Mention the name Donald and the game of golf in the same sentence and the real estate mogul Donald Trump normally will come to mind. The original Donald to the game was legendary course designer Donald Ross.
In the early 1900's, Ross predominately built courses along the East Coast primarily because cross country transportation was limited to steam engine train. Fortunately, for Wisconsinites Ross built two classic masterpieces in the Badger state - Kenosha CC and Oconomowoc CC.
Built in 1922, Kenosha CC has stood the test of time. The 6511 yard, par 70 course features classic holes with small elevated greens, tree line fairways and elegantly shaped bunkering.
The heart of the course lies between holes 13 through 15 where golfers will be tested in an uphill downhill bout with two long testy par 4s sandwich between a monster 218 yard par 3.
Head Pro Eric Malone shared immediately that hands down the signature hole was 15. Named Waterloo, the hole drops to the riverbed floor requiring a long precise drive to carry the gently flowing creek. A long iron second shot will be needed to reach the elevated green 430 yards into the distance. I can only image how many matches have swayed on this challenging hole.
Donald Ross trades a few brawny uphill par 3's in exchange for a beautiful collection of downhill par 4's including the underrated 16th dubbed the "willows," and parallel finishing holes 9 and 18.
Bottom line, the design features are classic but like all Donald Ross designed courses the conditioning is first rate. Case in point, the Autumn day we played two crews were trimming back the towering mature hardwoods lining fairways 8 and 9. This pruning goes along way in rejuvenating a course as opposed to looking like a tired 100 year old course.
If Donald Ross was alive today he would still be proud of Kenosha Country Club.
The Skinny 4 Tees - 6511, 6277, 5982, 5705 yards Par - 70 Back Slope/Rating - 132/71.6
Kenosha Country Club
500 13th Avenue Kenosha, WI 53141 262-552-8488 www.kenoshacountryclub.com
