Fire Ridge Golf Club

Getting To Know: Fire Ridge Golf Club

An Insightful Interview With Steve Smith, Owner, Operating Partner

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 Steve Smith 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
Fire Ridge provides 4 sets of tees, built on 208 acres out in the quiet wilderness with 70 bunkers, 11 holes with water in play, trees and rolling hills. The finest bent grass greens, tees and fairways.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
Fire Ridge is a challenging but fair golf course. We feel Fire Ridge is the best value of any course in the area. You can play Fire Ridge for $69 weekend or weekday. We pride our self for having one the best golf staffs and on course restaurants in the State.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
Club down to keep you tee shot in the fairways. Be aware of the slope of our greens. 3 putts await you if you are not below the hole on many of our undulated greens.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
Midwest Golf Magazine On-Course Restaurant of the Year 5 Years Running!!

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
Hole #5 Par 4 390 yards This is the toughest Par 4 on the course. The landing area on the tee shot is very tight with water left and right as well as a strategically placed fairway bunker. The approach is just as difficult with a long and narrow green protected by a deep bunker front right. Par is always a good score here.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
Hole #17 Par 3 170 yards This hole is my favorite because of the Hole-In-One I carded this past season. It is my 1st and only Hole-In-One and was part of one of my best rounds at Fire Ridge 78.

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
Our "Grilled" Buffalo Wings are simply the best. And on Wednesday they are 1/2 priced!!! I always wash my wings down with a cold draft of Pilsner Urquell.

My other favorite dinner entrees are our Irish Ribeye and Cajun Chicken Bowtie Pasta. Both are great with Pilsner Urquell as well.

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?
Tony Fanau carded a 64 during the US Bank Qualifyer in 2009. His tee shots exploded off the club. I watched him hit a drive on Hole #1 whichs plays 440 yards to within 60 yards of the green!!!???

Back Tee Stats
Par: 72
Yardage: 7084
Slope: 136
Rating: 74.6

More Information
Fire Ridge Golf Club
2241 Hwy W
Grafton, Wisconsin, 53024
262-375-2252
fireridgegc.com

Revised: 01/23/2013 - Article Viewed 34,489 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the Publisher of GolfTrips.com, a network of golf travel and directory sites including GolfWisconsin.com, GolfMichigan.com, ArizonaGolfer.com, GolfAlabama.com, etc. Professionally, Brian is a 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). In 2016, Brian won The Shaheen Cup, an award given to a golf travel writer by his peers.

All of his life, Brian has been around the game of golf. As a youngster, Brian competed at all levels in junior and high school golf. Brian had a zero chance for a college golf scholarship, so he worked on the grounds crew at West Bend Country Club to pay for his University of Wisconsin education. In his adult years, his passion for the game collided with his entrepreneurial spirit and in 2004 launched GolfWisconsin.com. In 2007, the idea for a network of local golf directory sites formed and GolfTrips.com was born. Today, the network consists of a site in all 50 states supported by national sites like GolfTrips.com, GolfGuide.com and GolfPackages.com. It is an understatement to say, Brian is passionate about promoting golf and golf travel on a local, regional, national and international level.

On the golf course, Brian is known as a fierce weekend warrior that fluctuates between a 5-9 handicap. With a soft fade, known as "The Weis Slice", and booming 300+ drives, he can blast it out of bounds with the best of them.