What You Need To Know: The Club at Lac La Belle By Brian Weis

What You Need To Know: The Club at Lac La Belle

An Insightful Interview With Clint Higgins, Director of Operations

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 Higgins 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 Club at Lac La Belle offers 18 holes of Championship golf with full access to a premium practice facility, a high-end boutique style golf shop carrying the latest brands and up on the most recent trends. Additionally, enjoy time before or after your round of golf on Flatstick, our 15 hole putting course located conveniently on the patio of our Rivalry Pub for either an indoor or outdoor dining experience.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
The Club at Lac La Belle was purchased under new ownership in 2018. The golf course had a soft opening in June of 2020. The renovation caught the attention of Golf Digest rating us Best New Course in Wisconsin in 2021 due to the extensiveness of what was changed. Golfers can expect to play on exceptional golfing conditions on a golf course that was intentionally designed to challenge the golfer and force them to strategically navigate the golf course. The green complexes are large and some of them severally undulated.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
Pay close attention to the pin locations. Ending up on the wrong side of the green can lead to difficult to almost impossible up and down opportunities. I encourage all of our golfers to spend time on Flatstick, our 15 hole putting green, before heading out onto the golf course.

Any recent changes to the golf course? Or any upcoming changes?
After a full renovation that started back in May of 2018 the golf course re-opened in June of 2020. No major changes have been done to the golf course since then.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
We were recently awarded 6th most fun golf experience in the country by Golf Digest. We enjoy facilitating fun for our guest and it has become part of the culture here at the Club at Lac La Belle.

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
I would have to say that our most talked about or most photographed hole is #4 "La Belle." It is a forced carry par three to a multi-tiered green that is over 75 yards in depth from front edge to back edge guarded by bunkering both left and right but protected by a punch bowl style green in the back. Theis hole can play as far as 200 yards from the back tees and has multiple pinnable locations.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
My favorite hole is #16 "Holy Fire." It is a fun par 5 with a risk reward tee shot as well as a risk reward approach shot. The fairway slopes from left to right and is lined with deep fescue grass on both sides. Both tee shots, second shots, and approach shots force the golfer to navigate strategically placed bunkers. The green complex has flat front with a severe slope from left to right to another punch bowl green. I recommend a 250-280 yard tee shot over the bunkers on the left. If this is successfully executed a 220 to 240 yard approach favoring the left side of the hole will typically find the putting surface. Pay close attention to your surroundings on the putting surface before trying to close out the hole.

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
You can never go wrong with any of the Flat bread pizzas, but my go to is the 9th Hole Sammy. This chicken sandwich is hand breaded and cooked to perfection on a hot brioche bun. You can choose your own side, but the sweet potato fries are like candy! This sandwich pairs wonderfully with at least one if not two Lac La Belle Lagers.

For the traveling golfer, do you have lodging onsite or partner with any area hotels?
We currently do not offer lodging onsite but would recommend the Inn at Pine Terrace in Oconomowoc, or the Hilton Garden in of Oconomowoc.

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?
Piercen Hunt holds our course record with 61, good luck chasing this score down. Maybe if you play only 16 holes, LOL!

Back Tee Stats
Par: 71
Yardage: 7012
Slope: 73.4
Rating: 135

More Information
The Club at Lac La Belle
6996 Pennsylvania Street
Oconomowoc, WI, 53066

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Revised: 12/01/2023 - Article Viewed 11,961 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.