Baraboo CC

Getting To Know: Baraboo Country Club

An Insightful Interview With Clint Hutchens, General Manager - Head Golf Professional

By Brian Weis

Whether you have played a course 20+ times a year or looking to play the course for the first time, insights from an insider can help enhance your golf experience. Below is an interview with Clint Hutchens who shares some valuable tidbits about the course, memorable holes and must eats and treats at the 19th.

Give Our Readers An Overview of the Golf Course/Property
The Baraboo Country Club is a beautiful course set in the Baraboo bluffs outside Devil's Lake State Park. Draper Creek meanders through the entire course and comes into play on 9 of the 18 holes.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
The Baraboo Country Club is a wonderful alternative to the crowded courses in the WI Dells area. It's layout will challenge the best of golfers yet five sets of tees makes it enjoyable for golfers of all abilities. With rates never higher than $55 for 18 holes with a cart it also remains one of the most affordable courses in the area.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
DON"T GO LONG!! There isn't a single hole on our course where you want to be above the pin. Select your clubs accordingly and enjoy.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
In the world of semi-private clubs ours continues to impress our members and guests alike with beautifully manicured condition. Our greens are consistently rolling at 10 on the Stimp, and trust us when we say you wouldn't want them any quicker.

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
Our favorite hole is the dreaded #8. While it's numbers are less than intimidating: Par 5 - 524 from the back tees, 432 from the red tees, it is imperative that you hit the landing area on your 2nd or 3rd shot to have any chance of finding the green on your next shot. Your approach will be from at least 100 yards uphill to a green surface you cannot see. Now that you have made it to the green, your journey isn't over as you navigate one of of most difficult putting surfaces. Par is a great score and you won't feel too bad about carding a bogey on this monster!

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
My favorite hole is the par five 12th. Measuring just 462 from the back tees and 423 from the red tees eagle is deifinely a possibility. Unfortunately, with an extremely well protected and small green so is double bogey. This hole is all about risk vs. reward. Who doesn't enjoy making bad decisions once in awhile?

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
With professional chef Jon Peavey running the kitchen our selection of menu items is 2nd to none. From burgers to wraps, homemade soups, Friday Night fish fry, Saturday night prime rib and Sunday brunch, there is something for everyone. Our staff is sure to leave you looking forward to your next visit.

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?
Our long standing course record of 66 was and is held by Greg Befera head professional from 1989 to 2010. This record is forever enshrined and cannot be broken as we re-routed our course in 2007 thus creating a new course and new course record. Currently Dan Lewison holds the new record with a 69 from the back tees. In order for a score to be considered for the course record it must be played from the black tees and the ball must be played down. At least one witness is also required. Come on out and give it a try if you think you have all the shots!

Back Tee Stats
Par: 72
Yardage: Back Tee - 6,591
Slope: 129
Rating: 73.3

More Information
Baraboo Country Club
401 Mine Road
Baraboo, WI, 53913
608-356-8195
www.baraboocountryclub.com

Revised: 10/10/2012 - Article Viewed 34,407 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.