Course Breakdown: Elmbrook holes 1-5
Elmbrook Golf Course holds a special place in our hearts, and it's where we play the most golf during the summer. Built in 1964, this course is short, but the small, sloping greens are lightning-fast. Add in the tight, undulating fairways, and life comes at you quickly as you walk off the green wondering how you ended up with a double on a sub-350-yard par 4. Follow along as we share how we attack this golf course with the goal of making birdies and minimizing poor decisions along the way.
Distances will be measured from the blue tees. While there are longer tees available, we typically play the blues due to the difference in maintenance between the blue tees and the longer black tees. If we were to offer any critique of this well-designed and enjoyable golf course, it would be that we'd like to see an emphasis on maintaining the black tees to add additional length and challenge.
As for the Google Earth images, these photos don't quite capture how lush the course conditions are, as Elmbrook has access to well water. The older photos do a better job of showcasing the terrain from an overhead perspective. I can confidently say that last year, Elmbrook's conditions were the best I have ever seen. I can't stress enough how enjoyable it is to play here.
Hole 1: 343 Yards
This dogleg-left par 4 features a creek running along the left side, forcing players to decide whether to risk carrying the creek or play it safe and lay up short. Long hitters must be cautious not to overshoot the fairway. With the usual downwind, a perfect drive flies either just right of the creek or clears it at around 230 yards.
The green is slightly elevated and is protected by a tightly mowed false front in the front and along the left side. With the green running slightly front to back, missing long or to the right is preferable for a better chance at saving par on your approach shot.
Hole 2: 161 yards
This medium-length par 3 is protected by bunkers short left and right. The elevated green plays at least 5 yards uphill, which hides the fact that these front bunkers stretch all the way to the middle of the green. The green slopes from left to right and back to front. I’ve bogeyed this hole more than any other because I tend to miss left, leaving myself with a tough downhill chip to a green that slopes away from the hole.
A miss right isn’t ideal either, as the right side is guarded by a couple of large trees that tend to knock any slightly off-target ball out of the air. A miss long leaves a clear shot, but, like the left, you’ll typically face a downhill chip shot. I always make sure to use enough club to clear the bunkers and trust my wedge if I miss the green. Long left is the worst miss, while long right is the best.
Pro tip: Don’t let it throw you off if you hear someone honking from the road. It happens, and it’s up to you to stay focused. The best response is a great, unphased swing with a smile (and maybe a middle finger in your mind)!
Hole 3: 470 Yards
The par 5 3rd hole is well under 500 yards, but it’s no walk in the park. The tee shot feels awkward, with trouble lurking in every direction. The entire left side of the hole is bordered by a property line defined by out-of-bounds. As you can see from the overhead view, it doesn’t take much to find that out-of-bounds area. The target line is along the right rough (yellow), where the OB starts 290 yards from the tee.
On the right side, there’s a bunker complex shaped like the Great Lakes. It looks cool, but I wouldn't recommend visiting these "Great Lakes." It’s 220 yards to carry Lake Superior, but there are a couple of giant trees right behind it. The good news is that the ground beyond these bunkers is usually firm, which gives your ball a chance to roll past the trees, leaving an opening toward the green. To clear the two largest trees, your ball needs to travel about 260 yards. If you're like me and tend to spray your drives in every direction, hitting a 220-yard shot off the tee with the intent to play this as a 3-shot par 5 can really help avoid a big number.
Assuming you survived the tee shot, now you need to worry about the left out-of-bounds area. The white stakes are uncomfortably close to the green, so you must be cautious not to miss left here. I vividly remember a high school tournament where I hit a great drive, followed by a long iron that landed on the gravel cart path and kicked straight left into someone's backyard. OUCH. This moment has haunted me ever since, but I must warn you that missing right isn’t much better. Two large trees create a tough obstacle, requiring a bump-and-run shot to keep the ball below the branches. Unless I have a 6-iron or less, I usually opt to lay up short of the green and hope to get up and down.
The green complex slopes slightly from front to back but is one of the flattest on the course. Make sure to get past the small false front, but also be cautious not to go long into the narrow bunker behind the green. If you don’t have a comfortable shot into the green, make sure your miss stays short.
Hole 4: 330 Yards
At just 330 yards, you might think the 4th hole at Elmbrook should be an easy one. But, oh boy, would you be wrong—this hole has teeth! The fairway moves dramatically left to right, and so does the terrain. There’s plenty of rough left of the fairway, which will leave you with an awkward left-to-right lie.
The right side slopes back towards the fairway, but there are a dozen or so trees just off the edge. The biggest challenge, though, is the giant tree about 115 yards from the tee that will swat down any ball that starts too far right. The ideal line off the tee is between the gap of the left pine trees and just left of the giant tree.
As a lefty who doesn’t hit a draw with my driver, this hole doesn’t set up well for me. It’s one of many holes at Elmbrook where I opt not to use driver. My play is a 5-wood, which gives me about 230 yards and leaves me with 80-100 yards for my next shot. For those who naturally hit a left-to-right shot, I think driver is a safe play, but you’ll need to decide what kind of shot you want to leave yourself for this diabolical green.
Yes, I said diabolical! The green complex is elevated about 8 feet above the fairway, with tightly mowed grass creating a nasty false front. The green itself is only 23 yards deep and slopes sharply from front to back, and slightly right to left. Be wary of a back pin—there’s not much flat area, and shots that don’t quite reach the back will tend to roll back toward the front. DO NOT MISS LONG. The green plays about 5 yards uphill from the fairway, and it's usually into the wind, even if you don’t feel it. A miss to the left is your best bet for getting up and down.
Hole 5: 340 Yards
The #1 handicap at Elmbrook is a straightforward par 4 with out-of-bounds left, a runaway ridge on the right side, and a large dip in the fairway from 260 to 320 yards. This hole is actually really good from the black tees, and if you’re looking for a bit more challenge, give it a try.
This hole is usually into the wind, so most golfers should be fine hitting driver. However, you don’t want to overshoot your tee shot past 260 yards to avoid the low area in the fairway. The dip drops about 15 feet, and you’ll either have a downhill lie to an elevated green or be left with a completely blind shot from the bottom of the hole, with just a wedge to the green. You have more room to miss on the right side, as you must avoid flirting with the OB on the left.
The green is similar to the 3rd hole: a slight false front to protect the front and not much movement once you’re past it. This green is also notorious for being firmer than the others, so expect your ball to bounce when it lands. Missing long isn’t the worst option, but both left and right tend to fall away. A bad bounce on the right could send your ball all the way down to the next fairway.
This hole shouldn’t pose too much trouble, but if you get off line, things can escalate quickly!
