West Bend Country Club

West Bend CC is a very good golf club. The front nine was built in 1930 by Langford & Moreau, a an outstanding duo who built a lot of great courses in the Midwest. The back nine was built in 1960 and is more of a modern design. The property is spectacular having elevation changes
created by glacial retreat.
The food is great — new chef– and a new golf pros fir 2011.

Country Clubs. They evoke the image of the «well heeled» playing tennis, swimming in an Olympic sized pool or hitting a ball along the terraced fairways. Of cotillions on warm summer nights and of having a drink at the bar with your closest friends. Well, other than the pool, the tennis courts, and cotillions, you would be describing the West Bend Country Club.
The West Bend Country Club is a pretty standard club. Membership here also allows a reciprocal relationship with a couple of other clubs in Wisconsin which is a nice perk. They have two levels of membership– social– just for eating in the restaurant, and golf which allows access to the full experience. This review is for a social membership only, and since there is no pool at the club– it is really only just for the dining room.
I have been here for business lunches, special events, holidays, Sunday brunch– you name it! I guess that’s a good thing– as with every membership, there is a minimum required spend per month that you need to hit as a member. My challenge with that– is I often get tired of eating at the same place just to hit the quota, as my relatives and friends who live near here constantly make this their first suggestion when eating out.
What you usually expect from a private facility like this, is unparalleled service, food that you can’t get anywhere else and facilities that are second to none. After all– that is what your membership dues go toward and most clubs I’ve been associated with deliver on this in an amazingly consistent way.
But I continue to struggle with that expected level of service here. Granted I get that this is a «smallish» town in Wisconsin so maybe my expectations should be different than a country club in a major metro area– but in my opinion– if you are going to charge dues– you better have your act in gear. Service here is okay at best and borders dangerously close to absent at times which used to be unheard of in a private club.
The food, on the other hand, is quite good which is why this is a 3 star review. I’ve never had a meal here that didn’t meet my expectations.
Country Clubs. They aren’t for everyone. They tout the best food and service and allow for golf on the better courses. As for me? I’d just as soon eat with the «less well heeled» and have lower expectations of the personal service and attention. But that’s just me.