Golf Destination: Kohler (WI)

The Wisconsin Dream 18: The State’s Best Golf Holes

While the idea behind this post is not original, it’s a fun practice and one I’ve tried a dozen or so times in the past but got too frustrated to finish. I decided to give it a go again, especially as I reflect on what was a great season of golf in Wisconsin and look…

The Baths at Blackwolf Run: Kohler’s Newest Golf Experience

The newest golf amenity at Destination Kohler, The Baths at Blackwolf Run is the perfect way to spend an hour or four before, between or following rounds on their championship courses. Designed in partnership between former Pete Dye protege Chris Lutzke and Herb Kohler, Jr., The Baths is an incredibly fun golf experience featuring Golden…

Blackwolf Run, Meadow Valleys: Wisconsin’s Best Back 9

As I wrote in my recent stream-of-consciousness entry “The State of the Game of Golf in Wisconsin,” destination golf in the Badger State began in earnest at Blackwolf Run. Development of its Original Championship course marked the start of a long and successful partnership between Herb Kohler and Pete Dye, and proved to be the…

Pine Hills Country Club: Big Things on the Horizon

Several miles down the road from Blackwolf Run, Sheboygan’s Pine Hills CC is one of the top 3 private golf courses in the state. But they’re not stopping there. Upcoming renovation work by Drew Rogers should turn its weakest hole in to one of its best, and other improvements plus fresh eyes on the 92-year-old…

Painting by Kris Halsrud: The 17th at Whistling Straits, Straits Course

Kris Halsrud is a talented writer, golfer and IT professional. Like me, he has blogged about golf for years, and over the past five or so years we’ve built a friendship through our golf writing and love of the game. While most of my writing revolves around the Wisconsin golf scene, Kris’s is more focused…

PGA Championship Volunteering Experience at Whistling Straits

With the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits for the third time in 2015, I lept at the opportunity this year to take part in it. North Hills Country Club, where I have been a member for the past three years, teamed up this year with Tuckaway Country Club to marshal the fourteenth hole. I have never volunteered…

PGA Championship Week at Whistling Straits

It’s here – today is day one of the PGA Championship week at Whistling Straits! The weather in Kohler, Wisconsin has been waffling between overcast and rainy, and sunny and perfect, but practice rounds are being played today and tomorrow until 7:30 pm CST. I will be making the trip up to the Straits tomorrow after…

Golf Course Photography: Whistling Straits, Irish Course

As a marshal for the upcoming PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, I have had access at times to discounted tee times at the Kohler courses, including the Irish course at Whistling Straits, the Straits (last season), the River course (last season) and the Meadow Valleys course at Blackwolf Run. Seven friends of mine and I…

Golf Course Review: Blackwolf Run, Meadow Valleys

Blackwolf Run, Meadow Valleys Course Rankings: Golf Digest: #72 US public, #10 WisconsinGolfWeek: #10 Wisconsin public Designer: Pete Dye (1998) . The Blackwolf Run, Meadow Valleys course has been reviewed more recently (September 2021), and the updated course review be found here:Golf Course Review: Blackwolf Run, Meadow Valleys The Meadow Valleys golf course at Blackwolf…

Golf Course Review: Whistling Straits, Straits Course

Whistling Straits, Straits Course Rankings: Golf Digest: #4 US public, #22 US top 100, #48 world top 100, #6 US toughest, #1 Wisconsin GolfWeek: #6 US modern, #4 US resort, #1 Wisconsin public Golf.com: #28 US top 100, #6 US public, #49 world top 100 Designer: Pete Dye (1997) Currently rated the number two public golf…

Golf Course Review: Pine Hills Country Club

Ranked by Golf Digest as the number eight overall course in the state of Wisconsin, and third among private clubs, Pine Hills Country Club is a hidden gem located just miles from Kohler’s Blackwolf Run property. The similarities between the Blackwolf Run’s River course and Pine Hills are striking, but the two also differ in…

Golf Course Review: The River Course at Blackwolf Run

Blackwolf Run, River Course Rankings: Golf Digest: #16 US public, #32 US toughest, #4 Wisconsin GolfWeek: #56 US modern, #17 US resort, #3 Wisconsin public Golf.com: #89 US top 100, #14 US public Designer: Pete Dye (1988) A true Pete Dye masterpiece, the River at Blackwolf Run is unanimously the second rated course in Wisconsin, Golf…

Golf Course Review: The National at Par 5 Resort (fka Fox Hills)

The weekend we played the National was my Uncle Paul’s 60th birthday party in Two Rivers – the town my mother’s family grew up in. Relatives from around the country flew in for the event, and we stayed at the Fox Hills Resort just outside of town, in Mishicot. Saturday morning was a designated day for…

Golf Course Review: The Bull at Pinehurst Farms

Designed by Jack Nicklaus and widely regarded as one of the top five golf courses in Wisconsin, and top 100 in the nation, The Bull is a beautiful and unrelenting championship course. Spread out over 400-plus acres of former farm land, The Bull beautifully incorporates the Onion River, dense forest, rolling hills, deep ravines, large…

Whistling Straits, Irish Course

The Straits course at Whistling Straits, site of the 2004 and 2010 PGA Championships and future site of the 2015 PGA Championship and 2020 Ryder Cup, is slated as the number three course in the United States (according to GolfWeek and Golf Digest), and is the perennial number one track in the state of Wisconsin.…