Big Fish GC

Getting To Know: Big Fish Golf Club

An Insightful Interview With Chris Hofer, Head Golf Professional

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 Chris 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
Big Fish Golf Club is the #1 rated public golf course in Northern Wisconsin and designed by legendary Pete Dye. Big Fish Golf Club consists of both traditional linksland and glacial hardwoods. Open and rugged terrain defines the deceivingly tranquil front nine, while the inward nine holes are sculpted into the rolling forests of Hayward, Wisconsin.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
Designed by Legendary Pete Dye and offers a unique setting with two totally different 9's. Also offers 5 sets of tees to accommodate any type of golfer.

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
Hole #13. It is a reachable downhill par 5 that offers eagle/birdie opportunities but an errand shot may result in a double bogey quickly.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
My favorite hole is #16 at Big Fish. It plays between 150-180 yards and slightly downhill. When standing on the tee it looks like a pretty straight forward par 3, that is until you get to the green. The green slopes from left to right and the green is very slick. I have hit many good shots onto that green only to 3 putt and leave disappointed.

My tip would be to try and stay beneath the hole if at all possible to give you your best chance of making the putt.

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?
Through my 6 years of being at the course I heard it is 68 from the black tees but do not know who shot the score.

Back Tee Stats
Par: 72
Yardage: 7231
Slope: 136
Rating: 74.0

More Information
Big Fish Golf Club
14122 W True North Lane
Hayward, Wisconsin, 54843
715-934-4770
www.bigfishgolfclub.com

Revised: 03/24/2014 - Article Viewed 35,611 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.