House on the Rock Resort (Front/Back) | Spring Green, WI | Par 72

House on the Rock Resort is a beautiful area of Wisconsin, and the course winds through trees and up and down the hills that dominate the views. The result is a difficult golf course where there aren’t many straight holes, and you’ll be tested from start to finish. The House on the Rock Resort is made up three 9-hole courses, with the Front/Back setup serving as the primary championship 18-hole course. Both sides have a traditional hole setup, featuring two par-5s and two par-3s. The course, on many occasions, leads you into some danger, or at least doesn’t give you a clear view of what the best line is. You get thrown into that from the start, as Hole #1 on the Front requires a left to right shot in order to stay in the fairway, which is a big plus when you’re hitting to a raised green that has water and bunkers surrounding it. Hole #2 is another perfect example of understanding where you have to carry your ball, and the consequences of not executing properly. The large number of trees leads to players being out of position a good deal and in the wrong fairway. The rough is dense in most areas, making it difficult to track down wayward balls. All that leads to a pace that is on the slower side. Unlike the Front, the Back opens up with a more wide layout and gives you the opportunity to spray the ball a bit, but that doesn’t last. As you work your way into the woods, the shots become more visually intimidating, and you’ll once again have to have both solid strategy and execution. One of the most recognizable features is the double green on the 9th and 18th holes of the championship setup. Likely an ohmage to the traditions of the game, it is a pretty rare site these days. Rare enough that, as I was playing the 18th hole, there were two players laying the 9th hole that thought they should be playing to my flag, which was probably 150 feet away from their intended flag. It was good for a laugh and probably happens from time to time.

Once again, I want to say that House on the Rock is a beautiful golf course. Make sure you take the chance to notice your surrounding, especially from the higher points, because the tree-covered terrain is stunning. The course condition doesn’t match those views, but that would be tough. The turf across the course is above average, with minimal patches of chewed up areas. The rough can get dense, and it seems like the crew may have mowed a day to late when I played, because clumps of grass clippings were a common sight. The dense rough combined with those clippings made finding a ball int he rough challenging. The greens looked very nice and felt firm, but they were much slower than they appeared. The practice green was a little bit faster, so it was a tough adjustment to make when downhill putts still didn’t roll out. The bunkers had a thin, clay-like sand, and there wasn’t much in the ones I had to hit out of. The biggest gripe was the tee boxes. The overall condition of them was average, but so many of them were crowned or slanted, and with the angles you need to be able to create on some of the many difficult tee shots you’ll find, being forced to hit from a considerably uneven lie left a lasting impression. Perhaps the other tee boxes weren’t as bad, but from the blues, there were a handful of tee boxes that I thought were setting me up for failure.

House on the Rock has a nice, big putting green with a lot of ridges and slope to practice on, probably more slope than you find anywhere on the course. The practice green also seemed a little quicker than the greens on the course when I played. You can chip on this green, but it looks like there’s another chipping area a little further back if you want to focus on pitches and not contend with a bunch of people rolling putts. There is a range, and it’s a bit of a haul from the clubhouse. I didn’t use it, so I don’t have any more info than that.

It’s an interesting setup in the clubhouse, with a small pro shop behind glass walls. The clubhouse area itself has a nice bar area where you can relax and watch TV.

The carts were of the no-frill, get-the-job-done variety. They weren’t going to win any races, but I never had any issues with them running. I did hear quite a few loud ones as they squealed to start during my round. There’s no GPS – this would be pretty helpful on this course – no cooler, no club cleaner and no divot replacement sand on the cart.

All the staff I encountered was friendly and pleasant. There were two men at the bag drop area, and they were very outgoing and quick to answer questions. The beverage cart didn’t get around too much, but it wasn’t terrible. I think there may have only been the one on the course, and on a near 90-degree day, they could have benefited from a second one.

The peak-time price for House on the Rock is pushing $90, which I think is a little high. It’s a well-known resort and tourist attraction, so it seems like they are taking full advantage of that. The day I played, I used a Bucky Book coupon that brought me in at $50 for 18 with a cart. That is a wonderful deal, but there are some restrictions on when it’s valid.

In order to score well here, you need to control the shape and trajectory or your shots, particularly of the blue tees. There are several tee shots that have overhanging trees that create a window you must play through. Some of these might lead you down the path of a shot you’re not comfortable, or, in my case, capable of hitting. There are a lot of large trees that you’ll have to contend with if you’re offline. The sound of a golf balls connecting solidly with a tree trunk from around the course was a pretty common sound as I played. You have to have control of your golf ball, understand what the hole is asking you to do, and play pretty conservatively on this golf course.

It’s fun to be in such beautiful surroundings. It’s less fun to try and hit tee shots under overhanging branches on a crowned tee box. Seriously, there are a lot of good things about the course, with the scenery being near the top, but it’s a demanding course.

Hole #9 on the Front is a hole that I am a sucker for. A raised tee box that allows you to enjoy the beauty of your surroundings and more clearly see what is needed on the hole. This hole isn’t a very long hole, so the addition of an elevated tee box makes it that much shorter. Of course, you will likely leave the hole talking about the double green you just played on. It’s an interesting feature, to say the least.

Hole #13 (#4 on the Back) is a long par-4 that is visually daunting. From the blue tees, it starts by putting water all around you on the tee. From there, there isn’t a clear-cut aiming point for where to hit your drive. There are trees and a penalty area all down the left side of the hole, and more trees that separate you from the par-5 14th hole. This is not a short hole, as it measures about 425 yards, so hitting driver is pretty much a necessity. Keep it in play, and you’re likely going to have a least a mid-iron in. If you put in the left trees like I did, it’s a very difficult shot, with the slope working against you and overhanging branches lurking. Make sure you keep your ball in play by favoring the right side, even if it means punching out and essentially turning the hole into a par-5.

Hole #5 on the Front was the worst example of something I found on several occasions throughout the round. A par-4 that wasn’t short (played about 380 yards) that required a tee shot through a window created by trees and overhanging branches to a fairway that is lined by trees on both sides. The reason this example was the worst is because the tee box for the blue tees was slanted from left to right, forcing you to tee off from an uneven lie. and, for me, pull off a shot that was very much against that setup. If you’re going to ask the player to hit a specific shot from the tee, give them a flat tee box to hit it from. I have no gripes with the rest of the hole, but setup on the tee was not good.

It was the first really hot day of the year, creeping up to near 90 degrees, and you could feel it. The shade of the many trees on the course offered some relief, as well as a volatile and inconsistent wind. I hadn’t played the course for nearly four years, and I all I remember was that it was a tough course that required you to be pretty precise with your shots. I was definitely right. If you’re not hitting the ball at least pretty well, this is gonna be a long day. I managed to keep the ball in play most of the day and card a decent round, despite a triple bogey on the 18th hole of the day.