in the golf shop it was nicely appointed for the size. The range is tiny, and stuffed between the 1st and 9th holes, however there is a nice short game area just next to the 9th.
Value
For daily fee golfers the prices are very similar to many other courses in southern Wisconsin during peak season. It may be a tad much for what you receive, but not horrible. For my round in the fall, they did offer discounted rates through their website which came out under $30 for an adult which is very fair.
In the case of Monroe, they look to provide pretty good value in terms of memberships, and with it going public fairly recently I would venture to guess many regulars take advantage of the discounts for joining.
- Good atmosphere. Very few distractions from the golf
- Nice use of limited land movement
- Smooth greens
The Good
The Bad
- Too many straight holes
- The back 9 is a letdown compared to the front
Holes to Note
5th Hole – Par 4
A short par 4, the 5th features 2 options off the tee. Lay back before the fairway bunker to leave yourself the shot pictured below, or hit driver and leave yourself a short pitch. The green is one of the better on the course. Large shoulders will deflect balls that miss the green and their is quite a bit of internal contouring.
7th Hole – Par 4
Maybe my favorite hole on the course the 7th features a drive over a valley onto a shelf like fairway. A drive off 250 or less will leave you a fairly flat lie to this highly elevated green over a creek. The picture does not do it justice, but the green is extremely elevated and the collar is very steep. With the dry weather we had prior to the round a ball that was short would roll all the way down to the creek.
The tree right of the green turning colors was also stunning in person.
10th Hole – Par 4
After a above average front 9, I was excited to see the back 9 and stepping on the tee for the 10th I was impressed. Downhill with a creek to cross and large oak trees on the right, it is a handsome tee shot. Unfortunately the rest of the hole falls flat. Going back up the hill, the green is small and flanked by bunkers leaving you no view of the surface. A difficult ask for a hole that is over 425 yards from the white tees.
13th Hole – Par 5
The best hole on the back 9, The 13th sits at the northeast boundary of the course. The tee shot is wide and downhill, with woods far on your left. Your 2nd will be either in front of, or over the creek that crosses the fairway. After the creek, the hole heads uphill to a green that is sloped left to right with a bunker that cuts in from the right. Overall a great hole for someone who hits a fade.
16th Hole – Par 3
Looking at the satellite image of the course, I thought the 16th would be a weak hole. It looked to be located on the flat part of the property and featured no bunkers. Many times the satellite image can be deceiving, and this was certainly one of them. The tee on the 16th is actually tucked up into a hill making the 16th play downhill. The green on the other hand is slightly elevated, with nice shoulders and a good amount of slope.
While not an all time hole, it helped to make up for the back 9’s deficiencies.
Final Thoughts & Grade
While quite straight, and featuring some poor greens on the back 9, I liked Monroe. Every time I thought there was a poor hole, they sucked me back in with one that was interesting. Unfortunately, for a course like this I wonder if it will continue on. The course and facilities I believe, are not quite good enough to be able draw from the larger metropolitan areas of Rockford, Madison or Janesville for the golf alone. Their hope is that the community of Monroe, and smaller towns around Monroe, will come out enough to make it work. Again, I question if it is possible, but I certainty hope so. The course is certainly good enough to live on.