A month or so ago, John Kavanaugh dropped a fantastic thread pitting Dismal River Red vs Ballyneal in a “boxing match.” Josh Tarble did a similar matchup between Kingsley and Crystal Downs.
It’s an exhausting process to evaluate courses in such detail, and there are some admitted drawbacks to looking at holes in isolation as opposed to as part of a whole. I still find it fun though, and the threads generated a lot of interest and even a bit of controversy.
With the golf season winding down in much of the country, and completely over in America’s Dairyland, perhaps the energy to tackle a bigger undertaking can be mustered. Wisconsin has four great public courses. Let’s see which rates best on a hole-by-hole basis.
The contenders:
Whistling Straits (Straits)
Erin Hills
Lawsonia Links
Blackwolf Run Composite (in the first controversial decision of this thread, I’ve chosen to examine the composite course in its most recent tournament iteration simply because I think it’s the most naturally flowing routing at Blackwolf Run, and also because I think the back 9 at Meadow-Valleys is easily the best 9 at the complex and it would be criminal to leave it out even though the front nine has no business in this battle)
I’ll be scoring each hole on a 1-10 RELATIVE scale. Like the boxing scoring that John pioneered, the winning hole of each matchup will be awarded a score of 10. The other holes will be scored relative to that hole on a staggered scale. As in boxing, a hole that simply wins a round over another is awarded a one point differential in that round. A hole that knocks its opponent down while winning a round is awarded a two point differential. A hole that thoroughly dominates its opponent with multiple knockdowns while winning a round is awarded a three point differential. Ties are frowned upon. While the scoring sounds complicated, it’s not as bad as it sounds. As practice, let’s score the clubhouses:
Whistling Straits has a great one. Great views of the course. Well stocked pro shop. Above average food. Exceptional restrooms.
Blackwolf Run also has a great one. You can see a few more holes than at the Straits, and the food and bathrooms are at least equally good. I’d also consider the scenery a bit better. You can’t see the lake at the Straits, but you can see the river at Blackwolf Run.
Lawsonia’s pro shop is excellent, and they’ve finally started to serve beer I believe. It’s a pretty standard clubhouse overall though, and just can’t match up to its big brothers farther east.
Erin Hills has a wonderful building, but it’s really freakin’ far from the course and not all that close to the range either.
Scorecard:
Blackwolf Run – 10
Whistling Straits – 9
Lawsonia – 7
Erin Hills – 6
Any and all are invited to participate in scoring and commentary. If you haven't played all four courses, feel free to score just the ones you have. 'Tis the season to be merry after all, and the more the merrier. I'll post Round 1 tomorrow.