Door Creek Golf Course | Cottage Grove, WI | Par 71

When you arrive at Door Creek and take a look at the scorecard, nothing about it says you’re in for a really difficult round of golf. It offers a solid test of your entire game, though, and if you’re someone that’s relatively wayward off the tee, you will get to spend a good amount of time working on your punch-out game. Door Creek offers some dramatic holes, as well as some excellent chances to make birdie or better.

I am always pleased with the overall condition of Door Creek. For the price, it’s one of the best-conditioned courses in the area. Any critique would be that the course can get really firm, especially the greens. There are several approach shots where you need to account for a big bounce, so there’s a learning curve. The greens roll well and are tricky fast, especially in the summer. There are a few holes – #8, #9 and #11 come to mind – that have greens that will leave you shaking your head. Be below the hole on these if possible! The course doesn’t handle moisture too well, so if there’s been rain, be prepared for some very wet areas, particularly on the back.

Door Creek offers a nice-sized putting green that is a fair representation of the course greens. Nearby is a chipping area, but it’s not always in great shape. You can practice shots out to about 40 yards, which is really nice, but the green is so firm, it’s difficult to hold anything. There’s a greenside bunker, as well, but it doesn’t get much care. There’s a driving range on the other side of the parking lot, away from the short game area. It offers a covered area when hitting from the mats, which might be the best place to hit from, because the sod is usually pretty sparse. You can buy range balls right there with cash, which is so convenient, or you can buy tokens in the pro shop.

Door Creek’s clubhouse is modest, but has everything you need, including a very nice outdoor bar area. They have good indoor space for any events, as well as outstanding food at the restaurant/bar.

The carts are your basic, run-of-the-mill golf carts. They run well, but don’t have any of the frills or features you would like to have, like GPS. I believe some of the fleet is relatively new, but they have some older holdovers.

Staff at Door Creek are always some of the best. Owner Phil Frederickson is polite and professional and does a great job of offering a really solid golf venue. Beverage carts do a terrific job of covering the course and making sure you’re taken care of on a hot day.

Door Creek is a good value, especially if you’re walking. As of 2023, you could play a weekend round with a cart for under $60, walking for only $40. It’s always in very good condition, without that snooty aura about it. It’s a prototypical local golf course that you’ll have fun playing again and again. And if you want to play it a bunch, Door Creek offers a discount card that will lower your greens fees each time you play. One of the best values is their executive course on the property. The course is a solid short course (six par-3s, three short par-4s) that can help sharpen your short-game skills, and kids under 14 play for free with a paying adult. A great excuse to get families out on the course together.

As a whole, Door Creek isn’t full of overly demanding shots or especially long, but it requires a good amount of accuracy and course management throughout the round. Even with a large number of trees coming out over the past few years, many of the fairways are lined on both sides. Greens are usually firm and trickier than they seem, so you have to give them the respect they deserve. The areas around the greens have mounds as a prominent feature, and can also be quite firm. All that leads to a course that I find difficult to score on. If you’re striking it well, you might leave thinking Door Creek is an easy course, but if you’re not, you could be in a for a long day.

Door Creek is a course that allows you to post a good score without having to hit the ball a mile. It puts an emphasis on accuracy and play around the green. There are some holes that ratchet up the excitement level a bit, whether it be the island green par-3 5th, the drivable par-4 9^th, or all three par-5s being reachable in two. The course is fair and in good shape, and you’ll encounter some really good people when you’re there.

Every golfer has a hole on a course they play regularly that just fits their eye and they feel confident on, no matter how they’re playing that day. Hole #18 at Door Creek is one of those for me. The number of times I’ve come to the tee of this dogleg right par-4 with a bad round already assured, and I play it like I might break 80 instead of 100 is too high to count. Something about that elevated tee that usually results in my best tee shot of the day. At the very least, I can leave on a positive, and the game of golf pulls me back in.

Hole #7 is a dogleg left par-4 that puts pressure on you throughout the hole. First off, it’s the longest par-4 on the course, so even with an elevated tee box, this is a long hole. There are bunkers on both sides of the fairway, and more trouble the farther offline you go. A shot pushed to the right can wind up blocked by trees, or worse, in the penalty area. Misses left can find a dry river bed with big rocks, as well as trees that block you out. Hitting your approach to the long, narrow green needs to be precise, as there’s a pond to the right and long, and mounds to the left make up-and-downs tricky. Once you’re finally on the green, it’s one of the tougher surfaces to read. Enjoy!

There’s not much worse than getting your round going, walking off the first tee with some pep in your step, only to see a backup on the second hole. Unfortunately, that is a regular sight on the second hole at Door Creek. The par-4 is a severe dogleg right, with OB all down the right, trees to the left, and hazard if you hit it too far straight down the fairway. The ideal shot is about 210 straight down the fairway, eliminating the large tree on the right from play on your approach. However, failure to hit a very accurate tee shot will leave a challenging second. With that in mind, some players try to cut off a large chunk by hitting driver across the OB. Problem is, there are large trees that can easily grab shots that don’t undoubtedly clear the OB and lead to a lot of searching, which can then lead to slow play.

Fall was definitely in the air when we teed off, but it quickly became an A+, perfect day for golf. I am not sure if I ever played on a day with ZERO MPH WIND!! The course was in good shape, as always, and I thought the greens rolled well. My ability to put the ball in the hole on those greens, not so green, as five-footers were my nemesis all day. All in all, it was certainly a memorable (IYKYK) day playing with a friend for the first time and meeting someone new. The crisp air on the first tee reminds me how close winter really is.