Dretzka Park Golf Course

Golf Course Overview: Dretzka Park Golf Course

Insights From An Insider With Scott Walecki, General Manager/Head Golf Professional

By Brian Weis

Local and traveling golfers love to research courses before playing them, whether it is to gain some local knowledge or to set an expectation before their upcoming round. Below is an interview with Scott Walecki who shares some valuable insight about the property, its most talked about holes and the signature dish/drink to consume at the 19th hole.

Provide a brief description of the golf course/property, the terrain and best times of the year to play.
The golf is different from all Milwaukee County Golf Courses as the layout is wide spread meaning you will not see the next hole. Each hole has its unique challenge that makes each golfer think a little harder. This course is has a lot of slope and most shots are up hill into the green. Best time to play is Summer and Fall.

Share with golfers, your most recent awards and golf course improvements.
Dretzka Park Golf Course is Audubon Certified. The Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf is an award winning education and certification program that helps golf courses protect our environment and preserve the natural heritage of the game of golf. By helping people enhance the valuable natural areas and wildlife habitats that golf courses provide, improve efficiency, and minimize potentially harmful impacts of golf course operations, the program serves an important environmental role worldwide.

Any tips on playing and reading the greens?
Always go up 1 club as this course is sneaky long.

Starting on hole #1, are there any tips to get your round off on the right foot?
To start your round off right, play from the correct tees. For those who want to play the back set of tees, its an 465 yard, Par 5 with where you need a drive over 255 yards to carry the water. If you lay up short of the water, you second shot will be from the thick rough. Bogey will come into play quickly.

The key is to play the correct tee box to clear the water.

What is your favorite par 5, and how would you recommend playing it?
Hole 8 is a great hole. Very wide fairway but as you get closer to the hole, the penalty area start creeping in on the left hand side.

What is your favorite par 3, and how would you recommend playing it?
Hole 13. Its a short 133 down hill par 3. Make a smooth swing with the ball below the hole, easy par.

In your opinion, what is the hardest hole and do you have any tips on playing it?
Hardest hole on the course is the final hole. If you have a good round going, this is where scores change quickly. Make good contact with the ball and you will do well.

As a golfer plays the final three holes, is there a chance for salvation? (any tips on closing out the round?)
The final 3 holes are a bit challenging. 16 is a 200 yard par 3. 17 is a short up hill par 4 and 18 is a meaty, up hill par 5 with water to carry on your second shot.

Contact Course
Dretzka Park Golf Course 12020 W. Bradley Rd Milwaukee, WI, 53224 414-354-7300

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Revised: 03/03/2021 - Article Viewed 10,064 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.