West Bend Country Club

The front 9 at West Bend CC is classic Langford/Moreau. Big, bold greens with terrific shaping throughout the hole that enhances an already dramatic piece of land. The stretch of 6-9 in particular are wild. The back 9 was designed by someone else and it shows in several spots. While holes like the 11th and 15th stood out to me, there are a number of other holes that lack the same creative and bold design featured on the other side. The course is still phenomenal and is maintained to exceptional standards. While I have not found them to allow outside play typically, they do auction rounds for charity and host tournaments so you can gain access if you look hard enough.

The Good: West Bend CC is an extremely fun private club on the northwest side of Milwaukee suburbia. The front nine is an original Langford & Moreau design from the early 1930's, while the back nine was developed by David Gill in 1960 from existing plans left by "Bill and Ted", yet he made slight adjustments to the routing. Combined, it has several amazing stretches of holes (particularly 6-8 on the outward half and 11-12 on the second nine) with strong Par-4 variety, tough Par-5's, and beautiful Par-3's. There is surprising elevation change for middle Wisconsin, with most of the greens pirched uphill after downhill tee shots. The course is in excellent condition, especially the extremely fast, signature L&M undulating greens on the front nine. Very nice clubhouse with locker rooms, separate "The Turn" bar, and full restaurant. Pace of play was good considering it was peak time on a weekend.

The Bad: The driving range and practice area, like many older clubs, is very limiited. The range is really small and shouldn't allow drivers, yet many people were hitting them and flaring balls onto the first fairway. Lack of short game area outside of a small putting green. While obviously we were outsiders playing a private club, yet the on-course service staff wasn't overly friendly. At one point the cart girl took my credit card for purchases but didn't acknolwedge she was taking it back to the clubhouse and just drove off.

The Verdict: West Bend CC is an unheralded Wisconsin hidden gem that is like Lawsonia Links on cocaine. A very fun, playable layout that will punish you around the greens if you're not careful. Top 3 course in the Milwaukee area I've played.

Best Hole: I love the stretch of 6-8, but my favorite hole is the short Par-4 12th. Carved into lowlands of trees, the tee shot must avoid bunkers left or getting blocked out by trees right. The approach is to a well-protected uphill green.

Opening nine is brilliant stuff by the archetypal Midwest Gothic-scale duo of William Langford & Theodire Moreau, circa 1929 - fantastic vertical intensity, drama, sense of the outrageous()see attached photo). Back nine is 1960s shlock - boring, wasteful, sad by contrast. Play the front nine twice.

One of the great golf courses in Wisconsin. A true classic.