Snowflake Ski and Golf Club outside Westby is known much more for the former than the latter.
Each winter, ski jumpers from all over the globe gather for a competition that draws hundreds of spectators. The ski jump structure and hill tower over the golf course.
That doesn’t mean what you can’t have a great time playing golf on the nine-hole course that sits at the bottom of that hill.
The course is a Par 30 layout with six Par 3s and three Par 4s. The headwaters of Timber Coulee stream, one of the best trout fishing waterways in the state, wind through the course and add a challenge. So do some well-placed trees and undulating greens.
Probably the most undulating of those greens is on the 165-yard, No. 6 hole. If you don’t knock your tee shot on to the back of the putting surface, you are likely to watch your ball trickle back down hill on the green, which has a slope that rivals the grade of the ski jump. The hole is the No. 1 handicap hole on the course.
On the 164-yard No. 3 hole, you have to drive the ball over the stream. The green has more subtle, but still tricky breaks on it.
Numbers 7 and 8, both par 4s, can be challenging depending on what direction the wind is blowing from. You can get some pretty good breezes coming off the hills. No. 7, listed at 237 yards can play longer if the wind comes from the north. Some trees on the right also add obstacles.
No. 8, listed at 250 yards plays much longer if there is a stiff breeze from the south — which there was the day my partner and I played it. The hole is the No. 2 handicap hole on the course.
On most days, the course is well groomed overall and the greens well maintained. There are exceptions when it gets a lot of rain. Right now, some major re-grading is being done to the main ski jump hill, but that doesn’t interfere with your golf.
The course clubhouse offers daily food specials and a variety of beverages to wet your whistle after a round. Make sure you check out the photos of the ski jump competition. It’s been going on for more than 90 years.
Greens fees are under $10. If you play on a day when the clubhouse is not open, you are asked to deposit your fee on the honor system.
That informality, the beauty of the surrounding hills — dominated by the big jump — and the natural layout of the course make a round at Snowflake a lot of fun.
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Gregg Hoffmann, a semi-retired, award-winning journalist, writes the Wet A Fly: In The Driftless Area blog for his web site, www.driftlessimagesinpixelsandprose.com. He has written blogs for Driftless Wisconsin on fly fishing and golf this season.