Deer Valley

Getting To Know: Deer Valley Golf Club

An Interview and Insights With Todd A. King, PGA Professional/GM

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 Todd A. King 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
Deer Valley is nestled on 270 acres of beautiful, rolling, southwest Wisconsin terrain. The original 18 (the Ridge Course and Prairie Course) opened for play in 1999. The Deer Valley Lodge opened in 2006 and features 62 guest rooms including themed suites, a banquet hall overlooking the course and a 12,000 sq. ft. indoor waterpark. In 2009 Deer Valley unveiled a new 9 holes (The Valley Course).

All 3 courses are unique in their own right. The Ridge Course features dramatic elevation changes, the Prairie Course features gently rolling hills, sloping greens and contains 50 acres of Wisconsin's purest undisturbed prairie land. The Valley Course features challenging holes where golfers must navigate tree lined fairways, water hazards and smaller greens.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
Deer Valley is located 30 minutes west of Madison but feels like a world apart. Each of the 3 courses takes golfers a mile out and a mile back where golfers are surrounded by undisturbed natural surroundings.

What makes Deer Valley truly unique are the elevation changes and demanding approach shots.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
Deer valley is a mental challenge as well as a physical one. Each shot you hit will require you to consider elevation change, wind and target. While the course may appear open in areas, there is a big reward for being on the correct side of the pin and correct side of the fairway- at least if you want to score well.

Holes with forced carries and peninsula type greens will affect your psyche- pick a target and commit to it!

Players that visit Deer Valley for the first time are given a "Tip Sheet". On it they will find valuable pieces of advice to help them through their round. I let people know that the Tip Sheet will only advise where to hit it but not how to hit it- how to hit it wouldn't fit on 1 piece of paper.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
I couldn't agree more with a Wisconsin State journal reporter who wrote, " "...Deer Valley G. C. might have the best views this side of Whistling Straits", and, " the most imaginative public course design since University Ridge". While Deer Valley certainly is not in the same price point as those wonderful venues, it certainly has a lot to offer and is certainly like no other golf course.

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
It would be the 5th hole on the Ridge Course. The hole plays from 100 yards from the forward tees up to 135 yards from the back tees. What makes it so unique is the nearly 100 ft drop from tee to green. There is a pond in front of the green and protected prairie land behind making it virtually an island green.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
My favorite hole is the 2nd par 3 on the Prairie Course. It measures 172 yards from the back tees and the teeing ground is elevated. The challenges of this hole are many and include the fact that the front of the green is surrounded by a deep ravine (can't be short) and the back of the green is guarded by a steep bank (don't be long). There are very few recovery options if you don't hit the green. Distance control and hitting the ball on the sweet spot is imperative, the prevailing wind is cross out of the west and makes this the most demanding tee shot on the course.

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
It would definitely be a famous Deer Valley Bloody Mary served in a goblet with a beer chaser. The recipe is a culmination of all of the great bartenders Deer Valley has employed- you will watch it being made but it just won't taste the same if you tried to recreate it at home. It has become a staple before and after tee off on mornings of club events.

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?
The course record holder from the tips is Danny Zimmerman, a former UW golfer. Danny shot 65 (-7) in 2011, the previous course record holder from the tips was Jon Turcott with a 69.

3 people share the course record from the white and blue tees, also a 65. They include David Koenig, Mike Aumann and Todd A. King

Back Tee Stats
Par: 72
Yardage: 6494
Slope: 129
Rating: 129

More Information
Deer Valley Golf Club
7899 Hwy 18 & 151
Barneveld, WI, 53507
608-924-3033
www.deervalleygolf.com

Revised: 04/24/2012 - Article Viewed 33,886 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.