Do you have a golf bucket list? Most of us do, but as I’ve aged (now 65 with a bullet), I’m raging against the term. “Bucket list” makes me think of mortality. As I do not plan on going gently into that good night, might I humbly suggest a more upbeat and life-affirming term: the Golfer-Do list?
So today’s question is simple. As we rage, rage, against the dying of the light, should Destination Kohler (better known to you and me as Whistling Straits and Blackwolf Run) be on your Golfer-Do list?
And, if so, how high?
If you’re a golfer with a soul, Pebble Beach and St Andrews should be alone at the top of that list. Destination Kohler (we’ll call it Whistling Straits for simplicity) is a notch or two below, along with Bandon, Pinehurst and a few others. It’s not a big drop, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with the quality of golf. Both Pebble and St Andrews carry a magic earned through history. It can’t be replicated but it can be emulated.
Whistling Straits does an admirable job of emulating that feeling (the first thing you want to do on 18 is find DJ’s bunker) and it’s eminently more accessible than Pebble or The Old Course. The question, of course, is value.
Everyone reading this article has their own definition of value. Sure, it’s subjective, but we trip all over ourselves by trying to impose a scorekeeping analysis in hopes of coming up with a definitive answer.
We’re not going to do that. What we will do is tell you what we paid and what we think. After that, it’ll be up to you to decide whether it should be on your Golfer-Do list.
(You’re starting to like that term, aren’t you?)
Whistling Straits: Facts and figures
As mentioned, what we commonly refer to as Whistling Straits is the coastal half of Destination Kohler. Located roughly an hour north of Milwaukee and an hour south of Green Bay, Destination Kohler includes the Whistling Straits golf complex on the shores of Lake Michigan in the city of Sheboygan, as well as Blackwolf Run, about 20 minutes away in the village of Kohler.
The Whistling Straits complex is the one you know. It features two courses: The Straits is the famous one, having hosted the Ryder Cup in 2021 and PGA Championships in 2004, 2010 and 2015. The Irish is the lesser-known (but still formidable) sister course. The Blackwolf Run complex includes The River and Meadow Valleys as well as the fabulous 10-hole par-3 course called The Baths. Blackwolf Run also has a major legacy, having hosted the U.S. Women’s Open in 1998 and 2012.
The “Kohler” in Destination Kohler is, of course, the village of Kohler. It’s also Kohler Company, the plumbing fixture giant. Kohler Company chairman Herb Kohler (who passed in 2022) spearheaded Destination Kohler, hiring Pete Dye to create the two courses at Blackwolf Run in 1988. He would later buy abandoned farmland on Lake Michigan and turn Dye loose there. The Straits opened in 1999 and The Irish opened a year later.
We’ve examined the golf experience in detail before (you can check it out here) but it’s fair to say the Kohler courses range from very good (Meadow Valleys) to spectacular (Straits). The Irish is perhaps the best combination of fun and challenging while The River is Pete Dye’s test of how much you love golf.
Should you do Whistling Straits package or a la carte?
Let’s get the obvious out of the way first. All four courses belong on your Golfer-Do list. Ranking them is pretty simple: Straits is a top priority, followed by Irish, River and Meadow Valley. If you read our previous review, you’ll find I feel the same way about the River as I do about colonoscopy prep but, hey, it is what it is.
The next question is: If you do choose to go, what is the best option? We chose a package but tee times are surprisingly easy to score if you just want to play one or two of the courses and stay nearby. You can book tee times on the Destination Kohler website up to 30 days in advance. A quick check this morning shows surprising availability as long as your plans are flexible.
Greens fees are what you’d expect. They may not make you happy but they are what you’d expect.
The Straits will run you $735 ($455 twilight) while The Irish is $395 ($270 twilight). Over at Blackwolf Run, The River is $495 ($340 twilight) and Meadow Valleys is $395 ($270 twilight). That 10-hole Baths course is $80. The Straits is walking-only (a caddie is mandatory) while electric carts and forecaddies are available at the other courses.
If you’re lucky enough to score convenient tee times on your own at all five courses, the total would come to $2,100 for four full rounds plus 10 holes at The Baths. The resort has two hotels. A standard double room at the upscale American Club starts at $730 per night. A double room at the Inn on Woodlake runs $425 per night in season.
Depending on your plans, packages become a bit more appealing.
“To Dye Four”
Destination Kohler offers five golf packages to choose from, ranging from a single-round, single-night getaway to a five-night Full Monty experience.
Our group chose the To Dye Four package for $2,886 per person (taxes included). It includes three nights at the Inn on Woodlake, one round at each of the four 18-hole courses, plus a round at The Baths. That price also includes all caddie fees (not including tips), cart fees, locker room use, bag storage and transfer, plus unlimited use of the practice facilities.
The package also includes a boatload of nice extras, including free replays at the Irish, Meadow Valleys and Baths courses, which we were able to lock in at the time of our booking. A full off-the-menu breakfast was also included for each morning of our stay.
Additionally, the package features a half-hour lesson per person at the Kohler Golf Academy. Since there were four of us, the Academy gave us two instructors and what amounted to a two-hour golf clinic. There’s only so much a clinic like that can accomplish but both instructors were very good and gave each of us some helpful tips on everything from the full swing to sand play (critical at Kohler) and putting. Typical lesson rates start at $220 per hour for two students.
Other nice touches include a lovely leather Whistling Straits scorecard holder, plus bag tags, ball markers and tees for each course. We also had full access to Kohler’s Sports Core community fitness center, which we used, and 20 percent off services at the Kohler Waters Spa, which we did not use.
Options and logistics
The To Dye Four package is Kohler’s most popular. Not far behind is the Champions’ Trail Package, which includes two nights’ accommodations, plus rounds at The Straits, River and your choice of The Irish or Meadows Valley (go for the Irish!). Everything else, including complimentary replays and the half-hour golf lesson, is the same. If you plan it right and use your complimentary replays wisely, you can play all four courses and squeeze in the lesson and a round at The Baths on your arrival day.
The five-day Kohler Experience features four rounds plus free replays and all the other features of To Dye Four. It also includes access to Kohler’s River Wildlife, a private, 500-acre preserve that offers hiking, fishing and kayak rentals, along with pheasant hunting and pistol and rifle shooting.
Kohler keeps package pricing close to the vest so you’ll have to contact them over the phone to get specifics. Our trip was in mid-June so we had maximum daylight for golf. We booked the package in January which allowed us to get our preferred tee times.
Kohler runs a pretty tight ship. Once we arrived, the staff took care of our clubs and made sure they were at the right courses at the right times. They even printed out our full itinerary on a bag tag so we always knew where we were supposed to be. Our group had two rental cars to get us back and forth but the resort does run shuttles between the hotels and courses.
Is Whistling Straits worth it?
If you’re saving up for one big Golfer-Do trip in your lifetime, Pebble or St Andrews should be tops on your list. Pebble is the most iconic golf property in North America and St Andrews is the Home of Golf. That said, Whistling Straits and Pinehurst are awesome second-tier choices. Both feature top-shelf golf and are easier to get to and get on than Bandon Dunes.
You can build a “budget” trip to Whistling Straits, especially if you only want to play The Straits. You’ll pay the full rack rate but you can stay wherever you want and build a trip around several other awesome courses in southern Wisconsin, including Erin Hills, SentryWorld, Lawsonia Links and Sand Valley.
Give Whistling Straits credit, though. Complimentary replays allow you to pack in as much golf as you can play. Service is top notch, caddies are included and you can’t beat a two-hour golf clinic for your foursome. Basic rooms at the Inn on Woodlake are slightly upscale from a Marriott Courtyard and the Kohler bathroom fixtures made showering a joy.
Everything else, from breakfast to the free brats at the turn to clockwork bag service and excellent caddies (our man Adam was fantastic), was first-class. You will get your money’s worth at Kohler.
So, if you’ve already done Pebble or St Andrews and have another Golfer-Do list trip on the docket, we can heartily recommend Whistling Straits. You’ll have a blast.
If you’re saving up for the once-in-a-lifetime adventure, however, Pebble and St Andrews should be tops on your list.
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