It's golf season, so check out the first of what will be several golf course buzz columns over the next four months.
The first of the season deals with Fox Hills Golf Resort in Mishicot, about 90 miles to the north of Milwaukee. The two courses at Fox Hills -- The National and Fox Creek -- offer two distinctly different experiences.
If you enjoy the links golf experience, ala Scotland or Ireland courses, you'll want to try The National. It was built in the late 1980s, and at the time was one of the first modern links courses in Wisconsin. I played it the first year it opened and can say it has come a long way since then.
Also since the opening of The National, Whistling Straits near Kohler has set the standard for such courses statewide, and even nationwide. But, The National still provides a challenge for most golfers and a unique experience at a fraction of the cost of Whistling Straits.
Water comes into play in a major way on Nos. 4, 6, 9 and 17. You can't go right or you'll dunk one on the 157-yard par 3, No. 4.
{INSERT_RELATED}No. 6, a 415-yard par 4, requires that the golfer avoid a lake that runs down most of the left side of the fairway, which takes a big dogleg left. The hole is rated the top handicap hole on the course.
Two ponds come into play on No. 9, a great finishing hole. Your shot has to clear a pond and a high wooden wall to get to the green on No. 17.
Other very challenging holes include Nos. 15, a 515-yard, par 5, which is the second handicap hole, and No. 18, a 539-yard par 5.
There are very few trees on most links courses, but the long sand traps and hillocks along the fairway join the water in providing a big challenge. Wind also can be a major factor on any links course. This duffer played The National on Saturday, with wind gusts up to 30 miles per hour, and struggled to 94.
Fox Creek, a 27-hole layout, offers a more conventional layout, with plenty of mature trees and water. It plays shorter than The National and does not carry as high a slope rating, but still can challenge most golfers and is more accessible than the links course for beginners.
I played the Red Course and shot 43. The 510-yard, par 5 No. 3 is plenty challenging. The toughest hole is No. 8, a 573-yard monster. Although the wind on Sunday had died down from the gale on Saturday, it was still blowing, had shifted and was in your face on that hole. It played very long.
Fox Hills offers a variety of golfing packages. The resort has a great restaurant and pub and live entertainment on weekends.
Look for more golf course buzz features in this column over the next several months, especially as the Greater Milwaukee Open comes closer.
Heartbreaker
Even the Wave couldn't bring a championship to Milwaukee this season. After winning two straight Major Indoor Soccer League titles, the Wave lost a heartbreaker, 8-6, to the Philadelphia Kixx in the championship game Friday night.
Chris Handsor, who had three goals overall, scored with 37 seconds left for the Philadelphia win. The Kixx got off three rapid-fire shots on Wave goalie Victor Noqueira and the third went in.
The game was one of the best sporting events I've covered in recent years. The intensity of the players for both teams, and of the MISL playoff record crowd at the Bradley Center, was impressive from the start.
Coach Keith Tozer and his players took the loss hard, but also were philosophic about it. "Not many teams get a chance to play in the finals three straight years," Tozer said. "This game was a great showcase for what we have here, and for indoor soccer in general."
Rampage Starts Season
Just as the Wave finished its season, the outdoor soccer season started, with the Rampage splitting two games over the weekend. Jerry Aldrich scored the winning goal Friday night, as the Rampage beat the Indiana Blast, 3-2.
Then, the Cincinnati Riverhawks beat the Rampage, by an identical 3-2 score, on Saturday night.
The Rampage will bring international soccer to Milwaukee next Sunday, when TSV 1860 of Munich, a fine German team, comes to town for a 3 p.m. game. On May 20, the Rampage will play another German team, FC Nurnberg.
Bombers Start Fast
The Milwaukee Bombers of the Lake Michigan Australian Rules Football League also started their season over the weekend with two wins. The Bombers beat the Chicago Swans, 23-11, and the Chicago Ironmen, 46-14, in a tournament in the Windy City on Saturday.
Gregg Hoffmann writes The Milwaukee Sports Buzz on Mondays and The Brew Crew Review on Thursdays for OMC.
