Washington County Golf Course: Photo Credit - Brian Weis

Washington County in Wisconsin Okays Golf Courses to Open Immediately

Administrator sends letter encouraging golf courses to open immediately

By Brian Weis

From the Office of County Administrator - Joshua Schoemann

West Bend, WI - After discussions with Washington County Sheriff Marty Schulteis and Washington Ozaukee Public Health Officer Kirsten Johnson, County Administrator and County Executive-elect Josh Schoemann has sent a letter to all county courses permitting them to open. Courses may immediately begin booking tee times online and over the phone.

Schoemann released the following statement:
Our recreation activities have been limited for too long. It is time to smartly begin to open our economy. Allowing recreation activities which allow for social distancing is the first of many steps.

As county staff worked to keep our parks open and clean, Governor Evers closed thousands of acres of the Kettle Moraine Forest in Washington County without asking for our support. I commend our staff for keeping our disc golf, dog park, and miles of trails open. Now is the time to ensure golf courses begin to operate safely.

For non-golfers, tomorrow is the ceremonially opening of our recreational trails. Volunteers across the county will be getting our trails, such as the Eisenbahn, in shape for the summer.

I call on the governor and our legislature to release a comprehensive plan to re-open our state. In the coming days, Washington County intends to release a "Blueprint to Reopen" based on the American Enterprise Institute's Roadmap and guidance released by the White House.

The citizens of our state and county have waited too long for Madison bureaucrats to tell us when our society can return to normal. Our citizens are smart. I encourage everyone to continue to practice social distancing, limit large gatherings, and stay home when sick.

Together, we will beat COVID-19. Our economy should not go down with it.

Washington County operates the best municipal golf course in the state. Tee times at the Washington County Golf Course are available now at golfwcgc.com or by calling the pro-shop at 262-670-6616. All rounds must be pre-paid, the course is not renting golf carts, and the driving range remains closed.

Check www.co.washington.wi.us/coronavirus for up-to-date information on the pandemic.

View Letter To Courses Here >>

Revised: 04/17/2020 - Article Viewed 14,976 Times

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.