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Hole #1 - "Pair O'Threes"
Hole Description
The golf experience at Green Bay Country Club begins with an elevated tee shot alongside the clubhouse. A short but tricky opener is a classic breakfast ball hole requiring a well-placed tee shot between two large ponds. The fairway plays generously to an iron shot off the tee but runs out to an angular part of Bauer Creek some 70 yards from the green. The oblong putting surface, the shallowest on the course at just 27 paces, sits at the base of a wooded hillside. Thus, putts roll quickly from above the
hole.
Hole Description
The climb up the hill from the first hole will bring golfers to a good scoring opportunity at the second. Number two often plays as the shortest par 5 on the course. Wind conditions can play a big role on the tee shot. The hole is open on the right side and lined with trees along the left. Two large bunkers shape the tee shot of the otherwise generous fairway. Ahead, three fairway cross bunkers give the hole a signature look while also impacting layup and approach shots. The two-tiered green is open in the front but also surrounded by four deep bunkers. Top shelf hole locations often make number two play a stroke tougher.
Hole Description
From nearly every angle, number three is postcard worthy. Fittingly, its image once graced the club's scorecard. The hole gets its nickname from both the risen landing area and green. Well-struck tee shots are played through a throng of trees and over a ravine and four bunkers at the base of the fairway, some 150 yards from the green. Inside 100 yards, the fairway begins to run downhill to a sliver of Bauer Creek below the green. The putting surface is wide and shallow. Approach shots to the right side are especially difficult to hole.
Hole Description
This is the first of the par 3s on the course that plays downhill. While the tee boxes are generally exposed to the elements, the setting for the green is surrounded by trees to the left and back and a hillside to the right. There is little margin for error to either side of this narrow green, which at 39 paces, accompanies number seven as the longest on the course. Mogul areas to the right can make for slick up and down opportunities and also create rollercoaster-like putts.
Hole #5 - "Back From Yonder"
Hole Description
The same line of trees that frame the tee shot on number three play a role at number five. All tee shots here, besides those from the red tees, play over a ravine to a receptive fairway. Out of bounds runs the left side, and fescue runs the right. From the back tees, the fescue is hidden by the trees. This hole, however, is more about the approach. Two deep bunkers to the front of a relatively flat green leave a small uphill opening. Two bunkers in the back are actually set a little bit above the green.
Hole Description
The look of this hole is as simple as its nickname, but at 634 yards from the back tees, number six plays to one of the longest distances in all of Wisconsin golf. The tee shot plays right to left from the back tees but straight away from the middle and forward tees. From there, an expansive fairway serves as a home to many tee shots. Fairway bunkers to the right of the fairway are carved into mounds, which in various forms, line each side of the hole. Perhaps the most unique feature of the hole is that it plays a little uphill at the end, a rarity at Green Bay Country Club. Pin locations are difficult to gauge even with short iron approach shots. The green is long and narrow with a slight ridge extending down from the back left portion.
Hole Description
There's no way of knowing what lies ahead at the stately seventh, the number one handicapped hole for the membership. From each tee, number seven would seem to play relatively flat, until its hidden portion is revealed. From 200 yards and in, the hole bends to the right and then tumbles downhill. The tee shot just to the left of a large oak tree should carry down the slope of the fairway and add an extra 20 yards. Shots hit to the left often draw a more level lie but do not roll quite as much. At the bottom sits a green which slopes off in the front and back. A second towering oak overhangs part of the putting surface. A bunker to the right can stop shots from caroming into a horseshoe-shaped bend in Bauer Creek.
Hole Description
The stadium course at PGA West has Alcatraz. Green Bay Country Club has Rock Island. Accuracy plays a premium at this downhill par 3, which often plays as the shortest on the course. That should be a good thing considering large boulders
and a water hazard surround the raised green. Putts on this green often break more than anticipated.
Hole Description
Designed like a par 5 but plays like a par 4. That may be the best way to describe the last hole on the outward nine. Back and middle tee boxes built into a hillside give the hole a dramatic opening element. From there, the hole plays slightly left around the hillside of trees and bushes. But the real story of number nine unfolds further down the fairway. Some 160 yards from the green is the first of two portions of Bauer Creek which must be carried to successfully find the way home. The peninsula-like landing area gives the hole a separate fairway. Approach shots hit to the left by the stairs leading down to the green will carom back towards the putting surface. Shots to the right will contend with a large tree and two deep bunkers. From the fairway, the front part of the green looks like a small plateau.
Hole Description
A long walk or ride around the back of the clubhouse will lead golfers to number ten, featuring one of the most beautiful views on the course from the upper tees. The fairway landing area below starts the first of a four-hole valley stretch on the inward nine. Like number nine, a large hillside of trees, bushes, and fescue come into play along the entire left side. To the right, the first half of the hole is framed by more trees and a wider portion of Bauer Creek, which juts out about 200 yards from the green. This is the narrowest portion of the serpentine fairway. From there, the green is open in the front, but a small bluegrass depression to the left can swallow up approach shots. The putting surface is contoured to an upper tier on its back right portion.
Hole Description
The last of the downhill par 3s brings a large water feature back into play for the first time since the first hole. Scattered tee boxes give number 11 several different angles of attack over the pond. The bank leading to the pond in front of the green must be carried or balls will likely face a watery grave. A ridge that runs through the green creates a back left tier.
Hole Description
Though it appears to be one of the flatter holes tee to green, the subtleties at number 12 make it play otherwise. The pond from number 11 forms a hazard along the right side for the tee shot. A grass depression runs most of the left-hand side, but from about 90 yards in where a bunker lies, a swale in the fairway adds a few extra yards to a big drive. The green is angled front right to back left making the bunkers set alongside the green a popular shot.
Hole #13 - "Up The Creek"
Hole Description
Set in a heavily wooded portion, number 13 is one of the most photographed spots on the course. A marshy area of Bauer Creek runs the entire left side of the hole. The hillside runs the right side with overhanging trees coming into play just short of the green. These trees often kick balls onto the chipping area. A large hump to the right side of the green plays a factor in many chips and putts.
Hole #14 - "Down and Out"
Hole Description
A long climb up the hill from number 13 and through the forest will change the setting for finishing holes at Green Bay Country Club. The tee shot offers an incredible view of the clubhouse and the city on a clear day. Like number seven, the landing area for a big tee shot is hidden. From this spot between three fairway bunkers, the hole bends naturally right and downhill. This area adds extra roll to a drive and makes the approach shot play a little shorter than the actual yardage. Perched green cut into the base of an oak knoll rarely offers an easy hole location. The putting surface slopes off to the right and the back to small chipping areas.
Hole Description
Like number three, this hole features another forced carry off the tee through a throng of trees. There is ample room to miss right, though the trees hide some of the bluegrass mounding in that area. The fairway generally slopes to the right and ends about 20 to 30 yards from the green. Here lies the most distinct feature of the hole: an eight foot deep grass swale. The boot-shaped green is particularly shallow on the left side bringing into play a back bunker. The right side of the green has some of the most undulating features on the course.
Hole Description
Arrive at number 16 and the tee shot seems fairly straightforward, but the best local knowledge would suggest a tee shot down the right side of the fairway. This is the best option for maximizing distance. Be it a big bounce off the cart path or the fairway, which will bounce balls back into the center and sometimes even the left side of the fairway. Down the left side of the hole, a severe drop off will make the approach that much more difficult, sometimes even forcing a pitch out. Either way, a slightly downhill approach is one of the most exacting on the course. The fairway narrows from 120 yards in, and a snake-like portion of Bauer Creek fronts the green. The putting surface is one of the smaller on the course and runs off to a chipping area in the back.
Hole Description
Be it men, women, professionals, or amateurs, the penultimate hole is perhaps the most talked about. There's little wonder why. Designed as the truest three-shot hole on the course, the optimum tee shot will be aimed at the cluster of trees at the base of a wide ravine 30 feet deep. Balls hit in this general direction tend to take a slope into the middle of the fairway. The left side littered with moguls is to be avoided. Like the tee shot, the approach over the ravine should be played down to the right side as balls tend to gravitate toward the left-hand bluegrass rough. From 100 yards in, the fairway runs downhill. The setting for the green complex conjures up images of the Masters Tournament. A meandering creek, classic bunkering, and an hourglass-shaped putting service makes par a score to be proud of.
Hole #18 - "Life's A Beach"
Hole Description
The journey at Green Bay Country Club closes with a final elevated shot, offering majestic views of the clubhouse behind the green. The descent off the tee makes the initial shot play shorter. Bluegrass gives way to a fairway landing area that starts just over 200 yards from the green. Side to side, it extends almost 70 yards and runs out at Bauer Creek some 120 yards from the green. The beach-like bunker is the most noticeable feature of the green complex, but a two-tiered putting surface at the base of a bluff really makes or breaks any final tally. The top portion of the green is very small but flat unlike the lower portion.
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