Menomonie Golf & Country Club: Classic Executive Golf

Classic Executive Golf Set among the pines of western Wisconsin

There’s something special about playing a round of golf early on a summer morning in the northern half of Wisconsin. Watch the sunrise peek through the ever-present trees, smell the freshly cut grass, track putts through the dew, and enjoy a hot cup of coffee as you walk.

My round this summer Menomonie Golf & Country Club (G&CC) in Menomonie, Wisconsin, was a great opportunity to get out early and beat the coming heat. I had a great morning of golf, spending just a few dollars cruising around a course I had almost all to myself.

Overview

Menomonie G&CC has a beautiful executive length course, located on largely flat surfaces. Originally built in 1924, this is a classic layout that requires precise shooting to score. The course’s main defenses are its small, purposeful greens, along with a few tight playing corridors.

Menomonie G&CC was originally designed as a par 36 layout. In the early days this was a place that was highly respected. There are stories of traveling professionals stopping by to fine-tune their games while touring the Midwest. However, a fire burned down the original clubhouse, resulting in the sale of some of the property.

The remaining course was reconfigured, closer to the current executive-length layout. Some of the original target greens are still in place, and the putting surfaces are still challenging to hit, especially on the longer par 3s scattered throughout the layout.

While my younger, more optimistic self may have taken to playing Menomonie G&CC, these days I enjoy taking precision courses like this.

Menomonie G&CC is built on relatively flat land and is an easy, fast walk on a well-conditioned track. I played my early morning walk in just over an hour. Additionally, the course offers one of the best bang for your buck for golf in Wisconsin.

Menomonie Golf and Country Club

Menomonie, WI

Tees: Blue – 2,122/30.7/101 (par 31); White – 1,889/29.7/90 (Par 30); Red – 1,602/29.7/87 (Par 30)

Highlights and favorite holes

Menomonie G&CC’s showstopper is the 84-yard 8^e hole. It’s a wicked little par 3 played on a small island green. Although the target is small, it is still only a knockdown wedge shot, even for a short hitter. From the blue tees I cut a sand wedge to six feet and sank the putt.

Even at such a short distance, the penultimate hole offers an exciting shot. On my second attempt of the whites I was more between the clubs. Unfortunately, my big swing ended with a fitting splash.

The best of the longer holes at Menomonie was the 343 yard 2^i.e. The first par 4 of the course plays like a hard dogleg to the right. The smart play is to be about 200 yards off the tee and find the corner of the sharp turn. From that spot in the garden you have short access to a green area, hidden in a small corner of the building.

With a strong, high cut off the tee you could take the bold line more directly to the green. However, it is a very risky shot, considering the forest guarding the corner.

Just like the 8^e hole, the short 3^rd at Menomonie is also postcard worthy. This par 3 plays just 450 feet, straight through a chute into the Northwoods pines. The back tees were once a slightly longer hole, but are no longer in play due to the change in property lines and the presence of a dead end.

The 4^e at Menomonie G&CC was another solid hole, playing as a tough 180 yard par 3 on a well-guarded green. The hole played slightly uphill, bringing the front right bunker into play.

A few unique back T-shirts make both the 1^st and 9^e holes at Menomonie G&CC play significantly harder from the blue tee versus their white tee counterparts. From the blues, the first hole plays 200 yards across the practice putting area to a small green, guarded by a deep frontal bunker. It is a much shorter shot of the simple whites at 148 yards.

The blue T-shirt for the 9^e hole is hidden on the right side of the 8^e green, making the 440-yard hole a very tough challenge (the 18th is a par 5 on the scorecard). But even from the whites of 355 yards, the finishing hole is a quality par 4 that ends with a nice crescendo.

The lowlights

Overall, I really enjoyed Menomonie G&CC for its value, but I found the series of holes from 5 to 7 to be a bit boring overall. All three holes move in the same direction. That doesn’t mean they’re bad holes, but it feels like these holes serve to get you from one edge of the site to the 4th.^e green to another edge at the 8^e tee.

However, there are nice shots to be played on each of these holes. The 155 meters 5^e plays on a small, elevated green with a steep slope from back to front.

The 6^e drops out at a difficult 210 yards, making it a full-blown 3-wood shot for me. At that distance the green is not a very big target.

Final thoughts

For many Wisconsin travelers, the Menomonie, Wisconsin area is overlooked. Nearby Eau Claire is the most likely stop on Interstate 94 if you’re heading west from Chicago, Milwaukee or Madison on your way to the Twin Cities or vice versa. But if you haven’t been to Menomonie yet, it is a beautiful lake community worth visiting.

Menomonie is home to the University of Wisconsin-Stoutand much of the city center sits on a bluff overlooking scenic Lake Menomin. This is a nice student town with a nice amount of history and character. It’s a great place to take a relaxing walk or grab a bite to eat at the Bar & Grill on the water, famous for its views and brews.

Near Menomonie G&CC you can enjoy more fun and cheaper golf in Dunn County. Tanglewood Greens has one of the best comeback stories of any course in Wisconsin, while Pinewood Golf Course is another fun executive course that you can enjoy quickly.

20 minutes east of Menomonie is Eau Claire, home of Wild ridgeone of Western Wisconsin’s best public songs. A little further east Eau Claire Golf and Country Club – an excellent private location.

But if you’re looking for a quick, inexpensive game of golf on a great course in Menomonie, check out Menomonie Golf & Country Club. My morning run there was one of my favorite walks of the year.

The Menomonie Golf & Country Club website

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