Wisconsin’s Oldest Course – Lac la Belle Remodel Provides Tough Test

Lac la Belle underwent huge renovations during Covid to return it back to its previous championship level caliber. Break80 takes on the course with a heartbreaking ending. Club historian Michael O’Reilly joins the group to provide audio overlay of the adventure.

John what do you think we’re shooting today million two million you beat that score a milliona proba not you guys got your umbrella I don’t have an umbrella yeah I’m going to have to buy one I got mine in my or suffer I could just suffer I’ll probably suffer I’ll get what I deserve out here if it’s just light these captains of industry and aalok decide they sure to have their own golf course they built one just in in one of the uh the backyards of a cottage now the backyard was 60 Acres and the cottage was 40 rooms and so they had a way of understanding what they had but they built a course in 1895 and then they decided to build a proper course in 1896 and then by 1898 they decide that they need a good golf professional and so why not get the one at their Club in Chicago his name was Alex Smith and he was the best of the bunch from Cari SC and Alex had just finished second in the US Open and they brought him up two weeks later to teach the children of Chicago Millionaires and that’s how blell and got started [Music] a lot of clubs uh during the Great War World War I uh a lot of the clubs didn’t stay the way that they were and lock the Bell continued on as a golf club but not at the height of what it was in days prior uh so to the 20s 30s after World War II and really up until a decade ago it was that reliable course that you’d have close by and it had a lot of local play and it wasn’t until the Morse family took it over that they decided to bring it back to its Championship caliber bullsh be right it’s over oh how do you really feel about this lie Mike call on it yeah and uh The Story Goes that it was David folus uh brother of James Fus and working out a Chicago golf club and David was up doing other work in and around the area so it makes sense that that would have been the case uh we we claim that as uh the direction and the start of the course we don’t have drawings we don’t have proof but certainly all the all the arrows point in that direction two years later when Alex came up he improved the course uh in 1900 Willie Anderson became the golf professional and of course Willie Anderson is the one that won three us opens in a row and four in total and so Willie Anderson could help improve Alex’s Robert Simpson from Cary came and added to the course so every year the one of the pros would come the equipment would change well uh you know the North Pole stands out because it was the farther farthest north on the in the day and it has several elements to and they also purchased additional acreage so that they could add four holes uh that are not on the original adjacent to right but not on the original portion of land so the arisal portion holds 14 of the holes now 18 which used to hold 18 now holds 14 of the holes and four of the holes are just adjacent but on land that was acquired to help make it that championship course and to get around the issues and solve the issues that uh the durage caused but what they designed on those greens was they call they use they use the word diabolical me they’re very challenging GRS and multiple locations for pin placements it can be a completely different Golf Course day one two three and four if you if you ran a a proper championship tournament on this course so they really found a way to add variation to it that it would challenge the guys who play you know Saturdays and Sundays on weekends that make the cut [Music] [Music] that they were going to have you know a championship course there that he could also have Champions come and play his first year there in 1898 he was the only golfer for hundreds of miles and there was one match and it ended after 12 HS uh he was just too good so he had to bring his competition and the captains of industry and lo Lael said you bring the golfers and and we’ll bring the money what uh the 18th is is really my favorite cuz when you come up to that hole and you’re thinking that you’re going to approach it after a quality t- shot uh it’s uphill it’s got an undulating green if it’s a back pin it’s everything you’ve got and for me plus and uh but if you find your way up there it’s it’s it’s high vies all the way up to Fairway that was a very difficult hole and I found myself right up the Fairway trying to hit something magical around the tree so I can attest that 18 is no slouch especially if you need a birdie to win might to overcut it yeah it might be on oh no it’s on the green yep okay I like right Edge that’s where I have it you like that yep love hold cuz you had a what G they would nip us Lo 18 Tim to win the team match team match Tim from oh he’s pulled it folks he’s pulled it folks he’s pulled it and we get the free beverage oh that Beer’s going to taste good when we drink it out