Wisconsin’s meteoric rise to become one of America’s top public golf states is often attributed to the arrival of its signature destination courses, including the likes of SentryWorld, Blackwolf Run, Whistling Straits, Erin Hills and Sand Valley, with the state’s glacially-formed, rolling topography providing the perfect medium for these dramatic layouts to flourish.
The backbone of Wisconsin golf, however, is a collection of lesser-known, yet excellent properties sprinkled across the state’s fertile golfing ground, places that existed long before the big-name resorts arrived: the town courses.
Cared for by proud local owners, these publicly-accessible venues have functioned as centerpieces of recreation in their communities – affordable places to gather, learn and enjoy this great game. Wisconsin’s town courses have rightfully earned a solid reputation with scenic tree-lined layouts, great course conditions and reasonable green fees, even though they tend not to appear in prominent course rankings or popular destination itineraries.
The sheer number of these off-the-beaten-path facilities makes for great adventure in “finding” ones you haven’t visited yet. It seems that in every corner of small-town Wisconsin another engaging, well-kept layout beckons. Discovering these gems across the state is an experience I cherish, and as I progress deeper into the wold of golf writing I hope to visit more of them each season.
Old Hickory Golf Club in Beaver Dam is one such spot that I had heard plenty about over the years given its close proximity to Madison, but I’m guessing many golfers in other areas of the state aren’t too familiar with it. After growing up hearing rumors of this excellent property just up Highway 151, I finally made my first trip to Old Hickory in 2022 and came away highly impressed.
Just east of town, a small sign by the entrance road off Highway 33 is the only evidence of Old Hickory’s existence, and you won’t know a golf course is there unless you’re looking for one. Once you’ve found your way onto the property, however, what you’ll find is a charming, old-school, woodsy layout with some interesting and unique holes played over hilly countryside terrain.
The property dates back to 1920 with its first nine holes routed by Tom Bendelow, the “Johnny Appleseed” architect of hundreds of Midwest Golden Age designs, including my home club Nakoma. A second nine was added in 1968, but the layout is so cohesive I had a hard time telling the difference between its older and newer sections.
Old Hickory is densely populated with towering trees from start to finish, many of which probably date back to the course’s founding. The foliage provides a stiff defense on most holes, placing an extreme emphasis on accuracy, execution and conservative play.
Adding to the challenge are heaving hills found throughout the property, inevitably leading to an abundance of awkward lies and stances and demanding a versatile iron game. To make matters even more complicated, Old Hickory’s greens are tiny, some of the smallest I’ve seen in the state.
The tall trees closely bordering fairways force conservative play on many holes, making the routing play longer than the scorecard indicates and leading to many long-iron approaches into the small greens.
My first trip to Old Hickory last year turned out to be a banner round of the season as I hit lasers off the tee coupled with solid iron shots that gave me plenty of birdie looks. After sinking a ten-foot par putt on 18 to shoot 79, it showed that if one can keep it in play and execute their swing, this is a relatively short course that can yield low scores.
My return to Old Hickory this past season highlighted the track’s penal side, though, with a fade-turned-slice finding the woods too often and mediocre iron play that was woefully inadequate to save the round. The resulting 91 (ouch!) proved that while Old Hickory can yield a good score, it will also beat you up on an off day.
This year’s visit was in the early fall, and while the colors hadn’t quite started popping yet, I was still excited to photograph this beautiful, wooded property at golden hour. Unfortunately, I arrived at sunrise to find the course cloaked in thick fog, putting a kabosh on great sunrise shots.
The fog eventually lifted while playing the front nine, yielding perfect, sunny playing conditions, and I was able to get the drone airborne several times during the round to salvage some good photography. And even though I didn’t have my best golf game that day, I still thoroughly enjoyed myself thanks to the high quality of the layout and the excellent condition of the course.
Course Summary
Old Hickory Golf Club
Beaver Dam, WI
Architects: Tom Bendelow (original nine, 1920); Billy Sixty, Jr. (new nine, 1968)
Par 72, 6727/6433/6127/5775/5525/5355/4613 Yards
Course/Slope Rating: 72.9/128, 71.5/125, 70.2/122, 68.6/118, 67.5/116, 66.6/114, 66.9/113
Open to Public; Peak Green Fee: $55
Highlight Holes
While the back nine at Old Hickory is the more memorable side, in my opinion, the signature hole comes on the front nine at the 7th. This picturesque par three features a carry over a pond to an elevated green protected by two bunkers. Tee selection is crucial here, as the back tee can stretch out to nearly 200 yards (significantly longer than the posted yardage). I played the tips in this year’s round, and with the wind directly into my face I was forced to hit 3-wood. Suffice to say, it didn’t end well. From the shorter tee boxes, this is a much more manageable short iron shot with the water largely out of play.
This week’s “Flyover Fridays” installment on my Instagram page featured this dazzling beauty:
The back nine at Old Hickory is a collection of varied, dramatic challenges. With its first several holes touring the hillier, wooded perimeter of the property, an even greater emphasis is placed on accuracy and smart play, requiring exceptional placement off the tee.
At the short par four 13th, restraint is especially rewarded but only if it’s coupled with uncanny execution. Towering oaks and maples pinch the fairway to miniscule width less than 100 yards from a hilltop green, waiting to ruthlessly punish the bold who dare to let it rip with driver. The wise move here is to lay back, but not too far, as a short iron is still essential to loft the ball over the trees and onto a tiny green up the slope.
The 15th is one of my favorite holes at Old Hickory, another beautiful short par four playing uphill through a chute of trees. With no sand in play, only the foliage and tough slopes stand in your way of a scoring opportunity. Off the tee, a glimmer of room is available to the right, which also provides a better angle to the green given the slight right-to-left orientation of the fairway.
I was recently polled on the toughest closing hole in the state. While some brutes such as the monster par five finisher at Erin Hills, the long par four conclusion to The Bull at Pinehurst Farms and the epic 18th at Whistling Straits are deserving contenders that immediately came to mind, the closer at Old Hickory may be the dark horse of the bunch. From the blue or white tees this is a true three-shot par five, and if you don’t step up and hit two good shots out of the gate you will surely be chipping out and playing for bogey.
First, the drive must skirt past a grove of monstrous trees down the right side to find a kicker slope – it’s a feast-or-famine proposition with the kicker slope providing an ideal angle and shortening the rest of the hole. From there, the fairway heads straight up a steep hill towards the clubhouse, before ending on one final postage stamp green. If you find the trees at any point on the 18th, you’ll be staring a dreaded double bogey finish right in the face.
Closing Thoughts
After making a long-anticipated maiden visit to Old Hickory in 2022 and a return round this past season, I think this locally well-regarded layout lives up to its reputation. While it is extremely tight and will punish weak play from tee-to-green, the design is engaging with an array of challenging yet fun shots to execute. It would be extremely tough to overpower this course given the small targets, and as a shorter hitter I thoroughly enjoy places like this where I can keep up with better ball strikers.
Old Hickory has some of the best-conditioned surfaces you’ll find at a public course in the area, featuring slick, smooth greens. At a weekend peak-season greens fee of just over $50, this is one of the best deals in eastern Wisconsin and is absolutely worth driving a couple of hours to check out.