Freedom, WI

Irish Waters Golf Club

Seasonal course
2.715(based on 7 reviews)
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3 0
smatthew854
Experience: 22.8 years 22 played 13 reviews
2.50 star(s)

glad i tried 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 21, 2015 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

I should temper this entire review with the fact I played this course for a.tournament.
The course is well cared for, as to be expected of a ball course. It was fun but nothing great. There was.a challenge to the course, but mostly only in the distance.
There are a couple holes.with very nice technical shots avoiding the OB sand traps and ponds and trees. But most shots are simply long throws with nigh elevation challenge to offset the openness.

Cons:

From my understanding the layout of this course changes every year as it is set up new each winter. Nice in some aspects annoying in others.
The course itself is long. Very long. By pdga standards of suggested rec par (850), it's far too long to be the 3s it's listed at for the holes. Most holes are much more clearly a par 4. But then again most rec level players don't play much in winter.
Again, There are a couple holes.with very nice technical shots avoiding the OB sand traps and ponds and trees. But most shots are simply long throws with nigh elevation challenge to offset the openness. It's for the most part a "throw as far as you can and try to hit a long put."

Other Thoughts:

Glad I played it, will go back for future tournaments, but I'll not be making a trip in the winter at all. Not nearly fun enough to warrant the hour drive and the cold, to do no more than throw far.
Most holes.it was agreed upon in my group, would be better served 50 to 100 feet shorter but incorporating more of the trees.
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6 0
SleekrBeekr
Experience: 14.8 years 63 played 20 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Irish Waters Golf Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 23, 2013 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

18 hole layout
Quality baskets
Free
Baskets up in the winter
Tee-pads are usually cleared
Decent mix of technical and longer, open holes
Split into two 9 hole layouts
Doesn't get too busy

Cons:

No tee signs or course maps
Only up in the winter
When the pads aren't cleared, the rubber is pretty slick

Other Thoughts:

This is a course that is only up in the winter as it plays on a ball golf course. Winter disc golf provides it's own challenges, but those that like it will enjoy this course.
Most of the holes are fairly short, with a few trees here and there and some nice use of the small hills. There are a couple longer holes, but nothing much more than 500 ft.
There aren't any tee-pad maps but the layout is fairly easy to follow. The tees are marked with a stick and flag and are pretty easy to see. Most of the pads are rubber with a few that play on the concrete path that runs through the course. When the rubber pads are cleared they're fine, but when they get some snow/water/ice on them, they get a bit slippery.
The baskets are high quality portable baskets, so re-design would very easy. Most of the pins are placed pretty well, with some behind/around trees and a few that sit on top of the small hills to add some elevation changes.
There are a few O.B. spots on the course with the parking lot, road, and the frozen ponds.
All in all, this is a fun little course to play in the winter. It's nice and open so it's hard to have to a lot of bad shots, but the trees and O.B. offer a nice little challenge. There is a pro shop/bar/grill on site, but it's closed most of the winter. It's a fun winter spot and it's cool to play on a ball golf course. The course has a decent replay value.
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6 0
AdamE
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 20.5 years 264 played 143 reviews
2.50 star(s)

2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 26, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

Irish Waters golf course has a seasonal disc golf course and is free to play. There is a mix of concrete and grippy rubber mats for tee pads. The tees are marked with a tall, narrow white pole swith a flag attached on the top making the tees easy to locate with or without snow on the ground. Baskets are are in good shape and catch well.

The course is slightly on the long side but there is still a pretty good variety of hole distances ranging from 240 to 525 feet.

Even though the course is on a ball golf course, few of the holes are completely wide open. Most have one or two trees placed in strategic places to navigate and few have multiple obstacles forcing you to shape shots or hit a particular like to be rewarded with a birdie. Like I already mentioned, the course is mostly flat but there are a few hills with baskets on top of them to make challenging putting greens. You get to throw over a pond on hole 4, but there is a bail out area if you don't have the distance to make it over. Since this is a golf course there is no underbrush to worry about.

Cons:

Navigating this course is relatively easy once you get started, but I got all turned around on hole 1 my first time here. Hole 1's tee pad is facing hole 3's basket. Hole 1's baskets is way off to the left of 1's tee. It would be nice if at least the baskets were numbered, but once you've played a round here and figure it out this isn't an issue.

The shot selection isn't very good here. Since the course is mostly open with a few trees here and there, there are options and multiple routes to the basket on many holes. Unfortunately only one hole (hole 16) kind of forces a turnover shot for RHBH players.

I consider about a third of the holes here to be tweener holes where you're never going to get a birdie but getting par is easy. I know this is just a personal preference of mine, but I really don't care for holes like this.

There are no tee signs, but this is a seasonal course so while it would be nice to have them it's completely understandable why they don't have any.

Hole 17 has surprise water if you hyzer too far left of the basket. Again, not an issue once you've played here once and know about it.

When I was here, the restaurant bar was closed and a sign on the door said they wouldn't reopen until February. This means I wasn't able to get a map from them and was disappointed I couldn't have lunch at their restaurant bar, but this isn't a big deal.

Other Thoughts:

Overall I enjoyed this course and while many courses in this area close for the winter, it's awesome to have a course that's only open that time of year.
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3 0
Ace D
Experience: 23.8 years 33 played 14 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Long, Open, Get It While It's Around 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 29, 2012 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Land is extremely well maintained as it is a ball golf course in the summer. Black rubber tee pads are rolled out for the winter course. Club house is open for much of the winter and you can grab a pizza and a brew after playing. Long arms should find satisfaction with the abundance of long, open bomber holes. The presence of a ball golf course likely influences the disc golf course into its lengthy layout.

Cons:

Wide open golf course makes for a very wide open disc golf course. Repeated long open holes can become tedious, especially for shorter arms. Not a very strategic course. If you enjoy elevation change, you will not find it here.

Other Thoughts:

Winter 2011 had extremely deep snow and lost discs and knee/waist deep snow were common. Winter 2012 had very little snow, making course much more playable. There are two holes that go over water-- much preferable when it's frozen.
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9 0
tallpaul
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 35.8 years 934 played 133 reviews
3.00 star(s)

a winter available layout 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Dec 4, 2011 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Flags currently in the ground for all tees. A chest high yellow one; with hole number and footage sharpied on it...and two small orange flags to mark the front of most tees.

Tess are either concrete walk way; or in most cases, rubber mat tees. All clear; pending first snow fall.

Couse maps in mailbox near tee for hole #1.

All three of the water holes are the stars of this course. They are really only water carries prior to ponds freezing. For right now, they're pretty nice. #4 requires a 300 ft. carry to make land; or a thin bail out zone left. My playing partner put his in the drink. Second one a bit easier; with @270 carry to dry land. Last one even shorter; and actually looks like casual water to me.

There are a few shots here that require a little more than 300 low and flat to get to good placement; for possible deuce.

For lesser arm players;some holes have been shortened this winter (the footages on the course info are now incorrect).

I believe the intent is to make the course more accessable and scoreable for the average player. While this is probably a good idea; it largely makes the course a throw everything 300 ft. shot; and deuce those under this distance...with only minimal line shaping.

I threw four rollers today; despite the very wet ground. (We won't speak of how well I executed them....) Length of some holes; combined with the short, short, ball golf style grass; makes for good roller opportunities; until the snow comes.

A couple of pins on mounds; create some rollaway scariness.

Cons:

Rather repetative disc. Holes under 300 ft. need to be deuced and don't really have much interest. (Though, 300 ft. park practice is a valuable play resource.)

Most holes are drive, make a good upshot and leave with a three; again; without much interest along the way.

I imagine they will deepen pin placements for the winter tourney? Course will be pretty solid for blue level and above in that scenario.

There is usally a tree or two that needs to be negociated; and a fair mixture of left and right dominant holes. However, everything is relatively wide open; and can be played with a pretty large error margin.

Two baskets used twice. Probably not often, an issue.

Last winter, once the snow truly came; and the early season tourney was completed, the tee flags were covered with snow fall. It was nearly impossible to find one's way. I hope a little better maintenance occurs this year....

Other Thoughts:

This one barely makes a 3 rating for me; and primarily, it's because we have so few local, winter play, options these days; that I give it that.

The water holes are really the largest interest factor, and once the ponds are frozen, I would imagine no o.b. will be in play. (These may make for interesting skip pontential?)

The clubhouse was closed on Sunday at 2 p.m.

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4 0
jhgonzo
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 25.8 years 92 played 45 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Disc Me, I'm Irish 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Mar 6, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

This was my first time experiencing DG on a bolf course. I wasn't expecting much based on what I've read about DG on bolf courses, but I must admit that Irish Waters exceeded my expectations.

1. Layout. The design was definitely done from a DG perspective (as opposed to playing the same tees as bolfers on other courses I've read about), as you don't follow the "regular" course at all. Obviously this layout wouldn't work in the on-season. There are scattered trees, and each hole has at least a few to deal with. This is enough to get you to think through your tee shot, but there are usually multiple routes available with minimum risk. It's almost always obvious where you're throwing to when you step up to the tee (i.e. there aren't multiple baskets visible or a bunch of blind holes), which is a good thing since there are no tee signs.
2. Baskets. The portable Mach V targets catch just fine and are in great condition. Depending on the course conditions, occasionally drifts will pile up around the baskets, creating the illusion that the basket is sitting really low (this was noticeable during my round on #2 in particular). The course owns 9 of the baskets and plans to rent them out while the course is pulled...great idea, and a good way for them to make SOMETHING off of DG since it's free to play (more about this later, though).
3. Amenities. Being on a golf course, you have access to a nice warm clubhouse with restrooms, food, beverages, etc. You can also find course maps (crude Google Maps dark copies, but sufficient) The staff was very friendly and helpful (however, I will note that another DGCR member was playing this course the weekend prior, and there were no maps and the staff only said, "It's over there" when asked about where to begin, so your experience may vary from mine). After playing a round with my 10-year-old, we decided to see if we could get some hot chocolate in the clubhouse. Sure enough, as soon as we walked in the bartender asked, "How about some hot chocolate?" I think it was only a buck, and it hit the spot!
4. Standout Holes. The course starts out really fun with an ace run at a basket on a mound for #1. Holes #4 and #5 present back-to-back water hazards (this is an awesome feature in itself, as you rarely see this on permanent courses!), that on #4 being the more significant, with a large pond off to the right with plenty of bailout room to the left; #5 is an easy toss over the pond, a really cool short hole with another basket on a mound. Hole #7 incorporates a small shelter, as well as a bench and trashcan, as obstacles. Hole #14 offers the first real dogleg hole with a sharp 90-degree turn favoring a RHBH hyzer. Hole #15 is really fun, teeing off between some pines, and plays along the "spine" of a ridge (I would recommend playing the large sand traps immediately in front of and just behind the green as OB for added risk/reward here!). Hole #17 has another OB pond, which is slightly blind from the tee; this is another left dogleg favoring a RHBH hyzer, and the pond is just beyond and left of the tree line and short of the basket. Hole #18 looked pretty ho-hum from the tee, but wasn't a disappointing finisher.

Cons:

1. A few dull filler holes tend to take away from the experience, in my opinion #8 and #10 in particular. There are only 2 true dogleg holes, and these both favor a RHBH tee shot. I would love to see some more of the woods utilized (which would definitely necessitate removing some trees), especially around #4 and #5, as well as the #13-#15 area.
2. Tees. Most of the tees were buried or icy (my son and I cleared off what we could on the holes with rubber tees). I also noticed that the rubber tees had a large metal strip bolted down the middle; whether this was for anchoring to the ground or suturing two mats together I'm not sure, but the strip and bolts stick up visibly in the middle. The tee on #14 was especially icy.
3. Navigation. Fortunately, the clubhouse had maps (and harr0140 was kind enough to send me a copy of his just in case; thanks, bud!), which made getting around pretty easy. There had also been a group of 7 through just before us, so following footprints was pretty reliable without having to bust out the map after every hole. Without a map or a reliable trail to follow, navigating this course would be extremely difficult and frustrating. Also, a number of the orange flags designating the tees were buried, trampled, or missing, so following footprints helped in this regard.
4. There are (obviously) benches all around, but since the DG course doesn't flow with the bolf layout, none of the benches are really available for a quick rest. No biggie.

Other Thoughts:

This course is a lot of fun if you don't have expectations like you would from a year-round course. There is room for improvement, but this is a welcome addition to the Green Bay Area courses. It's cool to see our sport being accepted on golf courses, even though this style of course apparently falls short.

You can add a little more challenge to this course by playing with some more OB: The road to the left on #2, the private drive to the left on #3, obviously the hazards on #4, #5, and #17, and the sand traps short and long of the green on #15.

My only gripes are minor, but I think they're enough to warrant mentioning:
1. This course is long. Not crazy arm-busting long, but big tee shots are essential on many of the holes (only a few are under 300'). As a winter-only course that requires big drives out of the average player, suitable footing when teeing off is a priority, but I understand why the tees were buried when I played: This is a new thing the course owner is trying, and to encourage people to play it is free, and clearing tees would require an investment on his part. I would gladly pay a course fee if the tees were clear and deiced, and I would also probably give another 1/2-disc rating, but I'm sure enough people would have to be consistently coming out to play to make it worthwhile (or we'd have to have an extremely mild winter where shoveling/deicing wasn't necessary).
2. In looking at my course map, I almost wonder if #7-#9 could be done differently; if #7 went more northeast (it currently plays south-to-north), and #8 played west-to-east with the pin just beyond the sandtrap (OB), #9 could finish a lot closer to the clubhouse/#10 tee. Just a thought, but again that's based solely on looking at a Google Maps image.

Apparently there is some consideration for having some on-season (spring/summer) night golf events using this layout. That would be awesome!!!
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5 0
harr0140
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 15.2 years 1508 played 475 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Luck of the Irish 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Feb 13, 2011 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

1) The rubber mats are definitely the best rubber mats I have ever played on. They have the right amount of grip but not so sticky that you cannot pivot on your drives.

2) This course tests your arm in terms of distance but it isn't just wide open fairways, there are plenty of trees down the fairways to force you to throw around, under, over or through. I truly was expecting way less trees and way more boring holes, so I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of trees.

3) The second thing that challenges you on this course are the mounds that many of the baskets are on. Not only are the mounds something you need to think about, but you also need to be worried about the wind causing problems around those mounds. It is a pretty open area and the wind would often be found to be on the high side.

4) Nice DGA Discatchers which are brand new and catch well. A few of them could be levelled slightly, not sure if that came before or after the snow came.

5) There is definitely a good mix of shots needed out here. Because of the trees you sometimes need to work the disc right and sometimes left. There are a lot of holes where fairly straight shots will work well, but many holes require some shot shaping.

6) They plowed a walkpath sometime after the recent heavy snows to make it easier to get around and boy was that appreciated and absolutely helpful in keeping the pace of play quicker. It would have been a really long round if we didn't have the walk paths especially considering that is the easiest way to lose discs in winter, because so many people do not know how to play a course in snow and not lose discs. Stay on one path and branch out, dont go walking all over the virgin snow.

7) Good food and drinks in the clubhouse. Bathrooms available, plenty of big screen TV's for all your sports watching fix. A great place to spend a day, go out play the whole course, come in for lunch and some sports on ESPN, then go back out for another round and come back in for a cocktail or a beer. Where else is this possible in disc golf? Not many places!

8) Nice turf (although it was covered in snow) and nicely kept trees. No underbrush . . . why? because it is a highly maintained golf course. Now the goal would be to get them to have the course open in the fall or spring when there is no snow on the ground.

Cons:

1) Not all tees are rubber which leads to inconsitency. There are three or four tees that fall on the existing cartpaths. There is also one tee that is on the end of a gravel cartpath. it played fine, but it is also going to be inconsistant from the others.

2) A few of the baskets could use some straightening. I am not sure if those are just in the wrong spot on some of those mounds, or if maybe the heavy snows have contributed to the issue.

3) No tee signs on the course. I do not know if they have the maps we had for the tourney in the clubhouse, but it sure would be helpful especially considering this is a brand new course. No directional signs either, but the cleared walkways help a lot in navigation.

4) There is a fair amount of walking between holes because it is necessary to get to better places for the next tees. It is a necessary evil in order to present the best holes possible, but it still is a lot of walking.

5) Course is only seasonal in winter at this point. I sure would like to play it in summer. I cannot decrease the rating of the course because of it, but I sure would like to play it with no snow.

Other Thoughts:

If you play here, please stop in and buy a sandwich and a cocktail or a beer. Since they do not charge to be on the course, they would greatly appreciate our business through the bar and restaurant. They even have a small selection of discs behind the bar, and a Kan Jam set to choose from. Their food was really good and decent pricing, and their cocktails were tasty.

Distance is not my cup of tee so I went into this course with lowered expectations on my play and it followed suit. I played horribly but I don't feel like it was because of the distance, I just had some really bad breaks and horrible putting.
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