Introduction
Located at Lawn Lawn Resort in Delavan, Wisconsin, Majestic Oaks Golf Course has earned its place in the local golf community over its 100+ years of existence. With beautiful lakefront holes and eighteen outstanding greens, this is a course that any golfer should check out if they find themselves in the area.
Practice Facilities
The practice facilities at Majestic Oaks Golf Course are limited. There is no driving range or short game area, just a mid-sized practice green where you can chip and putt. The practice green does accurately match the speed of the greens on the course, which is important.
Customer Service & Amenities
Every cart at Majestic Oaks Golf Course is equipped with a GPS unit that provides a full color overview of the hole. In addition to front, middle, and back of the green distances, it offers yardages to key areas like bunkers or water hazards.
Inside the large pro shop, you’ll find a wealth of soft goods and equipment from TaylorMade, Titleist, and Callaway. The pro shop shares a building with the Clubhouse Bar & Grill where you can grab snacks for the turn or post up after your round.
Lake Lawn Resort is home to numerous other dining options and amenities that you can learn about HERE.
Beauty & Scenery
Majestic Oaks Golf Course earns its name with holes that are lined with mature trees. Even though they were just filling in for our spring round, the tree lines provide visual definition and substantial challenge for each hole.
The other defining characteristic of Majestic Oaks is Lake Delavan. Several of the opening holes play along the shoreline and are the most memorable on the course. The back nine is located in the center of the property, but the elevation provides superb views of the water.
Tee Shots
Tipping out at 6,244 yards, Majestic Oaks Golf Course is not a course that will beat you up with its length. Even though there are several holes that play sharply uphill, much of the course’s distance is claimed on long par 3s and a couple muscular 4s and 5s, so players with above average speed will have no problems playing the back tees. The middle and forward tees at 5,811 and 4,975 yards provide meaningfully different options to add replay variety.
The fairways at Majestic Oaks are no more than average in width – and some are quite narrow – but there’s ample room for those that spray their driver. Only four fairway sides are any trouble at all. Hitting it sideways may have you playing from another hole, but this course gives you ample opportunity to recover and salvage par.
There is not a huge premium on strategic play off the tee at Majestic Oaks. The fairways are mostly straight and flat. If you can keep your ball out of the tree line, you’ll have a chance to shoot a very nice score.
Approaches
While the tee shots are pretty straightforward, your approach shots will require more thought and craft. The greens at Majestic Oaks Golf Course are at most average in size, and they play smaller than that. There are times when the shape of the green can act to your benefit, but typically they just shrink the desired landing area.
This demand for precision is balanced with favorable conditions. If you hit the fairway, your stance should be fairly flat and level. The grass isn’t cut super tight, offering players a little more room for error. The penalty for finding the rough is not severe as the grass is only slightly taller and thicker. It’s possible to catch a bit of a flyer, but you won’t see the grass grab your club and minimize your speed.
The one way you can get yourself into trouble at Majestic Oaks is by playing in the namesake feature. If you’re playing in the spring or fall, you can attempt the heroic shot through the trees, but that’s not a smart play during the peak season. Take your medicine, advance the ball, and try to get up and down for par.
Greens & Surrounds
The greens are where Majestic Oaks Golf Course really shines. From the very first hole, Drew and I were talking about the amount of character, the speed, and the pure roll we were getting. Most of the greens on the course feature either two tiers or a “cigar roll” that splits the putting surface in two. This is in addition to shoulders and undulations. In terms of shaping and interest, this may be the best set of greens I’ve seen at a course this affordable.
In addition to being interesting, these greens are quick. The head pro told us the greens were running at a 13 recently, and they weren’t much slower on the day we played. Not only are they speedy, the roll pure. Throughout our round, the speed was consistent, and every putt rolled true.
The primary defense of these greens is sand. Most of the bunkers are average in depth, but many are quite large. The bunkers are really well maintained, but the best approach is to avoid them entirely. If you can stay out of the sand, there’s not much difficulty getting up and down at Majestic Oaks Golf Course.
Overall Design
I gave Majestic Oaks Golf Course one of my highest compliments, comparing the overall style of play to Winter Park [review HERE], the course I consider the platonic ideal for recreational golf. This is a course that anyone can enjoy. It’s not going to run away from you with length, and it won’t gobble up a ton of golf balls. However, there’s enough interest and challenge into and on the greens that accomplished players can still have a great time. If I lived in the area, I would snap up a season pass to Majestic Oaks in a heartbeat.
Favorite Holes
#2 – Par 3 – 165 Yards
With apologies to the opening hole, #2 is where Majestic Oaks gets its legs. This is a very pretty par 3 that plays downhill to toward Lake Delavan. A substantial ridge divides the front of the green from the back, essentially halving the landing area for those intent on making birdie.
#3 – Par 5 – 613 Yards
The longest hole at Majestic Oaks Golf Course plays entirely on the lakeshore. You’ll be tempted to bomb away with your tee shot, but you need to be strategic about hitting this twisting fairway. If your drive ends up behind a tree, your chances of birdie will fly away. Try to get a wedge in your hand for your third so you can get on the proper side of this bisected green.
#8 – Par 4 – 303 Yards
While it’s not technically the shortest of the par 4s, #8 is the most drivable due to the lack of elevation change. However, a bunker protects the green from a straightforward approach. Try to hit your drive to pin high left for a pitch and putt birdie.
Conclusion
Majestic Oaks Golf Course may not have the same level of notoriety *cough* ad budget *cough* as some of its neighbors, don’t let that keep you away. This is a fun track for golfers of all experience and ability levels, and the price makes it a place you can play again and again.
Visit Majestic Oaks Golf Course HERE
Editor In Chief at Plugged In Golf
He founded Plugged In Golf in 2013 with the goal of helping all golfers play better and enjoy the game more.
Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.