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Golfers who have been playing the same courses over and over could enjoy the game more and take in new fall scenery if they travel to different destinations, such as the colorful Idlewild Golf Club near Sturgeon Bay. Facebook photo.<\/p>\n
Like many other northern Wisconsin golf course owners, Brandon Hansen started promoting lower rates as autumn arrived.<\/p>\n
But he\u2019s not just advertising fall specials. The Idlewild\u2019s leader and PGA (Professional Golfers\u2019 Association) Head Professional just loves golfing in September and October.<\/p>\n
\u201cFall golf in Wisconsin is some of the best golf all season,\u201d Hansen said, with courses benefiting from the seasonal change. His course is tucked along the boundary of Potawatomi State Park, punctuated by ponds and lined by trees.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrass becomes very lush, and course conditions are really nice \u2013 not to mention the trees changing colors is beautiful in the fall,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Many tourists gravitate toward courses on the northern part of the peninsula and miss out on the challenging, scenic and unique tracks near Sturgeon Bay \u2013 Cherry Hills and Idlewild.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the state park on the bluff, we get a lot of the good fall color,\u201d Hansen said. \u201cIt definitely gets quieter on the golf course this time of year, so the wildlife becomes way more active, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fall is also a great time for golfers to get out and see new courses \u2013 not only to enjoy new scenery and challenges, but also to get out of a rut. Many golfers with course memberships rarely stray from their home courses. But golf experts like acclaimed teacher and retired Baylor University women\u2019s golf coach Sylvia Ferdon say playing different courses is good for your game.<\/p>\n
Door County is fortunate to have good public golf courses to play, Ferdon said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Brown County has several, all within a little over an hour drive,\u201d Ferdon said. \u201cIt challenges you to look at the roll of the land and the direction of the wind and much more.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlayers have a tendency to play golf on a straight line to the pin, but usually [that] is not how you will play your best golf,\u201d Ferdon continued. \u201cIf the hole is a dogleg to the right, your widest side of the fairway will be left-center. And if you are on a par-5, you should do some lay-up calculations because the architect will have some hazards out there that can be totally avoided.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Ferdon plays different courses, she often aims for the \u201cwide side\u201d of the green away from the pin. Unless she\u2019s a full-swing wedge away from the pin, aiming for the wide-open part of the green often results in lower scores, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This golf writer and addict finds that he can develop uncertainty and a lack of confidence on certain holes if he plays the same course over and over again. Instead of trying to hit the best shot, a golfer who plays the same course day after day can start to dread a certain tee shot or approach shot, then aim without confidence rather than swinging a driver freely.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlaying new golf courses requires all the discipline of \u2018playing golf\u2019 \u2013 not just thinking about the golf swing,\u201d Ferdon said. \u201cIf you look at the land and the design of each hole and pin placements, you will enjoy playing at different venues much more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hansen agrees that it\u2019s good to play a variety of courses.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like getting to know a \u2018home course,\u2019 but, yeah, when you venture to other places, there [are] a lot of different shots that you have to hit, hazards you have to avoid, and so on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
When golfers play the same course over and over, they hit the same clubs and same shots over and over, \u201cbecause that is what you\u2019re used to,\u201d Hansen said.<\/p>\n
For both the views and the game, Ferdon said, \u201cVariety is the spice of life!\u201d<\/p>\n
Restoration at Idlewild<\/p>\n
Did you know Idlewild\u2019s layout includes the county\u2019s only island green \u2013 and island tee?<\/p>\n
For most of the summer, Idlewild couldn\u2019t allow players to cross the footbridge onto its fourth-hole tee box on a little island in a lake. The tee area has since been restored, and it\u2019s now safe to access. Plus, it restores the fourth hole to a 428-yard Par 4 with a forced carry from the back tee instead of a less-challenging 400-yarder.<\/p>\n
For a week after a thaw and heavy rains, The Orchards\u2019 17th green, normally surrounded on three sides by water, became an island until the water subsided.<\/p>\n