Whistling Straits (Straits) - Wisconsin - USA

Sand, fescue, and amazing lake views: that’s what you get when you play the Straits course. Eight of the greens (including all four par threes) hover perilously on the bluff over Lake Michigan, and the holes are oriented on several of them to point the player towards the lake, making the green approaches more visually intimidating. The massive dune landforms as part of the design are all man-made, as the property was exactly the same as the surrounding flat farmland on the bluff overlooking the lake prior to the Dyes coming in. It’s a striking difference that you note in only a couple of places, the extreme ends of the property. The only hole that feels like it’s truly natural to the landscape is #5, the long par five bordering a pond that seems so out of touch with the rest of the land. But when you’re on a lakeside hole, you forget all that and think: what a place! Admittedly, having only played it in its nascent form, I might not be the best judge of the course in its current state, but I remember it quite well. (One impression that stuck in my college-age mind: it seemed like all the employees of the club – even the Straits course’s grounds crew! – were beautiful young blond women. Was it heaven?)

My favorite holes: #4, a brute of a par four with a blind approach, #8, a long, mounded par four overlooking the lake, #12, a short par three with a funky shaped green, #14, a par four that (for us) turned back into the wind and provided challenging angles of attack at the green, and #17, one of the most terrifying par threes I’ve ever seen, playing straight down a hill at the lake.

On a personal note, this course was the site one of my golfing career highlights. Holing out from 110 yards for eagle on #9 in front of a few dozen people looking down from the clubhouse to shoot a then-career-best 33 on the front nine is a memory I’ll always cherish. It’s a spectacular golf course and a once-in-a-lifetime experience that should ultimately prove to be Pete Dye’s greatest lasting legacy.

Played July 2, 2001

Credit architect Pete Dye in creating a golf canvass on land that was anything but golf centric in its earliest days. The land that the Straits course occupies was formerly an abandoned airfield called Camp Haven -- existing from 1949-1959. Owner Herbert Kohler saw the possibility in having a golf course situated immediately alongside Lake Michigan but taking that vision and transforming it into the course one sees today would take someone with immense creative genius. Enter Pete Dye.

Consider the following: more than one million tons of cubic earth was used to fill the site. Over 13,000 truckloads of sand were also used equating to 80,000 cubic yards of such material.

So before people go on about how "natural" the course is it's important to always remember how much of a man's hand was responsible for the actual finished product. When people discuss Herculean creations such as Shadow Creek and Dye's Ocean Course at Kiawah -- the genesis of the Straits is easily in that conversation.

Dye's finished product is meant to replicate the famous dunes lands of Scotland and Ireland. The vistas provided by Lake Michigan are akin to being adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean or Irish Sea when playing across the pond and there are days when the fierceness of the wind -- hence the name "whistling" as coined by Kohler -- is more than apt.

In such a short time the Straits has been ground zero for a number of key golf championships. Since 2004 the Straits has been the host venue for three (3) PGA Championships -- most notable for the fact that no American was among that roster of winners. In 2020, the course will stage the Ryder Cup Matches -- the ultimate team event in all of golf.

I've played the course several times over the years and fortunately, with just one exception, the weather has been good. Pity anyone forced to encounter the harshest of elements because the Straits gives no quarter. When the world's best players have been at the Straits for the various PGA Championships those events have been always in August. Should any future PGA's come to the facility the new time frame in May will likely show another side of the course.

Kohler has attempted to add all the extras when playing there. During a round it's not uncommon to see the 40 or more Scottish Blackface sheep that roam around the property.

The course begins with a modest mid-length par-4. Just to get the round going. The early holes move in a southerly direction and the par-5 2nd is a long and testing three-shot hole. Once you reach the 3rd, Dye then has face Lake Michigan immediately to your left. The most challenging aspect of the Straits is the psychological horror Dye creates for the short holes. Throw in a healthy dosage of wind and you can certainly have some serious scorecard wreckage. This is especially so at the 7th, 12th, and 17th holes. When the pin is cut to the extreme right at the 12th the landing area appears as the size of someone's bedroom.

The Straits does have low points. The pond one sees at the par-5 5th was necessitated because of environmental reasons. The hole is still a good one but the inclusion of pond is a misfit for what the course is seeking to demonstrate viscerally.

The inward half of holes is where the qualities of The Straits does reach a crescendo. The dog-leg left uphill short par-4 10th is often missed by many for the fine hole it presents. Plenty of options and plenty of scores can happen here. Dye excels in always throwing in a range of mental images that can easily distract the feint of heart. Players must thoroughly commit to the shot they're attempting to play. That's not always easy when a 20-30 mph crosswind is howling.

The ending trio wraps up the round in a very demanding way. The par-5 16th can be a birdie hole but not without three solid shots to get to the green. The long par-3 17th has been mentioned by others. Suffice to say, the slightest pull will result in someone from your group throwing you a lifejacket because unless the high grass intervenes you'll be humming the bars of that famous Bobby Darin song -- "Splish Splash."

The ending hole provides mixed emotions for me. The length is certainly present -- 520 yards. The hole goes uphill before turning left and descending to a green that is not only massive in size but is cordoned into various sections so an able and accurate approach is central to leave the final green with a smile intact instead of a paralyzing frown.

There's little question that high stakes tournament golf will be a permanent feature for Whistling Straits. The costs to play are exorbitant and the pace of play can be frustrating as people attempt to circumvent the endless obstacles -- over 1,000 bunkers present throughout the property with eight holes hugging the shoreline. Kohler has provided a golf oasis with other courses and the American Club provides first rate lodging, food and related amenities.

Is The Straits the best Dye course?

I would say no given such others as The Ocean Course at Kiawah, Teeth of the Dog in the Dominican Republic and The Golf Club just outside of Columbus are all vintage designs. However, the Straits is clearly an impressive creation given what was on the site previously. Having the Ryder Cup Matches there in 2020 will be most interesting to watch in how the course is prepared for the bi-annual tussle between Europe and the USA.

The downside is when the course is overloaded with golfers clearly beyond their comfort zones and pace of play resembles a funeral procession. Those who venture to play The Straits had best move up one tee box because the course does not suffer fools gladly and you will certainly Dye for it. No pun intended.

by M. James Ward

The Straits course is an outstanding layout and probably my favorite Pete Dye course I've every played. The course is laid out in an interesting figure of 8 loop that brings the wind into play in a slightly different direction on every hole. In this feature the course is similar to Muirfield. The course starts on an inland hole then turns out to Lake Michigan. All told 7 holes run along the lake with the water most dangerously in play on 3 of the 4 par 3 holes. The course is full of undulation and elevation changes. Every hole presents a different and unique challenge. Dye has provided a number of spectacular shots but almost every hole has a safe route or bail out area that makes the course quite a bit of fun to play. Caddies are required but the course is very easy and enjoyable to walk.

Although the layout and design have features in common with a links course, the ground is not true links land and the course does not play hard and fast like a true links. However this is a fantastic layout easily on par with Pebble Beach and other spectacular waterside courses. The Kohler resort is a first class destination and I would encourage every golfer to play here. Read my full story here: The Wisconsin "Pearl" Golf Trip

Richard Smith

Knoxville, Tennessee

With the U.S. PGA arriving this week, I thought it an appropriate time to record my thoughts on the half dozen rounds I’ve played here. For golf geeks, the first question is how to assess a course that emulates links golf on land so flat that it once hosted an airplane runway. Those who favor the minimalist school of architecture often dismiss such artificial creations (e.g. St. Andrews Castle, Arcadia Bluffs). My own view is that one has to evaluate such a course the same way as any other—whether the holes were found without much dirt movement or sculpted from a dull landscape. It’s a challenge to build good holes with no features to start with and it’s also my view that Pete Dye’s work here was done spectacularly well. The figure eight routing of each nine provides plenty of lovely views and affords great variety in the commonly windy conditions. While the Straits will present a challenge to the best in the world this week, it’s quite playable for less talented golfers, often because Dye built wide fairways and huge greens (nearly 10,000 square feet on average).Nonetheless, there’s a better side of most fairways and always a better spot on each green. There are a few holes which are not strong, but three times as many splendid ones—including all the par 3s. Wisconsin winters can be challenging and there have been some years where early season conditions are not ideal. I’ve never had a slow round here (finished once in 2:20……….playing by myself) but I’ve always played in the spring. I place Whistling Straits alongside the world’s best “modern links” courses: those at Bandon, Barnbougle, Kingsbarns, and Streamsong.

Played the course twice in a week, in good weather. A wonderful experience, fantastic views and so many memorable holes. The condition was good (it should be as the USPGA follows in a couple of months!) and the greens were great.Not true links imo, but pretty close - maybe I would feel differently if there had there been more wind . A walking course and you have to employ a caddie. The caddie was helpful but this pushed the total cost for each round to $550 and that does spoil the euphoria somewhat. That stops me giving the course 6 balls.

Whistling Straits is a walking course only. I played it with one of the top-ranking amateurs in Wisconsin. The caddies were helpful even though the course had only been open for a few months, and watching my partner negotiate that course from the tips was a thing of beauty. I had a tough day in the trees. Next to Pebble Beach, Whistling Straits may be the best golf resort in the U.S. It came on the list almost immediately after it was built in 1998 and in 2004 hosted the PGA Championship. It is the first course to get such an award prior to being completed.

It, too, is a stern test of golf, until the wind dies down and the beast becomes somewhat tamer. The par-3 17th directly borders Lake Michigan. It is protected by wooded planks in front and a 20-foot plunge to the lakeshore on the left. The 500-yard finishing hole requires a monstrous and accurate drive just to reach the fairway, and then you must negotiate a cloverleaf green that, according to Darren Clark, “depending on the pin placement could leave players with dogleg putts.” All of the holes have names: 17 and 18 are called “Pinched Nerve” and “Dyeabolical,” respectively. Shaun Michael, the defending PGA Champion in 2004, said, “I had a few words of my own I wanted to call them.” Larry Berle.

Absolutely stunning! Cannot fault the course and I can only see it rising higher in the rankings as the years go by. The PGA next year should be great but even better will be the Ryder Cup in 2020!

Good links style track but expensive and walking only. Very penal but fair. Manicuring not that great - especially fairways. Arcadia Bluffs across the lake as good or better at half the price, carts with gps too.

What a fantastic golf course.Definitely it is one of the best I've ever played and I played 7 courses out of the TOP100.The condition was perfect and the layout is GRAND. Love it every minute, cant' wait to go back.The only gripe is that it doesn't play fast and firm thus it isn't really a true links golf.

A fantastic layout. We caught it on a beautiful fall day. I thought it was a very fair but tough course if played from the appropriate tees. Greens were very quick but true. It is definitely a Top 100 in the world! If you have any reasonable opportunity, do not miss the chance to play.