Getting To Know: Western Lakes Golf Club By Brian Weis

Getting To Know: Western Lakes Golf Club

An Insightful Interview With Jason Hoelz, General Manager

By Brian Weis

Whether you have played a course 20+ times a year or looking to play the course for the first time, insights from an insider can help enhance your golf experience. Below is an interview with Jason Hoelz who shares some valuable tidbits about the course, memorable holes and must eats and treats at the 19th.

Give Our Readers An Overview of the Golf Course/Property
Western Lakes Golf Club is a premier 18 Hole Championship Golf course located in the Lake Country area just minutes off of I-94. Our golf course features a full-service golf shop with an on-site golf pro, practice range, bunker and green, golf cart and club rental. The golf course is easy to walk but offers a challenging test. Water comes into play on most holes as Zion Creek winds through the property and helps form several ponds. The fairways are always in great condition, the course is well bunkered and the greens always roll smooth!

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
We take great pride in offering country club conditions on a public golf course. I can't tell you how many times I heard compliments last year about how fantastic the fairways were and our greens are always rolling well. I don't think you'll find another course in the area that is in as good of condition for the price as Western Lakes.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
The fairway bunker placement is really good, they come into play with a good drive on most holes that have them. You really do have to play away from them as much as possible.

Any recent changes to the golf course? Or any upcoming changes?
Last year we started a rolling program for our greens maintenance. Our superintendent skipped mowing one or two days a week and rolled the greens on that morning instead. It really made a difference, the greens rolled so nice all season and it really makes for healthier turf. We also bought a new aerifier will much smaller tines - within a week we had players who said the greens were rolling perfect.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
2018 is our 30th Anniversary!

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
The Par 3 17th - It's 178 yards from the blue tees and all carry over water. It has a nice bunker protecting the left side of the green and another long-right. It usually plays into the wind and is a very challenging hole.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
For some reason I just love driving on hole #10. First off, you've got a great view of the entire back 9 from the tee box and it's the start of a new 9 :) If you hit it long enough start your drive over the tree on the right side of the fairway with a little draw and you'll be in perfect position for a short wedge to the green.

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
We've got a refreshing cocktail called the "WLGC"!
W-hiskey, L-emonade, G-inger Beer, C-lub Soda

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?
There are several players that have shot a 63 out here - to the best of my knowledge, that's the course record.

Back Tee Stats
Par: 72
Yardage: 6601
Slope: 124
Rating: 71.2

More Information
Western Lakes Golf Club
W287 N1963 Oakton Road
Pewaukee, WI, 53072
262-691-9000

www.westernlakes.com

Revised: 03/07/2018 - Article Viewed 14,410 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.