Wanaki Golf Course

I have played at Wanaki for years but recent ownership has been improving the course and seem to be doing all the right things. New carts new clubhouse with great eats and full bar.

With this being the last year as a featured Waukesha County course we wanted to get out and play it before it changes hands at the end of the 2020 season. We were excited to hear the course was purchased and will be saved from development, losing a course like this is the area would have been a real shame. I never understood how it was in trouble, every time we drove past the course seemed packed. Finally we decided to brave the crowd and get out last Friday afternoon.

The staff was friendly and accommodating, they were organized and made sure to call groups to the tee to try and get everyone out on time. I knew just from watching on the putting green the pace of play would be an issue though. It was noticeably an older crowd preparing to play at 3:30 and when we teed of about 20 minutes late we knew we would have to play slow and just enjoy the day.

The delay allowed for ample time on the putting green which was rolling very nice and really comparable to the course greens. From all the groups we could see it seemed like everyone was keeping pace with the group in ahead which helped the pace the best it could. We never saw a ranger all day, although I'm not sure who would have been the culprit. Luckily was we found out, many of the older crowd seemed to only play the front which meant we have a wide open back nine. We finished in just over 4 hours after playing the back in about 90 minutes.

I had played here before and knew the course was typically well conditioned and it lived up to the memories. It has the reputation of being the second course in the Waukesha rotation behind Nagawaukee, but I found the conditions to be every bit as good. Tee boxes were level, greens were rolling smooth and with decent pace, rough was penal but you were able to find and play your ball all day long.

The layout was set up nicely with some good use of tricky dog legs (4&5) to defend against some of the shorter holes. The land doesn't move a ton, would be a pretty easy walk and after seeing the number of people on the course, its a course you can walk and keep pace easily.

Overall I'm really glad we got a chance to come out and play. I will certainly slot this course into the rotation going forward, although we may have to pick our times with the pace of play in mind. Would certainly recommend this course, the value for the area is certainly difficult to beat in my eyes.

I was looking for a golf course in the Menominee Falls area and decided to try this course as I'm familiar with Larry Packard and Bob Lohman courses so it wasn't much of a risk. We arrived with little time to practice, but they had a hitting net for free which was very useful. The Fox River is incorporated into several holes, but besides that woods and fairway bunkers are the main challenge. The greens were in great condition for mid April, but were very large and lacked much undulation...meaning they were pretty easy once you got it on. There were maybe 6 holes that demanded a precise tee shot or else you'd be dealing with lots of trees. Front 9 more interesting than the back, but the best hole was probably the par 5 15th. Dog leg left tee shot with an approachable green over the creek for the second. Playing from the white tees will result in some long par 3's. I don't think I used less than 7 iron. In summary, a good place to knock the white ball around.