The modern golf trip can be many things but it is most often one thing: expensive. It’s hard to squeeze around the truth there. Increased demand for tee times has allowed resorts and courses to push prices higher than they ever imagined. 

It’s a good problem to have — a customer base willing to spend — but a problem that makes an adventure near and dear to my heart — the Wisconsin golf trip — an expensive one. A great one, for the record, and worth it — but not a cheap one. Play all the hits in the Badger State and it nets out near $300 per round. 

But tucked into the holy triangle of Wisconsin golf is a can’t-miss muni, Washington County Golf Course — an hour southwest of Whistling Straits, two hours southeast of Sand Valley, and just 15 minutes north of Erin Hills. And at just $65 for a typical greens fee, it’s the perfect chaser to the bucket-list courses that surround it. 

Need a day to travel from Erin Hills up to Sand Valley? Start it at Washington County. Need to feel frugal after forking $500+ for Whistling Straits? Washington County will feel like a fiver. To an extent, that’s exactly the variety some of us are looking for. We want to pay for our golf. We want to sign up for a few bucket-listers. But we also may want to work a few more affordable tracks into the itinerary to balance it all out. How does one choose those courses, though?

We figure it starts with our best courses you can play for $100 or less list, which debuted last week. As a property, Washington County strums a very similar tune to another course on that list: Commonground GC, out in Denver. It’s wide open, with fescue hills that frame snakey fairways. Like the land out at Commonground, this Kettle Moraine part of Wisconsin can get windswept and firm. The grass is green but it’ll play like it’s yellow, barring any Midwest summer thunderstorms. WCGC should feel bouncy. Your tee shots will roll. We like that. 

Its neighbor to the south, Erin Hills, is the crown jewel of the area, but at times WCGC can feel like its little, municipal brother. It cannot compare to the 2017 U.S. Open host, but it’s not trying to. If Erin Hills is brawny and thumps melodies like concert speakers in an arena, WCGC is more tame, like the handheld, portable speaker you use while cooking in the kitchen. Depending on the day or the trip or the time of year, the same song can feel different and still great at the same time.

Looking for an affordable golf course near you? Visit our new Course Finder tool and search by price!