Kenosha

“Limit the number of water hazards to three. Two might be better.” So wrote Donald Ross in his Golf Has Never Failed Me. That said, he needed an exception to prove the rule, and that exception may be Kenosha Country Club, just south of Milwaukee.

The property is defined by the Pike River, a wide creek that splits the grounds. Ross would have faced a significant struggle in routing the course if he had used it fewer times as a hazard, and the result is a distinct take on the architect’s approach.

The river most often comes into play as a detour for those who struggled off of the tee: Those who hit a good first shot on the par five No. 4 or par four No. 16 won’t need to worry much about crossing the creek, but those in the rough may have their time to the putting surface lengthened. That said, there are a few holes that will require uncharacteristically heroic carries to reach the fairway for those playing the back tees.

Those who attempt to generalize Ross’s wide body of work are unwise, and Kenosha is yet another example.