Hawks View (Como Crossings)

Hawk's View lies on a 300-acre property a little to the north of Lake Geneva and it features two distinctively different courses. Barn Hollow is a delightful, 18-hole par three course for beginners and families whilst Como Crossings is a championship layout measuring just over 7,000 yards.

Craig Schreiner, a Kansas-based course architect, was hired to design a 36-hole facility in 1998 and by the end of 2000, golf was being played over terrain that had previously been used for skiing when it was first the Holiday Hills and then the Mount Fuji ski resort.

The routing of the Como Crossings embraces the natural elevation changes of the landscape - including the former Mt. Fuji ski hill - and granite stone walls built from excavated material found during construction add character to the course.

The Como Creek comes into play at regular intervals (there are water hazards on 8 of the 18 holes) and mature trees frame many of the fairways as they weave through open meadows and wetlands.

The front nine are pretty open with a few blind shots to be played either from the tee or on the approach. Accuracy off the tee is not that important as there are safety options to be had either left or right on most holes. The back nine are tighter, but if anything, even prettier than the front nine.

Best chance for a birdie may well be at one of the three par fives around the turn, between holes 7 and 10. The four par threes on the scorecard are intimidating (three of them measure over 190 yards from the back tees) with the best of these kept until the 17th.