Please note that while this article is dated December 2023 (date of the original post), it was updated in June 2024 to include new original photography and complete hole-by-hole descriptions.

Wisconsin’s meteoric rise to become one of America’s top public golf states is often attributed to the arrival of its signature destination courses, including the likes of SentryWorld, Blackwolf Run, Whistling Straits, Erin Hills and Sand Valley, with the state’s glacially-formed, rolling topography providing the perfect medium for these dramatic layouts to flourish.

The backbone of Wisconsin golf, however, is a collection of lesser-known, yet excellent properties sprinkled across the state’s fertile golfing ground, places that existed long before the big-name resorts arrived: the town courses.

Cared for by proud local owners, these publicly-accessible venues have functioned as centerpieces of recreation in their communities – affordable places to gather, learn and enjoy this great game. Wisconsin’s town courses have rightfully earned a solid reputation with scenic tree-lined layouts, great course conditions and reasonable green fees, even though they tend not to appear in prominent course rankings or popular destination itineraries.

The sheer number of these off-the-beaten-path facilities makes for great adventure in “finding” ones you haven’t visited yet. It seems that in every corner of small-town Wisconsin another engaging, well-kept layout beckons. Discovering these gems across the state is an experience I cherish, and as I progress deeper into the wold of golf writing I hope to visit more of them each season.

Old Hickory Golf Club in Beaver Dam is one such spot that I had heard plenty about over the years given its close proximity to Madison, but I’m guessing many golfers in other areas of the state aren’t too familiar with it. After growing up hearing rumors of this excellent property just up Highway 151, I finally made my first trip to Old Hickory in 2022 and came away highly impressed.

Just east of town, a small sign by the entrance road off Highway 33 is the only evidence of Old Hickory’s existence, and you won’t know a golf course is there unless you’re looking for one. Once you’ve found your way onto the property, however, what you’ll find is a charming, old-school, woodsy layout with some interesting and unique holes played over hilly countryside terrain.

The property dates back to 1920 with its first nine holes routed by Tom Bendelow, the “Johnny Appleseed” architect of hundreds of Midwest Golden Age designs, including my home club Nakoma. A second nine was added in 1968, but the layout is so cohesive I had a hard time telling the difference between its older and newer sections.

Old Hickory is densely populated with towering trees from start to finish, many of which probably date back to the course’s founding. The foliage provides a stiff defense on most holes, placing an extreme emphasis on accuracy, execution and conservative play.

Adding to the challenge are heaving hills found throughout the property, inevitably leading to an abundance of awkward lies and stances and demanding a versatile iron game. To make matters even more complicated, Old Hickory’s greens are tiny, some of the smallest I’ve seen in the state.

The tall trees closely bordering fairways force conservative play on many holes, making the routing play longer than the scorecard indicates and leading to many long-iron approaches into the small greens.

My first trip to Old Hickory last year turned out to be a banner round of the season as I hit lasers off the tee coupled with solid iron shots that gave me plenty of birdie looks. After sinking a ten-foot par putt on 18 to shoot 79, it showed that if one can keep it in play and execute their swing, this is a relatively short course that can yield low scores.

My return to Old Hickory this past season highlighted the track’s penal side, though, with a fade-turned-slice finding the woods too often and mediocre iron play that was woefully inadequate to save the round. The resulting 91 (ouch!) proved that while Old Hickory can yield a good score, it will also beat you up on an off day.

This year’s visit was in the early fall, and while the colors hadn’t quite started popping yet, I was still excited to photograph this beautiful, wooded property at golden hour. Unfortunately, I arrived at sunrise to find the course cloaked in thick fog, putting a kabosh on great sunrise shots.

The fog eventually lifted while playing the front nine, yielding perfect, sunny playing conditions, and I was able to get the drone airborne several times during the round to salvage some good photography. And even though I didn’t have my best golf game that day, I still thoroughly enjoyed myself thanks to the high quality of the layout and the excellent condition of the course.

Note, a return to the property the following spring yielded much better light and the photography you’ll see in the hole-by-hole section.

Course Summary

Old Hickory Golf Club

Beaver Dam, WI

Architects: Tom Bendelow (original nine, 1920); Billy Sixty, Jr. (new nine, 1968)

Par 72, 6727/6433/6127/5775/5525/5355/4613 Yards

Course/Slope Rating: 72.9/128, 71.5/125, 70.2/122, 68.6/118, 67.5/116, 66.6/114, 66.9/113

Open to Public; Peak Green Fee: $55

Hole-by-Hole Rundown

The area near the clubhouse that is home to holes 1, 18, 9 and 10 features the most dramatic topography on site, with steep, rolling hills adding to the challenge. The par four first is a roller coaster ride across the rollicking terrain, with the opening tee shot playing significantly downhill to a deceptively tight fairway. Placement in the fairway is necessary for attacking the demanding, semi-blind uphill approach.

The second plays through a chute of trees, most notably featuring two towering specimens pinching the fairway to a minuscule width around driver distance.  A narrow, well-bunkered green presents one of the most challenging approach shots on site.

The par 3 third heads down a moderate hill to a green that is difficult to hold with a mid-to-long iron. Playing to the center of the green is advisable regardless of the pin position, as my buddy John found out the hard way when his seemingly perfect tee shot rolled off the back into thick rough.

A memorable par five is next at the fourth, with an intimidating drive that must thread the needle between OB right and sand/trees left. A blind second shot awaits, uniquely featuring rock outcroppings on both sides that MUST be avoided.

The fifth is another tight par four with trees infringing on both sides. Tee shots that can crest a hill about 225 yards off the tee will be rewarded with extra roll to set up a short iron in. While Old Hickory’s greens are all small, this one is microscopic, measuring only about 15 yards from left-to-right.

The sixth features a tee shot that looks more intimidating than it actually is, with a forced, albeit short, carry over a marsh. However, there’s plenty of room to miss right before a pond cuts in next to the right side of the fairway 275+ yards out. While reachable in two for longer hitters, the green is well-protected by sand, making par or better no routine task.

While the back nine at Old Hickory is the more memorable side, in my opinion, the signature hole comes on the front nine at the 7th. This picturesque par three features a carry over a pond to an elevated green protected by two bunkers. Tee selection is crucial here, as the back tee can stretch out to nearly 200 yards (significantly longer than the posted yardage). I played the tips in this year’s round, and with the wind directly into my face I was forced to hit 3-wood. Suffice to say, it didn’t end well. From the shorter tee boxes, this is a much more manageable short iron shot with the water largely out of play.

This week’s “Flyover Fridays” installment on my Instagram page featured this dazzling beauty:

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A post shared by Brian Murphy (@bmurphgolf)

The short par four eighth will reward conservative play, with the fairway cutting off merely 225 yards out before the hole bends to the right over a pond. While it may be tempting to try to carry the pond and challenge the green off the tee, that’s a difficult shot that requires a high fade over tall trees. I’ve found hybrid-wedge to be the preferable approach that can set up an easy par.

The topsy-turvy ninth is one of the toughest challenges you’ll find at Old Hickory, a sharp dogleg right playing over a series of hills with a wealth of tree trouble to avoid. Straight drives over 225 yards will run through the fairway into the foliage, so unless you have a power fade in your bag you’re best off laying up off the tee. An extreme elevated green perched next to the clubhouse demands an extremely sharp iron or hybrid shot, making 5 a good score here.

The back nine at Old Hickory is a collection of varied, dramatic challenges. With its first several holes touring the hillier, wooded perimeter of the property, an even greater emphasis is placed on accuracy and smart play, requiring exceptional placement off the tee.

The tenth continues the wild ride across the dramatic topography found on the southwest corner of the property, first requiring a precise tee shot to the corner of the dogleg. Then after the fairway turns sharply left, the approach is to another starkly elevated, small green.

If you love straightaway, narrow par fours, Old Hickory has more than enough of those to make you happy. The 11^th is the next of this bunch, featuring an uphill approach closely framed by specimen oaks.

The 12^th is a demanding, longer par three with yet another tiny green protected by sand on both sides. Chances are, you’ll find yourself left or right of the green needing to hit a deft chip shot to have a chance at par.

At the short par four 13th, restraint is especially rewarded but only if it’s coupled with uncanny execution. Towering oaks and maples pinch the fairway to miniscule width less than 100 yards from a hilltop green, waiting to ruthlessly punish the bold who dare to let it rip with driver. The wise move here is to lay back, but not too far, as a short iron is still essential to loft the ball over the trees and onto a tiny green up the slope.

The 14^th emerges through a chute of trees to an open area flanked by marsh. Sharply bending to the left, those who can’t hit a draw will be forced to lay up to setup a very long approach shot. The marsh is closer to the left side than it appears, so be careful bailing out to either side on this challenging shot.

The 15th is one of my favorite holes at Old Hickory, another beautiful short par four playing uphill through a chute of trees. With no sand in play, only the foliage and tough slopes stand in your way of a scoring opportunity. Off the tee, a glimmer of room is available to the right, which also provides a better angle to the green given the slight right-to-left orientation of the fairway.

The par five 16^th presents a great scoring opportunity after the highly challenging stretch of 9 through 15. This dogleg left can be cut by longer hitters to shorten the distance of the hole considerably, but aggressive players must avoid leaking drives to the right where a cluster of bunkers awaits through the fairway.

The 17^th concludes the set of demanding par threes at Old Hickory, once again requiring a highly precise mid-to-long iron to a postage stamp green. In my last round here, I picked the perfect spot to hit a laser near the pin, setting up a great look at birdie instead of a flop shot with little to no green to work with.

I was recently polled on the toughest closing hole in the state. While some brutes such as the monster par five finisher at Erin Hills, the long par four conclusion to The Bull at Pinehurst Farms and the epic 18th at Whistling Straits are deserving contenders that immediately came to mind, the closer at Old Hickory may be the dark horse of the bunch. From the blue or white tees this is a true three-shot par five, and if you don’t step up and hit two good shots out of the gate you will surely be chipping out and playing for bogey.

First, the drive must skirt past a grove of monstrous trees down the right side to find a kicker slope – it’s a feast-or-famine proposition with the kicker slope providing an ideal angle and shortening the rest of the hole. From there, the fairway heads straight up a steep hill towards the clubhouse, before ending on one final postage stamp green. If you find the trees at any point on the 18th, you’ll be staring a dreaded double bogey finish right in the face.

Closing Thoughts

After making a long-anticipated maiden visit to Old Hickory in 2022 and a return round this past season, I think this locally well-regarded layout lives up to its reputation. While it is extremely tight and will punish weak play from tee-to-green, the design is engaging with an array of challenging yet fun shots to execute. It would be extremely tough to overpower this course given the small targets, and as a shorter hitter I thoroughly enjoy places like this where I can keep up with better ball strikers.

Old Hickory has some of the best-conditioned surfaces you’ll find at a public course in the area, featuring slick, smooth greens. At a weekend peak-season greens fee of just over $50, this is one of the best deals in eastern Wisconsin and is absolutely worth driving a couple of hours to check out.

Original photography by Paul Seifert, Brian Murphy and Rich Bauer for WiscoGolfAddict, unless otherwise noted.

Old Hickory Golf Club Website