It was time for Pete Dye to build another golf course. But this course was going to be different from the parkland tracks Dye had constructed at Blackwolf Run. Kohler wanted the new layout on Lake Michigan to be in the style of seaside links. With massive dune lines, extensive bunkering, fescue grasses for the fairways, and rough and very few trees.

"Mr. Kohler's vision was to make it look wild and unkempt, with bunkers that seemed as if they had been formed over hundreds of years by the wind and weather and animals that wanted shelter from it," says former Director of Golf Steve Friedlander. Architect Tim Liddy, who helped Dye lay out the initial course at Whistling Straits, remembers when the designer first learned about that vision. "Pete came onto the property and stared across this incredibly flat piece of land that had little if any contours and elevation changes. Mr. Kohler showed up, and Pete asked him what kind, of course, he wanted Mr. Kohler with a wry smile said, Make it look like Ireland" and then walked away. Pete laughed at the prospect of building 60-foot dunes. Then he muttered something about Mr. Kohler's sanity for even thinking that." It was just like old times. Herb Kohler and Pete Dye were back in business. They agreed on basically three lines of dunes two miles long at an elevation of 10 feet near the lake rising to 70 feet two fairways away on the back nine.

Dye got started by moving a lot of earth to give the unvarying property that sense of an Irish links. That meant bringing in some 7,000 truckloads of sand from a pit on a farm ten miles away and using it to construct more than 1,200 bunkers and form the towering dunes and devilish undulations Kohler wanted. "There was a lot of dirt moved from day one, says Liddy, who later revamped The Duke's course in St Andrews, Scotland. "And that made the project pretty complex because there is so much work involved in that type of construction. You just are doing so much to the land, working it and working it until you get it right." Liddy recalls how the routing for the Straits course took shape as the bunkers and dunes were being built. "Pete took a scorecard from one of the Blackwolf Run courses and then laid out a potential routing on the back of that," he says. "He was looking at how many holes would be on the water, how much variety there would be between shots requiring draws and cuts. Then, I'd make plans from those, recording Pete's thoughts as if I was a draftsman. And Dye's thoughts were fairly cut and dried. "I was looking to create a good balance of golf," he says. "Balance between the par 4s and par 5s, the balance between the way different holes looked and played off the tees, playing shots in different directions and taking good advantage of the conditions that lakeside land gave us.'

COURSE NAME

The course was named by Herbert V. Kohler, Jr., Executive Chairman of Kohler Co., who was inspired while walking the land during early construction of the golf course. As he tells the story, the name came to mind quite naturally as it was a particularly blustery day, a north-to-south gale was whistling along the bluffs, and white caps were breaking on the rocky shoreline – the straits – of Lake Michigan. 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Overview: Whistling Straits® is a public, daily-fee golf facility with golf memberships available through the private club, Riverbend. It is a component of Destination Kohler centered in Kohler, Wisconsin. 

Designer: Pete Dye designed both courses at Whistling Straits, as well as both courses at Blackwolf Run®. 

Size of the site: 560 acres 

Configuration: Whistling Straits is comprised of two 18-hole courses: The Straits® and The Irish. 

Opening dates: The Straits – July 1998 The Irish – July 2000 

History of the site: In the 1950s, for approximately 9 years, the site had been used by the U.S. Army as an antiaircraft training facility called Camp Haven. Previously it was pancake-flat farmland. 

Sheep: A flock of Scottish blackface sheep was acquired for Whistling Straits, with the intent that the animals wander the property freely as might be encountered on a country course in the British Isles. The sheep are kept on-site during the golfing season (they are moved to an offsite farm during the winter months). 

Bunkers: The sand bunkers constructed for the course are composed of sand native to the area. Not all of the sand was original to the Whistling Straits property; additional sand from a site located 10 miles from the course was brought in to complete construction. In building The Straits, 7,000 truckloads of sand - approximately 105,000 cubic yards - were brought to the site. Maintenance of the bunkers is intended to be natural by the elements, primarily the wind; staff maintenance is minimal. 

Distinguishing Features:

• The Straits®
• Two miles of uninterrupted shoreline on Lake Michigan
• Eight holes hug the Lake Michigan shoreline
• View of Lake Michigan’s endless vista of water from all 18 holes
• Four stone bridges at holes 1, 9, 10 and 18.
• Bluffs and massive sand dune areas • Natural fescue fairways (rather than the traditional Bentgrass)
• Elevation change on the course (hole 15) is approximately 80 feet
• The Straits is a walking course only; walking distance for 18 holes on The Straits is approximately 5 miles
• Caddies required (prior to twilight) 

Grasses: The Straits

• Greens are a Bentgrass cultivar (named Providence)
• Tees are a Bentgrass cultivar (named Penncross)
• Fairways are a blend of three fescue cultivars
• Primary rough is the same fescue blend as fairways, but maintained at a higher cut
• Deep rough is a blend of four fescues
• The mounds and berms are largely left uncut 

Average size of the greens: 7,500 square feet

Average tee size: 6,000 square feet

Acres of fairway: 22

Acres of rough: 150

Sand bunkers: More than 500 bunkers

Water hazards: 14 

Distinguishing Features: The Irish

• Views of Lake Michigan are presented on holes 2, 11, 12 and 13
• Nearly 2,000 trees were planted in creating The Irish
• A 10.5-acre “lake” was constructed on the back nine of The Irish. It serves as a scenic enhancement and a hazard that comes into play on holes 16, 17 and 18.
• The Irish was designed as a walking course; walking distance for 18 holes on The Irish is approximately 5 miles
• Golf cars are available on request
• There are four streams that meander through The Irish
• The streams are traversed by ten wooden bridges constructed of wooden beams, telephone poles, railroad ties and yellow pine planks (eight bridges permit golf cars, two are for pedestrian traffic only) 

Grasses: The Irish

• Tees, fairways and greens are Bentgrass cultivars (tees are Penncross; greens are Providence; fairways are Penn Trio)
• Primary rough is a blend of five fescues 
• Deep rough surrounding the dunes is a blend of fine fescues
• The mounds and berms are largely left uncut 

Average size of the greens: 7,000 square feet

Average tee size: 5 sets; each 1,500 square feet

Acres of fairway: 27

Acres of rough: 150

Sand bunkers: More than 500

Water hazards: Creek or pond in play on 10 holes 

Golf Practice Facility:

Practice areas are located near the clubhouse for guests to practice prior to or following their rounds. Private lessons with video and computer swing analysis and instructional clinics are available from the Kohler Golf Academy professional staff. 

Tee Boxes:

Each hole at Whistling Straits® features multiple tee boxes with as many as seven on certain holes. Five tee placements are marked on each hole – red, white, green, blue and black, positioned for increasing degrees of difficulty. The arrangement allows players of varying abilities to play together without diminishing the thrill or challenge of the course. 

WALKING ONLY

In homage to golf’s origins, The Straits® and The Irish at Whistling Straits were designed as walking courses. There are no paved car paths on The Straits. The walkways linking the holes are gravel and grass, resembling country roads. Power cars are not permitted on The Straits but are available on The Irish by request. Golf cars are restricted to the paved pathways on The Irish. 

CADDIES

In keeping with the grand tradition of the game, The Straits and The Irish at Whistling Straits offer caddies. A valuable mainstay since the game of golf started more than 400 years ago, caddies continue to provide information on everything from yardage and the subtleties of individual holes and greens to the history of the course and clubhouse – enhancing a player’s appreciation of a course and the game. 

CLUBHOUSE

A flawlessly crafted 13,000-square-foot structure that greets golfers with the warmth and rustic charm found in the Scottish countryside. Clubhouse Architect: Herb Quast, Kohler Co. Interior Designer: Cheryl Rowley of Beverly Hills, California 

Clubhouse Distinguishing Features:

Exterior:

• Rubble stone exterior walls
• Slate roofs with projecting rake detail
• Lannon stone patio with grape arbor

Interior:

• Hand-hewn timber supports throughout
• Five fireplaces
• Men’s locker room has custom tiles by Ann Sacks Tile & Stone, and lavatory basins by Kohler Co. feature Whistling Straits® logo 

First Floor:

• Restaurant, seating 64, with stone fireplace, views of 18th hole
• Spacious golf shop with stone fireplace 

Second Floor:

• Bar with stone fireplace
• Locker rooms for 129 men and 28 women; men’s has two stone fireplaces 

Players’s Room

• Accommodates up to 28, with stone fireplace and handsomely decorated 

IRISH BARN

A stone shelter in the style of an Irish barn was added to the site in 1999. The pavilion structure, with solid stone walls on three sides and an open face toward Lake Michigan and the golf course, was designed to be used for group functions and weddings. 

CHAMPIONS’ LOCKER ROOM

The 8,722-square-foot Champions’ Locker Room at Whistling Straits was constructed for large corporate golf outings and major golf tournaments. It is located in the vicinity of the 10th tee on The Straits® and is similar in structure and aesthetics to the current Whistling Straits Clubhouse. The Champions’ Locker Room features two distinct locker rooms equaling 204 full-sized lockers. During championship golf tournaments, the locker room is used solely by the golf professionals, offering a distinct location allowing uncommon privacy for the players.