Yahara Hills (West) Golf Course | Madison, WI | Par 72

Of the two courses at Yahara Hills, I prefer the West layout. High level, they’re very similar. Wide fairways, large greens and thick rough. West has a little more elevation change and a few holes that are a little more dramatic and less straightforward. That variety makes it a bit more enjoyable of a course, in my opinion. It’s a traditional par 36-36-72 setup with five tees to choose from. West is a touch shorter than East, but they’re pretty close, stretching out to nearly 7,000 yards from the black tees.

There are parts of Yahara Hills that are nice. The greens, generally, are in good condition and roll with a lot of pace, especially if you’re above the hole at all. The fairways are wide, but usually on the shaggier side and can be in great need of being mowed. The rough can be downright brutal, especially if there’s been rain recently. Not only is it tough to make good contact on a ball in the rough, it can be very difficult to find it. Throw in the regularly high number of weeds you’ll encounter, and makes putting the ball in the fairway an even more important matter. It can get very frustrating searching for a ball that you know if there. The course has areas around tees and between holes that are especially bad. It looks like people drove around with chains after a two-day rainstorm, causing large gauges. The bunkers on the West course, while not as bad as the East course, still leave a lot to be desired. There are some that are absolutely hazard areas that cannot be played out of. The course should do the obvious thing and mark them as Ground Under Repair. These bunkers are eyesores. In general, the course doesn’t handle rain very well, either, so keep that in mind when you’re booking a tee time.

The best feature of the Yahara Hills practice area is the large putting/chipping green. Depending on the crowds, it allows you to practice longer pitches and chips without interfering with others. The green is pretty flat, but that mimics the greens on the course, minus the regular pitch you’ll find. The range is a little farther back from the green, and isn’t the nicest one you’ll find, but it gets the job done. The balls have seen their fair share of use, but if you’re looking for a place to warm up, you’ve got it.

The clubhouse is a bit of a time capsule. There’s not a lot of merchandise available, but the whole area offers a nice place to relax after a round. There’s a grill and bar right there and a large TV viewing area.

The carts are solid with a big center console for your stuff. There’s nothing extra, though, as they don’t have GPS, club cleaner or cooler, so these are what I refer to as ‘Point A to Point B’ carts. They get the job done and run well.

One of the nice features about Yahara Hills is the starter located near the practice green. After paying in the clubhouse, you check in with the starter, and he keeps things organized and flowing on the first tee. One of the negatives is the lack of coverage, or presence at all, of a beverage cart. There are some vending machine on the course, but best to be safe and purchase drinks in the clubhouse if you think you’ll want one. About half the time, the person running the register in the pro shop is also covering the food/drink area, so there could be a bit of a back-up if it gets busy.

Yahara has fallen victim to what every other course in the Madison area has to, with prices going up and up. It will now cost over $60 for a peak round of 18 with a cart, but that’s one of the lower prices in the city. The course is clearly struggling financially and letting some areas slip, but it’s a good value. If you can avoid peak times, or take part in the loyalty program, you can keep your greens fees even lower.

There’s not a lot to the layout that screams challenging. The fairways are generous and the greens are large. It has several tee options, so you’re not forced to play longer than you want. If you can keep the ball relatively straight, there shouldn’t be any major issues preventing you from posting a solid score. The rough is the biggest defense, as it can get pretty long and dense, making finding the ball a tough proposition before having to actually hit it. The challenge takes another hit because many of the bunkers are ground under repair with free relief, so you don’t have to worry about playing from them.

Yahara is a fun course despite its obvious flaws. It’s wide open, and the greens are consistently very good. It’s a very playable course that takes you out of the city and into more of a Northwoods feel.

.

.

Like with the East course, I don’t think there are any terrible holes, maybe just some overly bland ones. Because of that, I like to poke fun at the essentially duplicate downhill par-3s that pop-up twice on each course. Here, the par-3 7th hole gets the jab for the lack of imagination when it comes to course design.

Took advantage of beautiful fall weather to play the West course at Yahara Hills, which I hadn’t played in 2024. The rough was nastier than normal, which really made things tough when I missed the fairway. Also, the greens had recently be aerated and sanded, so the typically best feature of the course was not at its normal level, which was a little disappointing. As usual, I made comments about some of the truly awful bunkers, but also noticed that the presence of some that actually looked good. A step in the right direction.