Wisconsin's 10 Best Par 5 Holes

Too often golfers view par fives as the holes they need to survive in order to save their score. Not me. As anyone who has golfed with me can attest to, I love par fives. I love that I can have one bad shot, and still have a good chance for par.

Sometimes it is the challenge that makes par fives great, and other times it's the options the hole provides. Sometimes, the hole has such a spectacular layout and is so beautiful that my score the first time I play it doesn't even matter.

Some courses are chocked full of great par fives. Courses like University Ridge, Castle at the Bay, Wild Rock and Horseshoe Bay were built for them, and churn out one after another. Other courses have one or two that stand out as special. There is an art to making a great par five, and this article is an ongoing examination of the best.

This list is dedicated to the par five holes that provide the best challenge and options, and oftentimes for me the most memorable experience on the course.

1. University Ridge #16 (554, 533, 514, 434 yards)
From the moment you step up to the tee, the sixteenth at U-Ridge is one of the most fun golf holes in Wisconsin. A large oak tree provides your first choose-your-own-adventure experience: Aim to the right of the tree to hit the lower fairway, but risk finding the woods or fescue if the drive cuts. Aim to the left for a slightly safer play, but doing so will add more yardage to the hole and bring in to play thirteen centrally placed sand traps on the approach.

The second shot will be long regardless of the side you choose, but each has a bailout fairway to help take the bunkers out of play. Aim over the traps for your only chance at hitting this green in two and putting for eagle.

2. Wild Rock #6 (588, 551, 525, 504, 457 yards)
The most awe-inspiring tee shot on Wisconsin's most majestic course is Wild Rock's par five sixth hole. The view from the quartzite tees overlooks Baraboo and more than 30 miles of the Wisconsin Dells surrounding area.

Being in or around the fairway is essential, as anything right is dead, and there is little room to work with left. The fairway narrows as the sixth plays uphill, and a blind shot to the green becomes guess-work as the approach drops downhill, then into oblivion both long and right. The pin location has been in the midst of a severe slope each time I have played it, making a two-putt much to ask for.

3. Horseshoe Bay #13 (584, 545, 505, 445 yards)
A long par five, the thirteenth at Horseshoe Bay demands a mid-length tee shot to set up an option of three fairways for your second. Two large trees separate the three fairways, which run from high to low from the right to left side of the layout.

The upper fairway to the right is the hardest of the three to hit, but will allow for the approach to run downhill toward the green. The middle and low fairways, separated by tall ledges lined with fescue (hence the hole's nickname, "Ledges"), will leave uphill approaches that are likely to hit the pre-green area and die, or even roll back.

4. The Legend at Bergamont #9 (627, 602, 578, 481)
The finishing hole on Bergamont's front nine is one of the longest, toughest holes in the state. At over 600 yards from both of the two back tee boxes, a huge pond comes in to play several hundred yards down the fairway. The fairway runs along the right side of this pond, and a 200-plus yard carry over it is the only potential shortcut.

5. Whistling Straits, Irish Course #8(555, 542, 501, 459, 392 yards)
After parking the cart and walking back to the tee boxes, there is a carry to the tee shot of a little over 100 yards to the fairway. The right side drops about 15 feet off the playing surface, so if you land there then take your medicine and re-find the fairway. The setup shot is played over an inland stream and uphill to one of the most beautiful green areas I have ever seen. Littered with sand and an almost impossibly sloped green, a par here would feel like a birdie on almost any other hole.

6. Lawsonia, Links Course #13 (568, 556, 489, 489 yards)
Thirteen is one of the most awe-striking par fives you will find anywhere. The tee shot is pretty self-explanatory: Try to find the fairway and set up a quality second shot. From there, it gets interesting.

The mounding on this hole is absolutely beautiful, and is the quintessential example that should be used for any American links-style course. The second shot has to be long, and absolutely needs to be in the fairway. Why? The finish is surrounded by woods, and features a massive depression that falls steeply from the fairway. It then climbs 150-plus yards to the green area, which looms above the depression and serves as the base for the even more highly mounded green.

7. The Bull at Pinehurst Farms #8 (568, 556, 500, 487, 435 yards)
All you need to know about this hole can be seen in the aerial layout. With water seemingly everywhere, the tee shot needs to be played to the fairway. The parallel rivers separate split fairways on the second shot, and the green is mercilessly small and breaks relentlessly. While the fairway on the left side makes for the easiest setup, the one in the middle allows the greatest margin for error on the approach. Choose your own adventure on this spectacular par five.

8. Lawsonia, Woodlands Course #7 (527, 495, 479, 428 yards)
Seven is my favorite hole on the Woodlands course, and one of my all-time favorite par fives. The tee shot is nearly impossible: A large sand trap and woods is on the left, forest on the right, and well within distance is a mammoth pond surrounded by tall, thick fescue. Stay safe off the tee and the second shot will be to a wide enough area uphill to set up an approach.

The green is two-tiered, so make sure to find the right level. Anything on the wrong level almost guarantees a three-putt, while a top-level hole location is still liable to carry any putt to the lower level (or off the green, altogether). Take a minute to enjoy the look back at this gorgeous hole layout before moving on to the eighth.

9. Blackwolf Run, River Course #18 (510, 470, 440, 415, 351 yards)
The 18th on the River course is one of the most memorable par fives in the state. Sand runs from the tee boxes down the left side of the fairway to the green, and finding them should result in one effort only: [Trying to] re-find the fairway.

With one of the largest greens on the course, it is not unusual to find a 75-foot long putt, overlooked by the beautiful Blackwolf Run clubhouse. It is not yet known whether the course will again flood the sand area for this year's Women's US Open.

10. The Legend at Bristlecone #3 (613, 544, 526, 436 yards)
The longest par five on the Legend at Bristlecone (formerly known as Bristlecone Pines), the third hole is lined with a river on the right that travels most of the 600 yards to the front side of the approach area. It wraps around the front, and flows from the left side, with several small waterfalls.

The green is nearly impossible to reach in two from the tips, and being anywhere in the fairway after the second shot is the only way to ensure a chance at par.

The green is in view from the home I grew up in, and I have always had a special love for this tough par five. It is unfortunate that Bristlecone has gone entirely private, and there is a chance that I may never have the pleasure of playing it again.

For honorable mentions, and dynamic lists of my top ten courses and par three, four and five holes in the state of Wisconsin, visit Paul's blog at http://wiscosportsaddict.blogspot.com.