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I have been playing Washington County for at least 3-4 years and keep coming back for many reasons. The layout is excellent over the rolling Kettle Moraine hill country, although not too taxing if you decide to walk or use a push cart. Fairways, tee boxes, sand traps, rough, and typically the greens are in great shape. The greens do get trampled sometimes due to the popularity of this course, but the grounds crew does roll them when they start to get a little rough and keeps them rolling really well!

Some details on what is truly impressive about this course. First, the par 3's are all unique and challenging in their own way and challenge different aspects of your game from short irons all the way to driving irons or hybrids. The par 4's offer several unique challenges as well, including some blind shots, tiered fairways, water hazards that are challenging but manageable to negotiate, and well placed bunkers in both the fairways and green side. The par 5's are long and challenging with well protected greens, but definitely reachable in regulation or better if playing from the proper tee boxes. Speaking of the tee boxes, well laid out and in excellent condition almost all the time even with heavy usage and sometimes severe divots from all levels of golfers that the grounds crew does a nice job repairing. Be prepared to think about club selection and adjust for the wind, as it can whip through quite aggressively some days especially on some of the holes up on higher ground. This course is a great complement for intermediate to novice golfers preparing to be challenged by nearby Erin Hills. The sunsets at twilight and overall scenery are fantastic and right there with those made much more famous by the nearby 2017 US Open host.

We were hoping to finish up our trip playing Sage Run as something new and interesting that was of the caliber of Timberstone and Grey Walls the days before, a reasonable expectation considering it is in the same price tier and where Sweetgrass is rated as well. Our expectations were quickly dashed upon teeing up on hole 1, having to search for a reasonably flat spot on what was shaped as slightly more than and extended section of fairway with tees marked by wherever the summer help seemed to think was a good spot to stick the different colored markers. Good luck finding a decent tee box that isn’t sloping one way or another throughout the entire round. The rustic natural layout i get, but basic formed tee boxes are a must have for any mediocre or better course. Hopefully there are plans to bring the bulldozers back out along with some fill to shape some decent tees.

The fairways and greens were in excellent shape for a course this young, and very nicely shaped with challenging but fair contours. It’s everything else that unfortunately takes away from the excellent worksmanship on these features. Lacking available GPS course data online or any decent course maps, other than the cart onboard gps system, it is very difficult to navigate the blind uphill shots and doglegs not knowing where a poorly designed and placed fairway bunker is lying to swallow up what appeared to be an excellent shot off the misshapen back 40 tee box. If you have decent length off the tees, you will find yourself hitting off clumping fescue and native plants amongst the coarse quarry gravel pit that lies just off the first cut rough. I enjoy the challenge of hitting out of fescue and appreciate the penalty it costs for misplaced shots, but in this stuff you’re more likely to hit a nice shot on a rock before or below your ball than making good contact with a decent release out of fescue. Unless your shot is aligned with the direction of the dozer tracks, which there is way too much unfinished grading right up into in bounds areas, you’re going to wish you left that club fitting tape on the bottom and face of your wedges and irons to absorb some of the rock dings you’re sure to a accumulate as a lasting reminder of playing in this rock pit. The same goes for just outside where they dumped the sand that probably cost a fortune and then failed to finish shaping the bunker edges and raking out the quarry rocks.

Regarding the layout, why the fairway bunkers protruding prominently into the landing zones on the par 5’s? I guess for a bro’s weekend to see who can jack their tee shots over and clear them as a bit of a side game to provide some additional entertainment on the less intriguing holes, they provide that dynamic. But hole 12, seriously just bring the bulldozers back out and try again. It’s as though someone measured wrong and tried to turn this remaining bit of hillside that runs the length of the fairway into the impossible fairway to land a decent shot on. The uphill par 3’s and 4’s, yes Greywalls pulls it off beautifully, but they should have stuck with downhill bluff shots to make the most out of the natural geology in the course layout. I personally don’t get a whole lot of enjoyment out of smacking a driver up in between a couple fairway hills and watching my ball ricochet between them and back down like a pin ball machine.

Bottom line, the course has potential and is very well kept on the fairways and greens, but they need to bring the dozers back out and do it right and finish the job for it to be at the price point being charged in this area.