The Oaks Golf Course

Mike and Stephen talk about their experiences playing The Oaks. They talk about Mike's best round ever. And they talk to Shaun Finley the director of golf at The Oaks about the course history and what it takes to maintain such a popular course.

Music credits Title: Easy Jam

(incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

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Episode Transcript

(00:27):
I'm Steven. And I'm Mike.
And this is the bogey breakdown.We're two brothers with the
ridiculous goal of trying to golf every golf course in the

(00:48):
state of Wisconsin. All while trying to manage busy
schedules, try to keep our jobs,raise our families and do our
best to overcome our own terrible golf.
Exactly. So Speaking of terrible golf,
we're going to talk about some not so terrible golf and maybe

(01:09):
some pretty horrendous golf on this episode where we are going
to review a course that Mike andI play quite often.
We have been in a league this year.
Mike, you were in a a winter league with simulators over this
past winter. Have you done that one or two

(01:30):
years? Just one year.
Yeah, just one year. And I'll have to apologize for
my my audio with our busy schedules and to find time for
both of us to be in the same place at the same time is not
always easy. Yeah.
So I'm, I'm talking to you from from my basement.
I think you're in your. Basement.
I'm in my basement. Yep, I'm in the, I'm in the the

(01:51):
Bogey Breakdown studio. You have the official.
Bogey Breakdown studio. When you.
When you talk about terrible golf, I should there be some
sort of like audience rating on here to warn people?
Like I don't know if it'd be like rated.
I feel like it should be rated Tfor trash, which is what I feel

(02:16):
like my golf game is like 99.9% of the time.
We don't want to explore. I actually went out today the
just to do nine holes and there was a guy who was coming up on
us a single and we were not playing great golf.
And he he wasn't that close behind us.

(02:36):
And then all of a sudden that wesaw him tee off.
We made our second shots. He turned around in the fairway,
picked up his ball and left right after he watched us swing
and I'm like, I I think he is booking it out of here because
he didn't want to be associated with any of this.
No, so you played around this morning, which I believe last

(03:01):
episode we were just talking about how it's a way for you to
get out and get some peace and serenity.
Did you feel that peace and serenity?
I'm. No, no, I didn't.
I yeah, I golfed with my daughter and she was also not
feeling peace and serenity. So as my duty as a father, I was

(03:24):
trying to cheer her up by makinga lot of quips and obnoxious.
Comments I I know that when I amout there playing golf in the
morning, at least if I'm playingpoorly, you always start your
day on a bad note. That way you just hope that

(03:44):
everything gets better from there.
It gets better. From there.
Which it did because we were able to sit down with Sean
Friendly and he is the director of golf over there at the Oaks
and we had a great conversation.He could kind of told us about

(04:08):
the more of the background of the course and you know, the the
history behind it and a little bit about the design and kind of
what it takes to be able to maintain a, a golf course of
like the Oaks. So we'll get into that later.
But before that, we kind of wantto go through and do our our

(04:32):
review of the course and kind oftalk about a few things that we
have enjoyed. Like I said, we've, we've played
this course quite often. So we we know it pretty well and
obviously it we've had highs andlows there.
So. Yeah.
And I am excited for you guys toall listen to our conversation

(04:56):
with Sean. I am talking with him.
He seems like a really neat guy and was super chill, especially
coming on and having a conversation with us.
Yeah, I I did not ask him. I was a little bit afraid to ask
him if he's seen me golf out there.
Well, I, I know he's been out there when I, I've taken some

(05:19):
lessons off of 1 of the teachinggross out there, Joe Leonard and
he he might not know, but hopefully he's not looking up
our, our handicaps. Yeah, he, he was, he was
mentioning about the the amount of people that they have that
play out there. So hopefully there's enough
people that go through there that he doesn't recognize you,

(05:41):
but that might be different now,yeah.
Yeah, so as as many of you know,the Oaks is situated just to the
east of Madison right off 94. And for many of us as we are
commuting back and forth on 94, you can see the golf course

(06:03):
easily right off the Interstate.Yep.
And you know, I, I remember before I was a golfer driving by
and I was thinking, oh, that looks pretty nice.
But it, as I've gotten to know it more, it, it's actually a
pretty interesting course. But just a couple statistics on,

(06:23):
on the course. One of the things, and we'll
talk a little bit about this with Sean later on, but it's a
part 71. If you play all the way from the
back, it's, it's just under 6800yards.
And I've, I've played, I think I've probably played from most
of the tea boxes that are there.And it presents itself very

(06:47):
differently. So you know, you're, you're
bringing a lot of different obstacles into play or you have
different forced carries into play based on which one you, you
are hitting from. But one of the the challenge you
thinks is hole number one is you, you have to carry it over
kind of a slight Marsh Creek area.

(07:10):
Yep. And I feel like so many times I
have stepped up that tea box andif it gets in your head and you,
you've, you've seen a couple of my balls that go.
Right. The last two times that I've
played with you and and I know exactly why it's because so Mike
is a pretty good driver of the ball and yet every single time,

(07:35):
even though he can drive over stupid trees, he gets out of
stupid three wood and puts it inthe water.
And then he proceeds to have to hit a second shot off the
because the water is right in front of you.
So you then you have to hit a second shot off of the tee box
and if you just, if he would just hit his driver, it is 349

(08:00):
yards from the Blues, which is where we normally play from.
And you would most likely. I bet you could reach the green
on some of those days depending on where that tee box is.
Depending on the wind, maybe youget the right bounce.
It's possible. OK, now I will tell you this.
We'll we'll report back to the groove, but next time we go out
there, I will pull my driver outand see what.

(08:22):
Happens. I can guarantee you it's not
going in the water. If it's a catastrophe, I will.
Blame it, even if you hit that left and you you're going to go
over those bunkers on the left hand side and you're out in that
fairway, you will be just fine. You have a second shot into that
green. Well, currently Steven and I are
actually playing in in a league at the Oaks and it's been.

(08:48):
It's been an adventure. We are not.
At the top of the leaderboard well, which I don't understand
why, why, Why do we play such trash golf when we are playing
together? That's what.
I want to know. I do not understand it.
I feel like I feel like that youhave a a negative OMA over my

(09:15):
golf game and it just kills it. Well, one of the things that,
you know, we've talked about is our own golf game and our own
golf journey. And the Oaks is actually the
place that I have shot my lowestscore ever recorded on a
scorecard. So it it has a special place in

(09:38):
my heart. I haven't gone back and looked,
but I suspect it may also be theplace I've shot.
My. Hottest Rondo?
Golf, I would have to go back and investigate that, but I it's
actually funny. I I have another dad their their

(09:58):
kids go to the same school as ours and he and I went out and
golfed together. It's the first time ever golfing
together and I shot a 74, which is the best round of golf I've
ever had. And literally as I didn't say
anything to him. So Pete, if you're listening to

(10:21):
this, you know, I, I mentioned it towards the end, but I kind
of knew where my score was at during that round.
But it was very boring golf in the sense that I wasn't even
making any phenomenal shots. I was just keeping him play
green and rag to pod par and they there's some reachable par

(10:42):
fives which we can talk a littlebit about on this hole,
particularly depending on where the wind direction is coming
from. And so I actually threw in a
birdie on hole 3, which is a par5.
And then when you turn around, you're going back the other
direction on par 4 on whole 4 isalso another par 5 back up the

(11:05):
other direction. Made a birdie there too.
So that kind of gave me some wiggle room.
But if if you're listening, Pete, that is not not.
My normal well score, I was so Mike had went out and I knew he
was going out or whatever and and he was he was keeping track
on 18 birdies. And I happened to see that he

(11:27):
had posted like a 37 on the front.
Is that correct? And I was like, oh, Dang, I
thought he was only playing ninebecause he had posted the score.
I was like 37. I texted him, I'm like, that's
awesome. I didn't get any text back from
him. And then I was ignoring yeah,
that that after the route he I seen that he posted that he had
shot a 74 and he was like, I wasignoring you.

(11:48):
I was not about to be looking atmy phone.
Yeah. So that was, that was one of
your goals was to break 80 this year That at the at the rate
that it's going, it'll probably be the only time you break 80.
Well, I can tell you right now that since that round of golf,

(12:11):
it has been nothing but trash. Well, at Washington County you
shot 81. So I don't did did you guys when
you did you guys play from the Blues or the black or Blues or
the whites when you shot that 74we.
We played from the Blues, I believe we played from the
Blues, yeah, yeah. I mean, and, and for that

(12:31):
course, I would say the Blues are probably the, the Blues kind
of like the whites at a lot of courses.
Yeah, yeah. It's 6000 yards, 6000 yards.
So before we, we kind of jump into our conversation with Sean,
I, I and we actually spend quitea bit of time with him.
So we want to make sure we give you guys time to hear what, what

(12:54):
his story is a little bit, whichis neat.
And then the story of the course.
Let's talk a little bit about your opinion, Steven, on the
course. You want to talk about the
practice area and and some of the initial thoughts of the
course overall. Yeah.
So like Mike was saying, the course is in between Madison,

(13:16):
Milwaukee, It's a Cottage Grove.It's it's right outside of
Madison, right there on 94. So when as you're driving by,
you can see it and you can actually see a couple of the
holes there from the road. And then you drive down a long
driveway, which is obviously Mike's favorite thing about a
golf course. You come up.

(13:38):
It's a moderate, moderate Dr. I wouldn't say it's a long.
Yeah, the the clubhouse is, is nice.
It's it's modern. I would say they have a great
area for for hosting events at and then they have during the
winter time, they have the the indoor simulator set up for for

(14:00):
you to go and and play on those driving range.
They got a a pretty nice puttinggreen and then a chipping green
and then a greenside bunker there as well as like where
they're doing the lessons outside.
They have like a little, I don'tknow what I don't want to call a
shack, but. Oh yeah, where they they have
heated bays. Yeah, Heated bays for outside.

(14:21):
They're doing their lessons. Yeah.
So as far as the practice areas go, they have everything kind of
that you're looking for for the course.
I would say that. Also, we've we've talked about
it too, but it when you are are at a driving range and you have
a great selection of things thatyou can put as a target line.

(14:46):
So different yardage pins. This one, they have a a bell
that's right out in the middle. And I don't know if I've ever
actually shot it with a laser, but it's probably right around
140 yards, 150 yards. And it it's it, it's a great
practice facility. Yeah, the the putting green has

(15:07):
like a big down slope on the oneside.
So, you know, you can kind of practice doing different kinds
of undulation and things like that, which I like.
And then I also like that they had the chipping green separate.
That way you know you can you can work on doing some some
chips and not tear up the practice green.
Well, also too, I always feel like when it's busy, which which

(15:32):
the oaks can get busy, but you don't feel like you're trying to
to chip over somebody else who'sputting and it's crowded up
there. And so it's different.
I although I will say in that sand bunker that's adjacent to
the chipping green, there have been a few times where I've
wanted to go down and practice some some bunker shots.

(15:53):
However, there's people that areon the driving range.
Yeah, which is quite a ways away, but I'm waiting to skull
something out of that. And I've, I've practiced down
there before and I've always thought to myself, why do they
always point to practice screens?
Golf course designers, if you'relistening to this point to
practice, point the practice bunkers away from everybody

(16:18):
because I was down there and I was like, because then it makes
you think every single time alsotoo, you know, so then you wind
up screwing up your shots because you're thinking about
like, what if I, what if I hit this too hard and it goes over
and, and hit some, you know, point them away pointing towards
the woods. I also have another solution for
you, Steven. Don't hit crap shots out of the

(16:39):
bunker. But then you think about it.
The problem is, is when you haveto start thinking about what
could go wrong, your brains like, oh, that's what I need to
do. Overall, I think the course is
we talked a little bit with withSean as far as it being a Lynx
style course, particularly when it was first designed and they
started to build and then they planted oak trees throughout the

(17:03):
course which have now grown up. So there are some holes now that
are more of of that park style golf.
And it does add I think some interest like interesting holes
and stuff you've got to think about when you step up to the
tee box. So favorite and least favorite
hole? So I, my, I, I would say my

(17:28):
favorite hole would be #3 the par five that comes down the
hill. It's if you hit a decent drive,
like we've been up there when the wind blows and, and the
winds blowing down that hill, I mean, you, you can smoke a drive
down that hill and, you know, put it out there well over 300
yards. Leave yourself a, a pretty nice

(17:50):
approach shot in there. I would say that that's probably
my favorite. I would say my least favorite is
is hole #2 only because I've never ever once had a good shot
on that. It's a par 3.
It's not very it's a it's a pitching wedge end.
And every single time that I'm over there, I either fat the

(18:16):
shot and it winds up going shortor I wind up somehow putting it
into the pond. That is literally off to the
right hand side running alongside the T box, so that
that's probably my least favorite hold.
OK, All right, yeah, we we talked a little bit about this
for Sean. I won't give away his his
favorite and least favorite hold, but I do kind of like hold

(18:39):
nine. That part 5, I feel like it's it
makes you really make some decisions off the T box and
depending on you know, where, what tease you're playing from,
there's a lot of danger that cancome into play with your driver.
But it is also a scorable hole. I mean it's a it's a par 5, but

(19:01):
it's not crazy long. I I think.
You're 480 yards 4. 189 yards, yeah.
So if you a good tee shot, a good approach shot, you, you
know, you're putting for an eagle.
Yeah. So it's definitely a risk reward
hole. And I'm going to say the same
thing about the finishing hole on the back 9, which is 18.

(19:22):
And I've, I did have a guy who got a crazy up and down on that
hole too, which was kind of fun to watch.
But he pulled his, pulled his driveway to the left all the way
up on the 70 box and then somehow managed to get it on the
screen with his second shot overthose trees.
So it's a risk reward hole. And, and I, I'm kind of a sucker

(19:42):
for that, that's for sure. Yeah, but the, I would say an
honorable mention for me would be hole #7 the par three that as
you're. So it's kind of an interesting
part. It's it's kind of interesting to
me because you're playing back into the clubhouse and then you
go past the clubhouse to 8 and then come to 9 and then you go

(20:05):
back and you're back at the clubhouse again.
But I, I do like that one. It's basically you, you have to
go over a marsh and then. You know the greens probably 25
yards from the March there. But that one's a fun hole to
play too, because if you don't hit a good tee shot, you can you

(20:28):
can pile up a score pretty high on that hole.
Yeah, yeah. I would say as far as it is the
least interesting holes to me, the par 313 is pretty, it's very
straightforward. I feel like I always, for
whatever reason, that hole and Idon't get along that well.

(20:52):
And then, you know, I, I don't know if there's a ton of super,
you know, boring holes on the onthe course, but I would say 13
is probably the most straightforward, least
interesting hole that, that in my opinion.
Yeah, I would say probably 11 can be.
Pretty straightforward as well, just a par 4.

(21:14):
There's some bunkers and stuff. But yeah, All right, Mike, I
think we've done enough talking and it's time to bring the
expert in. So here is our interview with
Sean Finley, director of Golf atThe Oaks.
Enjoy. All right, so I really

(21:35):
appreciate you coming on, Sean. It's it's excited.
We've we've driven by played been around the oaks for a long
time. And one of the things that we
said when we first started this podcast was it would be fun to
hear more from the course itself.
And so when I reached out and was connected with Jessica a

(21:58):
little bit and she referred overto you, I'd heard your name and
kind of knew a little bit who you were.
However, after you reached out to me and I looked up Sean
Finley on Google, you actually have more credentials behind
your name that I thought and andhave have been busy out there in
the golf world. So welcome.

(22:20):
Yeah, no, thanks for having me, guys.
It's yeah, it'll be fun to do this.
I appreciate the opportunity. Obviously from an OAK
standpoint, you know, letting people know more about us and,
and who we are and what we do and you know how you can get out
here, That's, you know, obviously that's what we do and
we're excited to share. Yeah, yeah.
It's one of our favorite local courses here.

(22:41):
So to get things started, we're curious.
Give us a little bit about your background and and how you got
started in golf way back in the day and what your journeys look
like. Yeah, no, I I grew up across the
street from a golf course, actually.
So Watertown Country Club. So I'm from Wisconsin.

(23:02):
Watertown Country Club was my home course.
My parents built a house on the golf course.
Funny thing is, neither of them played golf, so we weren't a
golfing family. So a little bit of a caveat
there, but my, my grandfather was big into golf and when I was

(23:23):
10, he took my older brother andI, he was, he lived in Beaver
Dam. And so he took us to Beaver Dam
Country Club currently. And he, he, we borrowed some
clubs from the neighbors and he took us to the course.
And my, I mean literally like noexperience, no nothing.

(23:44):
And I, I couldn't even tell you what I shot or if we kept score.
I know it wasn't great, but I was hooked and it kind of kind
of took off from there. You know, I that's all I've
really ever done as far as work goes, quote UN quote.
Like I, you know, not long afterthat, my parents got me and my

(24:05):
brother membership at Watertown Country Club, you know, and I
started working there when I was14 in the bag room, you know,
cleaning clubs. Like that's how I got my start
in the golf world. And then at Watertown Country
Club, I just kind of worked my way up and, you know, early
years in high school, I think it's, you know, I was hooked on
it and it was kind of what I always wanted to do, I think, or
at least that's, I mean, I couldn't see myself doing

(24:27):
anything else. And, you know, I started some
great opportunities. Mike Weider was the PGA
professional there. And, you know, he kind of took
me under his wing and kind of showed me a lot about the golf
world and the golf industry. And and like I said, I was I was
hooked. So, yeah, I mean, from high
school on, I mean, I went to college, I went to Coastal

(24:47):
Carolina for their PGM program and just outside of Myrtle
Beach. So, you know, in the golf world,
that's a good spot to eat. And you know, when I was a, and
I, you know, started the PGA program right after college like
I was immediately, you know, that's what I wanted to do.
So I started working through thePGA program and I became a PGA

(25:12):
member in 2008. And, you know, I, I came back to
Wisconsin, I spent a couple years out in California in the
desert in the Palm Springs area,but had a good opportunity in
2005 to come here to the Oaks actually.
And so someone I knew in the industry, Jason Mankey, PGA
professional at the time, was the general manager here at the

(25:34):
Oaks and gave me the opportunityto come here and work as one of
his assistants and turned into being the head professional here
and, and, and now I'm the director of golf.
I had the opportunity to actually in the middle 2012 to
2016, I actually went back to Watertown Country Club and
served as their general manager.But then I got I got lured back

(25:54):
here in 2017. I've been back here ever since.
So, yeah, I mean, I've been unfortunate and to to work at
some great facilities and work with some great individuals and
that work for some great people.And obviously the Oaks is at the
top of that list on most of those categories.
So, yeah, that's kind of my background.

(26:15):
I mean, I've always enjoyed playing.
I, I enjoy being around the game, but you know, obviously
it's, it's my career as well andyou know, I'm very fortunate for
it all. Yeah, I can't imagine, you know,
I, I was a late Start learning how to play golf.
I didn't start golfing until I was in early 30s, just never was

(26:36):
around it. So now looking back, it's like,
gosh, I wish I would have started when I was young and and
you know, having a career in it seems exciting for somebody
who's not in it every day. Yeah, 100%.
I think, yeah, most people that I teach when I'm, when I'm
giving lessons, like hear it a lot.
Like, I wish I would have started younger.

(26:57):
I wish I would have had, you know, would have gotten into it
sooner. But, you know, there's still, I
mean, you can pick up this game when you're 50-60 years old and
still have a lot of fun and, youknow, still enjoy it and, you
know, for a number of years, which is one of the greatest
parts about it. Yeah, agreed.
Yeah, Mike and I have talked several times about how it's

(27:18):
golf is such a, a unique sport that people of any age or
whatever can come out and and play it where that's not, you
don't get that in every single sport.
So it's it's pretty awesome to be able to start a sport later
on in life and be able to to hack your way around the golf
course. Right.
And yeah, whether you're, you know, obviously we all want to

(27:39):
be good at it, but like you can still, you know, have some great
time and great experience and spend time with some great
people, family, friends, etcetera.
And you know what, it opens up, you know, like you said, Mike,
where it opens up from a work aspect and just, you know,
colleagues playing. And I mean, I, I teach a number
of people that, you know, don't want to get left out at work

(28:00):
because they don't play golf, like just things like that.
I mean, it's fun to, you know, just fun to hear different
people's involvement into the game or why they've gotten into
the game and, you know, friends getting them in or, you know,
just exposing them. And I think obviously since
COVID with with golf, I mean, it's been exciting to see the
golf boom, so to speak. But you know, it, it's been even

(28:21):
more exciting for me to see these people like stay with it.
Like, yeah, COVID got people then do it.
But you know, these a lot of these new golfers have kept with
it. That's been the fun part.
You know, you would know better,but it seems like it's more
popular with younger kids than than in times past.
Several of my kids golf. I literally this morning was out

(28:44):
and golfed nine holes with my 17year old daughter, which is
awesome. But it does seem like it seems
like there's it's cooler than itused to be.
Yeah, yeah, I think it, I think,I think that's it where I think,
like I said, I think more peoplehave been exposed to it.
You know, I, I, I'm a, you know,I have a golf background, so

(29:05):
naturally my kids play golf. But like, even with, you know,
my son and my daughter. But now, like my son, he's in,
he's going to be in high school this next year, but you know,
him playing more like he's gotten a few of his friends to
play because he played like they're like, why?
Like that sounds fun. And they've gone to, you know,
the, the 9 hole courses in the Madison area and, you know, the

(29:25):
par three courses and, you know,just kind of can do it low key,
low stress. And, you know, and, and now I, I
give one of his friends lessons like, you know, I think that's
the thing. I think it's not as I think it's
there's so many different peoplein the game.
Like golf isn't, you know, the the old school Country Club and

(29:46):
you know, there's there's plentyof you know, there's amazing
country clubs out there and amazing people at those clubs.
But there's just so many more opportunities to get into the
game. And you know, even if it's at
somewhere like here, a public facility or like I just
mentioned, a par 3 course or heck, you know, those off course
top golf type places. Like there's just so many ways

(30:09):
to enjoy the game. And for, you know, especially
the younger generation where youknow, there's just more
opportunity to do it as well, which I think helps.
Yeah. And you didn't mention this, but
you actually received an award this last year as in your
profession as a PGA professionaltoo.

(30:31):
So I, I, I don't know if you want to talk a little bit about
that and what that means, but that's kind of a cool honor, I
think to be your, your position.Yeah, yeah.
I mean, so the the Wisconsin PGA, this section, there's the
PGA of America, which I'm a member of, there's 41 sections
in the Wisconsin section. The state of Wisconsin is nice
because we have the whole state of Wisconsin.

(30:52):
We actually have the Upper Peninsula as well, but.
That's kind. Of Wisconsin.
Anyways, yeah, yeah, we'll, we'll claim it.
Right. But the, the Wisconsin PGA, they
have annual awards that they give out each year and there's
some different categories to it.And yeah, I was fortunate to, to
win the Golf professional of theyear this year for 2025,

(31:15):
definitely, you know, a humblingexperience to say the least.
And you know, very fortunate. There's some amazing, you know,
obviously we have some amazing facilities in Wisconsin.
We have some amazing golf professionals throughout the
state. So, you know, to win that, it
was definitely a humbling experience, something I'm very

(31:36):
proud of. It's it's not only for me, but
it's for, you know, my team, ourstaff, our course, you know,
just the opportunities that we have and the things that we're
able to do here at the Oaks. You know, it's, it's a
combination of all of that. And yeah, it's definitely, you
know, something that obviously I'm very proud of.

(31:57):
You know, like I said at the awards dinner a couple months
ago, like, you know, obviously when I'm, when you're 1012,
thirteen years old, like your dream as PGA Tour, like every
kid is like how how you know, mydream is to play Professional
Golf. And, you know, when I was
accepting the award, I, you know, obviously I didn't go that
route. But you know, this isn't a this

(32:18):
isn't a battle tournament, you know, dance, keep a thing.
So very fortunate, yeah, very fortunate to to be mentioned
with some of the golf professionals in our state that
have won that award before. Some, you know, some guys that I
look up to some some amazing golf professionals.
So it's, it's, it's an honor to be, you know, mentioned with
them for sure. Yeah, that is really cool.
So Speaking of some of those courses, talk to us a little bit

(32:41):
about the history of the oaks, you know, and and doing some
research online. Obviously it used to be
farmland. What do you know about it?
Yeah. So we, you know, it, it's kind
of a unique story where we are owners, the Blaska family, they
come from a dairy farm background, a farming

(33:03):
background. And John Blaska, our primary
owner, his dad, you know, years ago, it was kind of his dream to
have a golf course. And so the, the piece of
property that we're on right nowis, you know, roughly 200 acres
of farmland. And in the late 90s they, you
know, they made the commitment to, to turn it into a golf

(33:26):
course. And, you know, early 2000s,
right at the turn of the century, that's when they
started construction in early 2001, I believe it was.
And we opened in 2003, the middle of 2003, June 2003.
But yeah, I mean, it was a farming family and and, and now,

(33:49):
you know, I joke with them now they're a golfing family, so.
But yeah, they. Can you mix?
Can you mix farming and golf at the same time?
I I. Yeah.
Probably. You know, we do, you know, you
know, it's a nice mix. I mean, you know, they're still
very involved in that community,in that world.
Obviously they don't farm anymore, but obviously that's

(34:10):
where their background is. And, you know, we've had some
great relationships with some ofthe, you know, the Dairy Farmers
of Wisconsin and the Dairy Business Association, some of
those, you know, FFA, those types of the organizations that,
you know, we've been able to to host their groups.
And, and, you know, we have thatconnection or our owners have

(34:33):
that connection with them. So, you know, it's kind of a fun
little background. I mean, we come from that, you
know, that Wisconsin background and you know, it, it's a great
piece of property. Even though it was, you know,
farmland, it's still a great piece of property.
You know, they planted a couple 100 oak trees on the golf
course. You know, they're, they're,
they're not the fastest growing trees, but they've really

(34:55):
started to define the golf course over the last 20 years.
You know it's a. It's a great layout.
Yeah, it is. It's, it's a beautiful course as
far as just when you're when you're up on some of the hills,
you can see how quite a ways you've got the, the, the Creek
or the that small stream that's going down through there in a
few areas. But can you talk a little bit
about the golf course design? For example, did the Blaska

(35:20):
family have something in mind when they first were considering
turning this into a golf course?Or how much input did they have
versus the designer? I think they had, you know, they
had a little bit of input. I think they were, they had Greg
Martin from Illinois. He's the designer, the course
designer. He's designed a few different

(35:43):
courses, Illinois, Glen Erin, Wild Ridge in Eau Claire.
So he, he, he's, he's had his hand in, in, in some course
design in Wisconsin. Yeah, I think.
I saw he, obviously. He was the designer at Rich
Harvest Farms. Does that sound right?
Yeah. So he, yeah, he's had his, he's
had his hand in some in some redesigns.
He a couple years ago he helped us when we did a bunker project.

(36:06):
So we redid all of our bunkers out here and we changed some
things with the course, just some of the run off areas and
collection areas around the greens.
We actually redid hole to the Part 3.
So he redid that entire green during that process.
But I think he was, you know, menot being there at the time, but

(36:27):
from my knowledge he was kind ofthe driving factor.
I do know that the Blaskas had aconsultant as well, one of their
business consultants was, you know, he's a fairly big golfer.
So I know he he, he could guide him a little bit during some of
the, the process of, of the design.
But obviously I think Greg really, you know, put his stamp

(36:49):
on the, on the property. I know there was a couple
different layouts that were considered.
The clubhouse was originally wasoriginally supposed to be up by
the 5th green, So up by the 5th hole, the Part 3 at top.
Yep. So that's where the the first
layout, that's where the clubhouse was.
And then they they move some things around and it is where it

(37:11):
obviously is now. Sure.
Yeah, that is that is interesting when you think, oh,
go ahead. Yeah, I was going to say it.
When you're when you're out there describing the golf course
as someone that's very familiar with that, how would you
describe it to somebody that hasn't played played it before
and like some of the challenges that you might might find
yourself in? Yeah.

(37:32):
You know, obviously it's a link style.
Like I mentioned, we've planted a couple 100 oak trees so that
that that style will change. You know, some would say it's a
little bit more open, but obviously I think over the
years, like I said, that's changed.
We do have, you know, plenty of taller fescue grass that
separates holes. You know, as Mike mentioned, we

(37:55):
do have some hazards that come into play on a few different
holes. But you know, I think the
greens, you know, our Superintendent, their staff,
like our maintenance team does an incredible job maintaining
the golf course. But I think, I think our golf
course, I think, you know, we'repar 71.

(38:16):
It's unique that we have 6 par threes and five par 5.
So it's, you know, it's not a traditional par 72 for par
threes or par fives. We have a lot of, you know,
variety, which I love. And I think it, it offers
playability for everybody. Like we host junior events and

(38:38):
you know, in a couple weeks we're hosting the state amateur
qualifying. So we, you know, we host all
levels of play where I think, you know, if you're playing from
the right set of Tees and maybe you're not as experienced, like
you can still come out here and enjoy it.
But if you're looking for a challenge and again, maybe you,
you move back a set of Tees or two, like you can challenge

(39:00):
yourself. You know, the wind comes into
play a lot. It comes into play a lot.
You know, everybody's like, well, it wasn't windy at home,
but it's windy out here. You know, we're exposed being
outside of Madison a little bit,sitting up a little bit higher.
And like I said, just with that more link style, when the wind
gets going like it can, it can be a challenge, you know, to to

(39:24):
hit some good shots and, you know, produce a good score.
But I love the variety of the golf course.
You know, like I said, the conditions are great, the
varieties great. Like I said, you add in the wind
and you get 1 hole downwind the next time you play here and it's
into the wind and it's a completely different hole.
It's like, well, I didn't even know that bunker was there

(39:44):
because last time I hit it way over and this time I'm in it,
you know. So I think that's, you know,
that's the, you know, one of theunique things about the property
more than anything. I think Cole 5, where you were
talking about putting the clubhouse that part three that.
Wind. Really impacts your shot.
You can feel like you hit a great shot and all of a sudden
it it's so exposed up there, yougot to think through.

(40:07):
All right. Yeah, being on the high point of
the course. So we were talking before we had
started to record about the amount of events that you guys
have out there and you were saying you guys have one pretty
much every single day. And, and then you guys also have
leagues and everything else out there.
How does that impact the maintenance of the golf course?
And how are you guys able to keep the greens as nice as they

(40:28):
are and, and the tee boxes is not, you know, they, they're not
super beat up? How does that all factor into
the to the maintenance part of it?
Yeah, I, I tell our Superintendent and his staff,
like every day. I do not envy their jobs one
day. Like because of that, you know,
Steve, Mike, like we, we are so busy.

(40:50):
We're fortunate that we're busy.We're fortunate that people
enjoy playing here. But we try to push the envelope
too. Like you said, we, we, we host a
number of events throughout the season.
We'd have leagues 3 or 4 nights a week during the prime part of
the season. You know, we, we always try to

(41:11):
push our opening date and delay our closing date to, you know,
get open as soon as we can and stay open as long as we can.
We're, we're trying to provide, you know, a place for people to
play. You know, our Superintendent and
his team, like I said, they do agreat job of, of balancing that.
Sometimes we have to get creative on, you know, when they

(41:32):
do their mowing, you know, some,you know, we sometimes we have
to work around events or we haveto work around things that we
have going on. And you know, instead of mowing
at this time, they'll mow at a different time or they'll mow
later in the day or they'll, youknow, they'll change whole
locations, you know, Thursday night instead of Friday morning,
you know, just to stay ahead of things.

(41:53):
So the staff, the maintenance staff, they do an incredible
job, you know, and I think just the maintenance practices,
obviously we're fortunate, you know, the, the Blaskas, our
owners, they give us all the tools to succeed.
So they, they, they reinvest in the property.
So, you know, especially with the maintenance team, they have

(42:15):
the right tools to maintain, whether it's, you know, dream
practices with verdict cutting and top dressing and you know,
aerifying and all those types ofthings.
We have the tools to do it on our own and be able to do it at
the appropriate times and reallytry to get the best conditions

(42:36):
that we can. So it's a balancing act.
You know when you when you have,you know, the rounds that we
have throughout the season, LikeI said, it's it's a challenge
for him, no question. Oh yeah, yeah, they I would
agree. They seem to do a great job for
sure. Can you, can you talk just a
little bit about, you know, obviously you have the, the golf

(42:57):
as part of the course too. You guys host weddings and other
events there too. What kind of events have you
hosted and and what do you guys feel like goes well with what
you have to offer? Yeah, I think we we try to be
more than a golf course. Like like you said, we are Event
Center. You can see it on our website if

(43:20):
you haven't been here before. But our event site is kind of a
indoor outdoor space that we host weddings, any type of
event, whether it's retirement parties, graduation parties, you
know, non golf corporate events.You know, we've tried to give
the east side of Madison anotherlocation if you're looking to

(43:41):
host an event of any size, whether it's, you know, 20
people or 400 people, like we have a space for that.
So our Event Center was, you know, late 2011, I think it was.
But right before I left to go toWatertown for a couple years, we
had talked, we had talked about putting it up and, and we, and

(44:02):
we did move forward with that. And that space has been great
where we've been able to, you know, we're able to have a
wedding and a golf event at the same time.
We're able to, you know, to havetwo events in one day.
So like it's, it's allowed us toexpand our business, expand not
only from a golf standpoint, butfrom like we were mentioning now

(44:25):
all of those non golf events. It's a yeah, it's a, our food
and beverage operation is a, is a, is a large part of what we
do. Some of the people that I know
in the industry when we talk numbers and when we talk how our
course is doing and we talk foodand beverage, they're surprised
at what we're able to do food and beverage wise.

(44:47):
But again, you know, it comes back to, you know, being able to
to do those things with the the facilities that we have.
Yeah, you guys, I, I think I mentioned that in in some of the
talking points earlier. You guys always have a great
menu and I've been there a few times.
Foods food is is excellent on point.
What kind of staffing do you guys have or who makes who makes

(45:10):
all the the the food happen? Yeah, no, our our executive chef
Kyle does a great job. He's got a great team with him
as well. And you know, they, they do a
great job with, you know, I think that's one of the any
restaurant for that matter, but trying to have something for

(45:31):
everybody. And especially when your feet
and again, you know, they do a great job just because we do so
many events, a lot of our food from events is buffet style.
So, you know, they're continuously juggling so many
different factors, but they're always trying to come up with
the latest the, you know, different options.

(45:53):
We change our, you know, we justoverhauled our event menu like
top to bottom this past winter, past spring.
So you know, they kind of started with a clean slate.
And you know, we have all these different options, you know, not
just, hey, we're not just burgers.
We're not just, you know, we have, you know, 5 different

(46:15):
tacos that you can have. We have salads.
And whether you have dietary restrictions or anything like
that, like we, we tried to offersomething for everyone.
And like I said that that team, they do a great job and again,
they, they juggle events to weddings to, you know, just

(46:37):
normal play when four guys or, you know, 2 couples come off the
course after 18 holes and, you know, just want to grab a bite
to eat. So there's, you know, it's we
have different moving parts overthere where we're a banquet
facility, we're a restaurant or a wedding.
Facility. So you know, they don't, they
don't have one hat, but they do a great job.

(46:58):
Yeah, what's what's like one of the the craziest things that
you've ever experienced on the golf course, whether that was
someone you ever have anybody drive a golf cart into the water
or anything like that or anybodythat said that be escorted off
the premises, Nothing crazy likethat or.
Yeah. I mean, you know, we're a public
facility. I think you know, you know,
always expect the. Unexpected.

(47:18):
I mean, we have some. You know, we have some groups
that you know, we have groups that enjoy the, you know, enjoy
their day. You know, when some individuals,
you know, maybe enjoy it too much, but you know, obviously
we've had some, you know, golf cart things here or there.
You know, thankfully for us, like at least we've haven't had
any. We haven't had any, you know,

(47:40):
injuries or major injuries like that, which you can always, you
know, that's all you can hope for.
Golf carts can be fixed. No, I mean nothing, nothing too
crazy. I mean, we've had, you know,
health issues on the golf course.
I mean, I'll, I'll never forget it, but this was years ago.
We had a twosome that we paired up with another twosome like we

(48:01):
do all the time. And one of the guys in the
twosome literally had a heart attack on the third green.
And the twosome that we paired him up with, the guy was a
doctor. Oh.
Wow. Wow, you know, basically saved
his life on the third green. Just, you know, by chance, you
know, so, you know, we've had some, you know, crazy stuff like

(48:24):
that. You know, we've had some, you
know, GG wise obviously, like any course.
I mean we've had some, you know,we've hosted some great events.
We've had some incredible rounds.
I mean, hole in, you know, obviously holes in one, you
know, all the time. We try to promote when people
get those. Yeah, just a lot of fun stuff,

(48:47):
you know, nothing like crazy, you know.
But, you know, we've had some, you know, unique people play the
course. You know, throughout the years
we've hosted, you know, we hosted some great events where
we've had some, you know, some fun people that celebrities that
have played not nobody crazy, but you know, it's, you know,
through the years, yeah, we've we've seen some stuff.

(49:08):
As far as kind of your own opinion on just the course
layout set up, what's what's your your personal favorite golf
hole and which is your least favorite hole?
I, I, I probably agree, most people think 9's probably their
least favorite were par 5. The, the Greg Martin was forced,

(49:34):
there's some pipelines that go through that area of the golf
course. So his hand was kind of forced
in what they were able to excavate, not excavate.
And so, you know, the, you know,it's kind of a double dog, like
par 5 blind second shot, right? Really small green.
I think, I mean, personally it'sa good hole, but at the same

(49:55):
time it's a little, there's somequirkiness to it.
You know, I, I, I'd say people, you know, same thing on hole 14
on the back 9 where you have force carry with a marsh area.
Again, Greg's hand was forced a little bit with the DNR on what
they were able to excavate and not excavate due to the wetlands

(50:16):
there. So, you know, they were kind of
forced into the quote UN quote force carry.
And I know people are frustrate,get frustrated with that hole.
But I mean, 9, like I said, is probably I don't mind it, but
you know, I would say it, it is probably one of the more least
enjoyable holes. Hole two, I would say hole 2 was
until we fixed the green. Now it's great.
Yeah, I I like the new layout, that's for sure.

(50:38):
Yeah, it's fantastic. My favorite's. 18.
I think 18, I think 18 is a fantastic hole.
It's a great it's obviously if you're playing from the right
Tees. I think it's just such a great
risk reward par 5, especially being the finishing hole.
You know, I've come to that hole, you know, with a decent

(51:01):
score. And then in the in your mind,
all right, am I going to force the issue and you know, try try
to get this up and around the green over the hazard or, you
know, am I am I going to lay up?And if you lay up, the green is
so shallow and elevated that it's still a really hard shot.
So I just think it's AI think it's a great hole and I think

(51:22):
that it's the finishing hole is even better.
You know, I, you know, we've gotsome great other holes, but you
know, 18 always, you know, I think it's an easy answer for
me. Yeah, yeah, I do.
I do enjoy hole 9 based on my score.
There are times where it's great, I love it.
I'm like this is this is a fun hole.

(51:43):
And then other times where I I'mnot as excited.
Right. I mean, it's one of those holes
where, yeah, you can, you can make Par Bertie pretty easy and
you can make 70, you can make 70.
But I think that's what. You know, and, and I think
that's one of the hard things about the hole.
And like I said, if I think if there was just a, if he, if
Craig or when they designed it or were able to design it, I

(52:05):
think if they, they could have softened a little bit of it, I
think it, you know, it would play a little bit different.
I think there was originally a different design to that area,
but I, I can't be certain of that.
But like I said, it's just one of those holes where I don't
know, I think most people are frustrated with it.
But honestly, like I said, overall, like our layout, like

(52:27):
we've got, like I said, I love it because just there's such a
good mix of holes. Yeah, it's it's a fun course and
we'll we'll be digging into thata little bit with our own
feedback. But a couple last questions for
you and then we'll let you go. You've been very gracious with
your time. Appreciate it.
How would you rate your Brandy Old fashions?
So that's something that we've also been sampling wherever we

(52:48):
go on a if you were to rate it. I I will not speak from
experience. I'm not much of AA liquor
drinker. OK, I will, I will rate our, I
will rate our beer from we have a great selection.
Our, our tap handles are usuallywe've got a a great local flair

(53:08):
to, you know, a lot of what we offer and even into our bar
offerings too. I know our old fashions are
great. Our Bloody Marys, same thing.
You know, again, our food and beverage team, Katie and her
staff, they've got a great mix. They do some great things.
Again, they're always keeping upwith, you know, local breweries

(53:29):
and local trends of what's coming out.
I think that's one of the thingsthat, you know, we try to,
again, I think with our background or our owner's
background of farming local, youknow, that type of vibe, you
know, you'll see that from what you can, what you can get.
You know, we've got, we've got, you know, like I said, we've got

(53:51):
different, different vodkas and different whiskeys and, you
know, local stuff. And I think you can, you know,
if you're, you know, if you're an old fashioned drinker,
you'll, you'll be able to find the right mix here.
And you know, they do a good, like I said, they do a good job.
And then, you know, we, our, ourgoal is to overtime attempt to

(54:12):
golf every golf course in the state of Wisconsin.
There's a There's a lot of golf courses in your.
Opinion. Do you think that is an
achievable goal? I, I absolutely, you know,
absolutely. I think you know, I think I, why
not? Why not, right?
Like I, I think, you know, if you, I think once you get going

(54:33):
and honestly, I think then it becomes, you know, all right, if
we got, you know, the 1st 20 down and then you get another 20
and you're like, oh, and all of a sudden you're a halfway there.
Like I think it's kind of like it, it, it almost becomes an
obsession. But you know, obviously I think
it, but for I think it gives youa true appreciation of what

(54:54):
Wisconsin has to go offer. Obviously, you know, the bigger
courses, the sand valleys, the you know, the Kohler, Whistling
Straits, Black Wolf, Aaron Hills, Century world, like those
are all amazing golf courses andwe're spoiled to have them.
But when you get off the beaten trail and you find some of the
local courses and 9 hole coursesand par three courses like those

(55:17):
are you know, you meet some fun people.
You meet, you know, the you know, the real, you know, down
to earth and and real like, OK, this is, you know, the the the
local family that's running their 9 hole course and they're
the 4th generation doing it. Like those stories I think are
fun and but it also shows like you don't need, you know, the

(55:40):
$1,000,000 budget to have a golfcourse and to make it fun and
make people want to play there. And you know, to play them all
would be awesome. And to say you played them.
All I mean I look. Forward to following you guys
along. I hope you do it and I hope it's
a success. And you know, I, I, I, you know,
I hope that comes to fruition and you guys cross them all off

(56:01):
your list. And you know, I'm glad you can
cross us off the list early. That's very cool, Very cool.
Well, thank you very much for your time.
Yeah. Appreciate it.
Yeah, we've appreciated it. You've been very gracious and
and we're excited to get back out to the Oak soon.
Yeah, we appreciate it. Thank you, guys.
I yeah, this was a lot of fun. Very cool.
Well, thank you. Have a great rest of your day.

(56:22):
Yep. Thanks guys.
All right, that was our our interview with Sean and thanks
again for for being on the podcast and for for giving us
your insights and knowledge intothe course.
I feel like that was a great interview.
Hopefully everybody enjoys it. Yeah, it's always fun to hear

(56:43):
more from people who are actually involved.
And also too, could you imagine having your career be that close
into the world of golf? Yeah, that would be I, I think
it would be awesome, right? You know it.
Could be something that you justyou slowly over time, you you

(57:03):
lose, you lose that passion and love.
But it doesn't seem like he has.No.
And and for the amount of peoplethat they have out there every
single day like that blew my mind.
Just that the amount of events that they hold out there and,
and I guess I didn't realize howbig of an operation it was
before the conversation with Sean and just being able to kind

(57:26):
of get that into your, into yourto your mind is like, wow, that
they really do a great job of, of getting through the events.
And we and we've actually playedour league at night and they're,
they're having events still going on there.
And yet they they seem to be able to run everything through
there and and not not have everything get backed up so that

(57:49):
I think they do a great job out there.
Yeah, 100% yeah. Super, super interesting.
So now that you've you've gottena chance to hear from Sean,
you've had experience playing out there, how would you rate
the Oaks? Yeah, so this I'm just going to
throw out. So to play the Oaks in, in

(58:12):
Cottage Grove, there is a littledifference and, and the pricing
depending on what time you play it during the daytime.
So for a morning tee time, they,they do dynamic pricing.
So depending on what time of theday it is, the busier times are
a little bit more, but $8485 worth of cart you can, you can

(58:37):
see out there in the morning time, but then in the afternoon
you're playing their their twilight times.
It's $51 for a teen with a cart.So for me, I'm going to say, I'm
going to say that I would give this course a par I.

(59:05):
At that that price. Range at that, at that price
range for, for $85 for the 51 dollars, I would say that that
could be, that could be a birdie, but you know, when
you're paying 85 to $90.00 for atee time, I would say that

(59:27):
there's, there's a lot of comparable courses at that
range. I know that the the Oaks has a
special spot in your heart and and I I enjoy playing out there
a lot. And maybe it's just because we
we play it, you know, so much that sure, sure, but it it

(59:49):
definitely a course that'll keepbringing you back.
What do you have for thoughts onthat?
I, I'm, I'm mixed because I think in that market, in that
area, they, they definitely hold, I would say a higher
standard of golf than many of the other courses.

(01:00:10):
You know, I live here in Lake Mills.
Or you think about, you know, a few courses that are down the
road or there is a little bit ofa dead zone in this area for
golf at the level that they offer.
And you know, I've, I've been out there enough to feel like
you can play over and over againand have a different playing

(01:00:32):
experience depending on what's going on.
So for me, I would, this is a birdie course for me, you know,
maybe, maybe peak, peak summer peak hours when it's busy out
there, you get a lot of play that goes through there.
You know, you can run into some slow play.
I think they do a great job. So there's probably times where

(01:00:54):
that rating might drop down a little bit.
But in general, as far as the course goes, I I think it's it's
well designed and well maintained.
All right, Mike, you know what? Actually, Yeah, this is actually
a birdie course. I I feel like for what you're
paying, even in the morning, it's a course that you and I
have played multiple times. It keeps bringing you back.

(01:01:16):
And that's really what what the course is that are good courses
are. It's a course that you want to
continue to play and every time you play it, it's got a
different challenge. So I think I'm actually, I'll
say that this is a birdie course.
You know, that's it's a course that you and I, we've played it

(01:01:38):
a lot for a reason. You know, it's not I'm not going
to go. There's there's courses that are
equally as close to us that I would.
I don't. I don't want to play.
We'll rate those. Courses, we'll we'll rate those
courses at a different time, butfor for me, I would say that
it's it's a course that keeps bringing you back.

(01:01:58):
Obviously, Mike, and we, we've played it a lot.
We we did, we were in the leagueout there.
But yeah, that's that's what I would all right.
I feel like this was a good bogey breakdown.
So for next week we are going tobe playing a small 13 hole
course Jefferson Golf Club, and we are going to go and talk

(01:02:22):
about your experience volunteering at the US Women's
Open. Yeah, I'm excited.
Yeah, I'm looking forward to hearing about all of your
adventures. Also, I want to just give
another big shout out to the Oaks as well as Sean for his
time and walking us through the course and also allowing us to

(01:02:43):
play out there. All right, guys, thanks so much
for listening to us and thank you, Sean, for being on the
podcast and sharing your insights and knowledge about The
Oaks. If you like what you hear, like,
follow and subscribe to our podcast wherever you get your
podcasts and follow us on our social media pages.

(01:03:03):
We're on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
Where do you want to see us go next?
Let us know by sending us an e-mail at the Bogey
[e-mail] or by sliding on into our DMS.
Once again, thank you to The Oaks for their hospitality, for
all of the great times out thereplaying golf, and thanks again

(01:03:25):
to Sean Finley for being on the music.
Credits will be in the show notes and we will see you next
week when Mike and I review Jefferson Golf Course in
Jefferson, WI and talk about theUS Women's Open.