Milwaukee Area Golf

[Evan Fleisher]

Guys,

Need some quick help.  A work colleague will be up in the Milwaukee area this weekend and is looking for a place to play...he only has PUBLIC course access.  I told him to go play Brown Deer Park...except the PGA tourney is there this weekend and they simply could not fit him on the tee sheet. 

So...where else could we send this guy?  I'm not all that familiar with the Milwaukke golf scene, and he cannot drive too far "out" from the city.  Thoughts and suggestions please!

[Phil McDade]

Evan:

Making breakfast for the kids -- will post something soon!

How far can he drive? Can he do 30 minutes?

[Evan Fleisher]

I'd say so.

[PCCraig]

He can't get out on Brown Deer at all?

Perhaps the Bog? It's a Palmer design and it's not too far from the city if I remember correctly.

[Phil McDade]

Fire Ridge up the road in Grafton gets generally good reviews; not far off I-43:

http://www.fireridgegc.com/INDEX1.CFM?BannerPop=True

The Bog, also north of town, Palmer Design Corp., nice but full of wetlands and big, deep traps. Usually well-conditioned. Has its fans and detractors. Generally viewed as the best daily fee course in the area.

http://www.golfthebog.com/

The same guy who designed Brown Deer Park -- George Hansen -- also did several other layouts in Milwaukee County that have some charm in an old-fashioned way -- here's a list of the county golf courses:

http://www.county.milwaukee.gov/Courses10292.htm

Whitnall and Greenfield probably the best of the Hansen-era courses, although Dretzka Park (newer, from the 1960s) has its fans. All of these can get a bit busy, as they are true munis.

Out in Waukesha County, Naga-Waukee is a good bet, as its about two minutes off I-94 west of town (also can get busy, as it's county run):

http://www.golfwaukeshacounty.com/golf/proto/golfwaukeshacounty/

I've always liked New Berlin Hills, a muni from the early 1900s in the nearby bedroom suburb of New Berlin, with grainy greens and some challenging holes, altho also some mundane ones. Nice clubhouse.

http://www.newberlinhillsgolf.com/

Further out in the suburbs is Washington County, not that far from Erin Hills, an Art Hills design that's pretty wide open, and sits up on the land, and thus subject to some winds, which can make things interesting. Another county-run course:

http://www.golfwcgc.com/golf/proto/golfwcgc/

A daily fee course I'm fond of, although it has some quirk and odd spots, is Kettle Moraine, about a 10-minute drive south of I-94 on the extreme western suburban edge of the area, nearly to Oconomowoc. Some interesting holes on some good land.

http://www.kettlemorainegolf.com/

Hope this helps....

[Evan Fleisher]

Phil,

Great work (as usual)...I have passed these recommendations on to my colleague.  Thanks for all the hard work!

[J_ Crisham]

Evan,  South of Milwaukee there is a course outside of Kenosha called Strawberry Creek . Nice course to play and usually in good shape. On the private side, I played Blue Mound on Saturday which has a very interesting set of Raynor green complexes-not sure how open they are to outside play but certainly a great track if this could be accomplished.
                                               Good luck,  Jack

[Evan Fleisher]

Thanks Jack!  Turns out that Strawberry Creek has recently gone private...at least since the one and only time I played there a few years back.