Old Hickory Golf Club | Beaver Dam, WI | Par 72

With a name like “Old Hickory”, it’s not difficult to guess what the dominating feature of the course is. Towering oak and hickory trees line the fairways of this parkland-style track, creating a blueprint for the desired shot. And while 100 years isn’t “old” for an oak tree, it is for an American golf course, and, built in 1920, Old Hickory checks in at just over a century old (the second nine holes was completed in 1968). Despite that age, the course still feels somewhat modern, as trees still leave room for a good amount playability. The course is playable because, while there are a lot of trees, there’s still usually room off the fairways before they come in. You also still have the ability to recover from shots in the trees if you can control your trajectory. The course is also protected with some strategic bunkering that guard greens that can only be described as small. I love that the course starts you off comfortably with a straightforward first tee shot, but it fights back right away after that, as the trees and doglegs make accuracy the name of the game. Not surprising due to its age, Old Hickory has a classic par-72 setup, with two par-5s and two par-3s on each side. There’s a nice selection of tee offerings, which I am also a big fan of. Old Hickory has a lot to offer, and can be a challenge to all skill levels. I’d seen it referred to as a hidden gem, and I can understand why.

At a high level, I thought the condition of Old Hickory was excellent. The fairway turf was really nice. The greens rolled well and were consistent throughout the course. There were some details that I started to notice, though, that bumped my rating down a bit. The bunkers lacked the consistency of the greens. I went from a bunker that had very little sand and played like an extreme hard pan area, to another where my ball was in a spot with an excessive amount. Of course we all have to adapt to differing conditions throughout the round, but this stood out as something that could be improved. Tee boxes were also an area that left a bit to be desired. I would say, on average, the tee boxes were fine. However, too many of them were uneven or crowned, while others were in very rough shape. It can be tough to get past when you’re looking at a hole and the tee box is completely chewed up. One of the more difficult aspects to keep up on a course with this many large trees is the rough around those trees. Old Hickory is hit or miss in this area, but the last memory I have is the rough on the 18th hole that was full of bare patches and exposed roots. This hole has a lot of hills and mounds, so I imagine it is very difficult to keep these areas in great shape, and certainly not all holes looked like this, but it was something that grabbed my attention. I am being pretty critical of these details, but if they were improved, the overall feel of the course would go up with it. Also, I would always take it where the greens and fairways are the really nice features over the other way around.

Old Hickory offers a large practice area across the parking lot from the clubhouse. It includes a large range and a separate place for chipping and pitching, along with a practice bunker. The practice putting green is right outside the pro shop, and it restricts chipping, so you can focus on your flat stick work there. The green is pretty big and has some good slope to it. You can definitely get a good practice session in at Old Hickory.

The clubhouse as a whole was very solid. A good-sized pro shop was on the lower level, and it has a quality selection. They even had yellow Titleist golf balls, which isn’t always the case in all pro shops – a personal plus for me. The main level has a bar and some tables for relaxing with your drinks and/or food. The clubhouse bathroom (don’t worry, I only checked out the men’s one) was really nice, and spacious so you never had to be standing on top of someone else.

The carts at Old Hickory were equipped with the premier GPS/entertainment system that has music and more, on top of the course layout. A nice feature, though I am really only worried about the GPS part of it. The carts ran fine, though mine was about to die on the course before one of the staff proactively came out to replace it. A major plus! There was no cooler, which was unfortunate, because it was another hot day in Wisconsin when I played, and it would have been nice to keep drinks on ice. There was also no club cleaner. Finally, one of the oddities was the restriction of the carts on the 8th fairway. Basically, the last 30 yards of the fairway put the carts into super slow mode, and I just don’t really understand why. Not a huge deal, but no one in our group could understand the reasoning behind that specific restriction.

I hate to pull down the entire staff’s ranking because of one person, but it was the first impression made by the course, and likely the first person any player interacts with when they come here. I don’t know if the guy in the pro shop was having a bad day or what, but he just was not very nice. Maybe I am being a little oversensitive, but near the end of my time with him, I wanted to ask ‘Did I do something to offend you?’ The rest of the staff was very pleasant, and I thought they were very on top of their jobs, but that first impression lingers.

Old Hickory offers a very solid bang for the buck. Even at peak times, 18 holes with a cart is under $70. If you can manage to play any other time or take advantage of discounts or coupons, you have to feel like you got one heck of a deal to play this course.

Old Hickory can offer a challenge to even the most skilled player, because you’ve got to be able to control your ball, especially off the tee. The greens are relatively small, so, again, accuracy is at a premium. The course winds through the woods, with many doglegs, elevation changes and several blind shots. Some of the more difficult holes can combine all those things, leading to some pretty tight windows to play through. The course isn’t overly long, measuring around 6,700 yards from the tips and about 6,400 from the second tees, but length isn’t where it’s at when trying to score at Old Hickory.

Old Hickory offers a lot of variety and the opportunity to hit a lot of different shots throughout your round. All the towering trees on the property means that getting off the tee has extra importance, and that challenge can lead to a snowball effect when it comes to score. The course is in good shape, and it feels like you’re on land that has seen golf played on it for a very long time.

I like a lot of the holes at Old Hickory, as they have a lot of character, but there isn’t one that really wows me. Because of that, I am going to cheat a bit, and call out the par-4 1st and the par-5 4th. The first hole is just a really nice introduction to the course, and the elevated tee to a wide fairway is how every round should try to start. The 4th hole is a deceiving one, but it has a very interesting rock wall feature that makes you feel like you might be somewhere in Scotland. Holes that have something of character like that almost always stand out in a good way for me.

There were several challenging holes on the back nine, though they might have been easier had I known the best strategy. King of that description was hole #10, which required you to be in the correct positions to have a chance to get to the green in two, and failing to do so usually leaves a daunting up-and-down. The dogleg left par-4 plays well under 400 yards from all tees, but there are dense trees all down the left and more trees to contend with down the right and through the fairway. You must hit a tee shot that is far enough and/or far enough right to allow yourself a look at a severly elevated green. Missing this green is going to make things tough, especially if you wind up at the very base of the incline or on one of the many severe angles created by the green’s elevation. A wanted to give an honorable mention to hole #14’s tee shot, as this is visually quite daunting. Pull it off, though, and you’ll be sitting pretty. It’s almost like two completely separate holes jammed into one.

The 8th hole at Old Hickory is just an odd hole. It’s a short par-4 measuring right around 300 yards, with a pretty severe dogleg left. There’s water to the right, discouraging players from trying to go directly at the green. If you don’t overcomplicate it, it’s really a pretty simple hole that just requires a few short irons. All of that is fine, though I am not a fan of hitting a 7-iron off the tee of a par-4, but what was really weird was how the carts didn’t want you to drive on the last quarter of the fairway. There must be something more to this story, but we had to go across the fairway at half-a-mile per hour due to the cart restrictions, in a place that didn’t look like it needed to be restricted. Not a huge deal, but it stood out as odd.

After enjoying my first round at Old Hickory in about two decades, I was excited to get back again so soon with my normal playing group. We got extremely lucky with the weather, arriving just as the last few raindrops fell on the area. From there, it was beautiful, though the wind popped up from time to time. That said, I think everyone shared my opinion of Old Hickory. The “feels like a country club” came up multiple times, but we paid only $40 with our Bucky Book coupons, What a deal! The golf itself was hit or miss, as we all had some struggles with our games at times, but I thought the greens were outstanding. They rolled out nicely, but not to the extreme. I could get used to playing on those. Also, shout out to the single that found and brought me my range finder. Much appreciated!