10 destinations have three or more highly ranked courses on Golfweek’s Best Top 200 Resort Courses list.
What do you really want in a golf trip? If your answer is golf, golf, then more golf in one spot, sometimes followed by a wee bit of extra golf, we have you covered.
Golfweek’s Best ranks courses around the world by various categories, ranging from modern courses to the best in each state. One of our most popular rankings is the top 200 resort courses in the U.S.
Any of the layouts on the list would make for a great getaway. More than three dozen resorts have two courses on the list, always begging for a comparison between layouts over a nice cold drink and dinner after a full day of golf.
But if you’re looking for more, keep reading. Because 10 resorts are home to three or more courses on Golfweek’s Best ranking of top resorts in the U.S. From coastal Oregon to inland Florida, these destinations have the holes — and the pedigrees — to keep golfers swinging for days.
Pinehurst No. 4 (Courtesy of Pinehurst Resort)
Six of these resorts have three courses ranked among the top 200. They are Big Cedar Lodge in Missouri, Firestone Country Club in Ohio, Pebble Beach Resorts in California, the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Alabama, Sea Pines in South Carolina and Streamsong in Florida.
Two of these are not traditional resorts. The first is Firestone, which for the most part is a private members club. But Firestone offers stay-and-play packages open to the public. That qualifies it as a resort based on Golfweek’s Best standards in which any course that offers tee times to the public, even if the club is mostly a private facility, is deemed to be public-access.
The other in question is the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, which offers golf at 11 sites around the state. Because all the facilities are managed under one umbrella and offer great opportunities to bounce from one site to another with relative ease, we opted to include the Trail on this list.
Next up are the resorts with four courses ranked among the top 200 — rarefied air. They are Destination Kohler in Wisconsin (Whistling Straits and Blackwolf Run are two clubs, each with two courses, that are part of one resort) and Reynolds Lake Oconee in Georgia, which is a sprawling resort and residential community.
Only two resorts in the U.S. have five courses among the top 200 in the U.S.: Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon and Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina. Both of them are bucket-list destinations that every golfer should see, hopefully more than once. They offer all the golf most players would ever want on one vacation — playing one round on each course would take days, and one round on each course is never enough.
The resorts with three or more ranked courses have gone about their development in multiple ways. Some were established more than a century ago and have added courses through the decades — these resorts often feature courses designed by multiple architects, offering an array of styles and architectural features. Others feature several courses by one designer, with the resorts sticking with the architects who proved to work best for them.
Either way, you can’t go wrong with a trip to any of these locations listed on the following pages. Included for each resort are its top-200 courses listed with their average rating on a scale of 1 to 10 as assigned by Golfweek’s Best rater program, their designers, the years they opened and their rankings on various Golfweek’s Best lists. We hope you enjoy perusing these elite resorts, both on these pages and in real life.
And it’s worth noting, there is one more resort destination that is very likely to join this list of 10 in the coming years. Pine Needles in North Carolina, not far from Pinehurst Resort, operates three courses, two of which are on the 2023 list of top 200 resorts: Pine Needles (No. 47) and Mid Pines (T-35). The company’s third course, the recently renovated Southern Pines, didn’t have the requisite number of votes to qualify for this year’s list but is almost a lock to appear on the list in upcoming years.
Pete Dye and Herb Kohler Jr. wanted to challenge the best players in the game.
Whistling Straits became so embedded in golf’s championship schedule so quickly, it’s sometimes difficult to remember that Pete Dye’s creation on the shores of Lake Michigan is only 25 years old. On Thursday, the Straits Course celebrates its silver anniversary of July 6.
Since its opening in July 1998, the Straits has hosted three PGA Championships (2004 won by Vijay Singh, 2010 won by Martin Kaymer and 2015 won by Jason Day). The Straits joins Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pinehurst No. 2, Bethpage Black and Southern Hills as the only layouts to have hosted three men’s major championships in that span.
Throw in the 2007 U.S. Senior Open (Brad Bryant) and the 2021 Ryder Cup (U.S. won 19-9 over Europe), and Whistling Straits has quickly established itself as a major player.
Herb Kohler Jr. – the longtime executive chairman of Kohler Co., the plumbling fixtures powerhouse based near Sheboygan, Wisconsin – branched into golf with the creation of Blackwolf Run in 1988. That resort club eventually became home to two 18-hole courses (River and Meadow Valleys) as well as the newer Baths of Blackwolf Run par-3 course. In addition to the American Club Resort Hotel, Blackwolf Run formed the initial backbone of what has become Destination Kohler. Blackwolf Run hosted the first big event for the resort, the 1998 U.S. Women’s Open (Se Ri Pak won), and the composite course there again hosted the Women’s Open in 2012 (Na Yeon Choi won).
But Kohler had no intent of stopping there. He wanted more major championships, including for the men.
“That was our ambition right from the outset,” Kohler told Golfweek in a 2019 interview. “We wanted tournaments, and we didn’t want the weekly tournaments, so the only possible thing was majors.”
As he had with the creation of Blackwolf Run, Kohler turned to architect Pete Dye. It was Dye’s sometimes quirkiness that initially drew Kohler’s attention.
“This one particular chap, he was an odd duck, but he had two courses in particular that were of interest,” Kohler said. “One that had just been open to the public, it was the TPC at Sawgrass, the home course for the PGA Tour. And at least 20 different pros who had a chance to play it were extraordinarily upset, and they were making their feelings known to the local press. … It sort of fascinated me. What I liked about it was, he had this desire to get into the psyche of a pro and really befuddle him.
“This fellow, Pete Dye, took them right to the edge of embarrassment, and they didn’t like being embarrassed, but I enjoyed it. … So here was this single person, a little strange as he might be – he always wore khaki pants and always wore tennis shoes – but here was this single person who could befuddle the pros but was considerate to the amateurs when he had to be. And I liked that combination.”
Vijay Singh hits out of a bunker on the 15th hole en route to winning the 2004 PGA Championship at the Whistling Straits in Wisconsin. (Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
That determination to challenge the pros on every shot was the impetus for creating the Straits Course. Kohler found 560 suitable acres on the shore of Lake Michigan, but the land was relatively flat, perched on a tabletop above the lake – the site included an abandoned military airfield. Dye, who passed away in 2020 at age 94, went to work converting the site into a rocking and rolling golf course reminiscent of something found in wild Irish dunes, moving 13,000 truckloads of sand in the process of creating 70 feet of elevation change. It became home to the Straits Course and the adjacent Irish Course.
“Pete and I had this general agreement that the Straits course would be something like Ballybunion (in Ireland), but that was the closest we got to any specifics in design. It was all Pete thereafter, and he did a wonderful, wonderful job,” Kohler, who passed away in 2022 at age 83, said of the course that features eight holes on the edge of the massive lake. “It was the sand that gave it the character and gave the fairways some speed.”
The Straits has been challenging the best players in the game ever since. And even in the absence of its two masterminds – Kohler and Dye – the resort will continue to challenge and thrill its guests for years to come. The Straits ranks No. 9 on Golfweek’s Best list of top modern courses in the U.S., and it’s the highest-ranked public-access course in Wisconsin.
Check out several photos of the 1998 grand opening of the Straits below, along with more shots of the course today. And for even more on Whistling Straits, check these hole-by-hole flyover videos of the course shot before the 2021 Ryder Cup.
Whistling Straits and Sand Valley top the list for courses in Wisconsin, which ranks among the best states in the country for public golf.
Despite a short golf season amid its northern climate, Wisconsin offers one of the best lineups of golf courses in the U.S. Players who haven’t sampled the game in Wisconsin might be surprised to learn the state ranks amid the top five of all states for its elite public-access courses.
Golfweek’s Best offers many lists of course rankings, with that of top public-access courses in each state among the most popular. All the courses on this list allow public access in some fashion, be it standard daily green fees, through a resort or by staying at an affiliated hotel. If there’s a will, there’s a tee time.
(m): Modern course, built in or after 1960 (c): Classic course, built before 1960
Note: If there is a number in the parenthesis with the m or c, that indicates where that course ranks among Golfweek’s Best top 200 modern or classic courses.
It’s the latest step in a years-long legal obstacle course Kohler has been negotiating.
Wisconsin’s Supreme Court has ruled that a conservation group has no legal standing to challenge a DNR land swap that would allow Kohler Co. to develop another golf course along Lake Michigan.
It’s the latest step in a years-long legal obstacle course Kohler has been negotiating as it tries to add another championship-level course in the Sheboygan area. It already owns Blackwolf Run and Whistling Straits, which have hosted multiple major championships, and houses four top courses — Whistling Straits Straits Course, Whistling Straits Irish, Blackwolf Run Meadow Valley and Blackwolf Run River.
In 2020, the Supreme Court sided with Kohler on another dispute related to the golf course project, upholding annexation of the site by the city of Sheboygan to avoid a possible denial of a special use permit from the Town of Wilson.
Additionally, Kohler is appealing a judge’s decision last year upholding an administrative judge’s decision that the DNR improperly issued Kohler Co. a permit to fill wetlands. That case is currently before the Court of Appeals.
Thursday’s 4-3 decision reversed a decision by the Court of Appeals, which had ruled the Friends of the Black River Forest could advance its challenge of the land swap. The Friends say the loss of parkland would harm the group’s recreational, conservation and aesthetic interests.
Those interests aren’t clearly protected in laws, the court decided.
“None of the statutes or regulations cited protect any legally protected, recognized, or regulated interests of the Friends that would permit them to challenge the Board’s decision as “person[s] aggrieved,” Justice Rebecca Bradley wrote for the majority.
Justices Patience Roggensack, Annette Ziegler and Brian Hagedorn joined the opinion.
In dissent, Justice Jill Karofsky blasted the majority’s “textualism” approach as a “rhetorical smokescreen obscuring a result-oriented analysis.” Justices Rebecca Dallet and Ann Walsh Bradley joined the dissent.
The Friends of the Black River Forest, Inc., issued a statement saying it was “disappointed in today’s Wisconsin Supreme Court decision reversing the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, which had declared unequivocally that active users of Wisconsin state parks may lawfully challenge the State when it gives away those park lands to private interests.
Rory McIlroy hits his tee shot on the 3rd hole during practice rounds for the 43rd Ryder Cup golf competition at Whistling Straits. (Photo: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports)
“Today’s decision sets a disturbing new precedent for Wisconsinites and their ability to fight arbitrary and oppressive agency actions that affect their daily lives—actions that may extend far beyond where and whether they enjoy Wisconsin’s natural resources.”
The group said it will continue its mission “to protect Wisconsin parks for the good of Wisconsin’s citizens, not its companies.”
Dirk Willis, Vice President – Golf, Landscape & Retail for Kohler Co. Hospitality, said the company was pleased with the decision.
“We look forward to developing our public golf course in the City of Sheboygan on property owned by Kohler Co. for more than 75 years, and are committed to creating a world-class golf course that respects the property’s natural character and opens up private land to the public for the first time.” Willis said.
Willis said Kohler has “an established track record of good environmental stewardship with a commitment to following all applicable municipal, state and federal regulations.”
In 2018, the state Natural Resources Board agreed to give Kohler 4.6 acres of Kohler-Andrae State Park, on Lake Michigan, in exchange for about 10 acres of land west of the park. The state would also grant Kohler an easement over an additional 1.8 acres of the park.
The park property that would go to Kohler includes thick woods, open sand dunes and wetlands. The state would get upland woodland, cropland, a home and outbuildings.
Friends of Black River Forest challenged the deal. Kohler and the DNR argued the group had no legal standing, and that the swap was not even a “decision” subject to judicial review.
A Sheboygan County judge dismissed the action for lack of standing, but the Court of Appeals reinstated the challenge.
The appeals court found that the plaintiffs had in fact alleged sufficient injuries to be heard, not just dismissed. It is “not hypothetical or conjectural that the land exchange may cause the Friends to suffer the alleged recreational, aesthetic, and conservational injuries as a result of the golf course construction,” the court wrote.
The Supreme Court, however, said none of the Friends’ injuries — like loss of use of the swapped portion of the park, negative impacts on wildlife and plants, and increased noise and traffic from the eventual golf course, were protected by a statutory or constitutional provision.
Karofsky wrote that it was the majority that ignores the plain meaning of the law, “by distorting case law, conflating standing with the merits, and failing to engage in any meaningful interpretation of the legislative text.”
“Members of the public need not sit idly by when a state agency may have transgressed the very laws designed to protect their interests,” Karofsky wrote.
“Rather, the legislature has guaranteed that any person ‘whose substantial interests are adversely affected’ by an agency decision may call upon the judiciary to be a check on executive decision-making.”
Contact Bruce Vielmetti at (414) 224-2187 or bvielmetti@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ProofHearsay.
Designed by late Straits architect Pete Dye, Kohler intends this to be one of the world’s best.
SHEBOYGAN, Wisconsin — Following the Ryder Cup, Whistling Straits owner Kohler Co. has no other major tournaments scheduled at its Sheboygan County golf courses — and a new Kohler course proposed in Sheboygan likely won’t host such events, the company told The Sheboygan Press.
Like Whistling Straits, where the U.S. trounced Europe last week in what Herbert V. Kohler Jr. has described as “the granddaddy of all golf tournaments,” Kohler’s proposed new course is on the Lake Michigan shoreline and was designed by late Straits architect Pete Dye to be one of the world’s best — often described by Kohler as a “championship” course.
But while Whistling Straits was built with the intention of courting major tournaments, the new course would not be, the company said.
“It is our expectation there will not be any large-scale major golf tournaments on the site,” said Dirk Willis, vice president of golf, landscape and retail for Kohler Hospitality, in a statement.
Local officials who spoke to The Sheboygan Press say that, from the beginning, Kohler representatives said the company had no plans to host major championships at the proposed course. But people from elected officials to concerned residents questioned whether that meant Kohler had ruled them out, and Dye himself had speculated that it might host majors.
Whistling Straits has hosted three PGA Championships and a U.S. Senior Open in addition to last week’s Ryder Cup, and Blackwolf Run, Kohler’s nearby golf course complex, has hosted two U.S. Women’s Opens.
The proposed new course, after years of legal challenges, is still not approved. Willis first said in a statement to the Press last week that, if it gets approval, there “will not be any major tournaments on the site” of the new course, later clarifying that the new course has an intimate design that isn’t as well suited for major tournaments as Kohler’s other courses.
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Kohler’s hopes for majors have been unclear in official documents
The chair of the Town of Wilson board, John Ehmann, said that whether the course would host major championships was “a question (the board) asked more than once” when Kohler was first applying for a conditional use permit, before the city of Sheboygan annexed the land from the town.
“Their standard reply was, they had no plans to hold major tournaments. It was obviously in their best interest to reply that way, because then they did not have to address traffic and congestion concerns that the town would have had as a part of the permitting process,” Ehmann said.
But other statements portrayed the course as angling for a U.S. Open and other top events.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported in 2015 that Dye (who died in January 2020) said the course could host major championships. And after an interview with Herbert V. Kohler Jr., executive chairman of Kohler, Wisconsin Golf reported in 2019 that the course could be pitched to the United States Golf Association as a tournament venue in the future.
The Department of Natural Resources’ updated draft environmental impact statement for the course in November 2017 said it was unknown what special events would be held at the course, but it was anticipated that the course “may” host tournaments including the PGA Championship, U.S. Senior Open, the Ryder Cup and the U.S. Women’s Open.
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The final EIS in 2018 said, “Kohler has stated that it hopes that the course will be a site for future major professional golf championship events.”
In response, local officials and residents opposed to the course have worried it would be too small for the crowds and traffic that Kohler’s other courses have accommodated. People also raised concerns about the potential environmental impacts of major tournaments.
An extensive permitting process and a half-dozen court challenges have meant Kohler has had many chances to officially describe its ambitions for the course, but it has made little mention of major tournaments, instead describing the course as a “championship” course that Kohler hopes to make into one of the world’s top 50.
A “championship” course is a subjective label with no agreed-upon meaning in the golf world. Company representatives said that a golf course can be world-ranked and championship-level without hosting a major championship. It’s ultimately up to golf associations such as the USGA and PGA of America to decide which courses host major championships, the company said.
“Many public and private top-ranked golf courses have not hosted major tournaments, and that does not diminish their quality and rankings among golf enthusiasts,” Willis said in a statement.
Course still faces environmental objections, legal hurdles
Herbert Kohler Jr., 82, made it his mission to bring championship golf to Wisconsin. And one of his signature courses — Whistling Straits — hosted the 43rd Ryder Cup.
The proposed course is currently mired in ongoing lawsuits after surviving other challenges — some of them similar to those faced by Whistling Straits, and others unique to the new course.
In 1995, DNR officials were reluctant to approve wetland permits for the construction of Whistling Straits. The project’s DNR water regulation specialist declined to sign the permit, and her boss signed the permit but told reporters it was a “tough decision” ultimately swayed by Kohler’s economic arguments, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported in 1996.
Similarly, environmental advocates challenged the wetland permit for the proposed new course
Kohler applied to fill 3.7 acres of wetlands between the Black River and Lake Michigan for the proposed course in 2017. Six months later, the DNR approved the permit, but then Friends of the Black River Forest — a local nonprofit with the mission to preserve the Black River area — challenged the decision.
Two former DNR employees have said the wetland permit did not meet state standards and, according to court documents, the DNR received over 1,400 total pages of public comments on the issue. In 2019, an administrative law judge overturned the wetland permit. Kohler has sued, seeking to reinstate the permit, a case still open in the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.
Other lawsuits and processes that have delayed construction of the proposed course include:
Storm water permit. The Friends challenged the DNR’s approval of a storm water permit, a case now moving forward in Sheboygan County circuit courts.
Land swap. Kohler’s proposal included the use 4.6 acres of state-owned land in Kohler-Andrae State Park and an easement over another nearly 2 acres, and the Friends challenged the legality of DNR’s plan to approve a land swap with the company, a case now in the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Historic resources report. Before the golf course can be constructed, the state historical society must approve a report on limiting damage to historic resources on the property. Researchers are still cataloging around 38,000 historic and 214,000 prehistoric artifacts found on the property from Native Americans who lived in the region between 800 to 2,500 years ago, as reported by Wisconsin Watch.
Conditional use permit. The land eyed for the new golf course was originally in the Town of Wilson, but Sheboygan successfully annexed the land and approved the golf course in 2020 — after a lawsuit from the Town of Wilson that went to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
The course layout is not suited to major tournaments, Kohler says
The 43rd Ryder Cup brought tens of thousands of golf fans each day to Whistling Straits, which owner Kohler Co. says was designed and built to accommodate such events, unlike a new course proposed in Sheboygan.
When asked why the proposed course will not host majors, Kohler Co. said that major tournaments require a lot of resources and amenities beyond a quality golf course experience.
Tournaments require temporary infrastructure including grandstands, hospitality stands, a merchandise shop, food vendors and parking.
“Our proposed golf course is intimate and cloaked with trees, whereas our other courses were built to host large-scale major golf tournaments,” Willis said.
As of March 2017, the layout of Kohler’s proposed golf course, which was designed by late course architect Pete Dye with the ambition of making it one of the world’s best.
Former Sheboygan mayor Mike Vandersteen similarly said that the proposed course’s limited space for traffic and crowds is one reason it was never his impression that there would be major tournament events there.
“It was going to be a minimalist course, which means that if you weren’t on the green, you were many times on some really rough stuff,” Vandersteen said.
Willis also said that professional golfers today hit the ball much farther than in the past, which lengthy courses like Whistling Straits and Blackwolf Run can better accommodate.
Whistling Straits, a 560-acre property, has two 18-hole golf courses and other amenities including a 13,000-square-foot clubhouse. It played nearly 7,400 yards for the Ryder Cup last week.
The new proposed course, with only one 18-hole course, would sit on slightly less than half of that space, nearly 250 acres, but also include an up-to-16,000-square foot clubhouse with a 9,000-square-foot footprint, a 22,000-square-foot maintenance building, an observation tower, an irrigation pond, golf cart paths and roads.
As of Wednesday afternoon, a Kohler spokesperson hadn’t responded to a question about the new course’s yardage.
Reach Maya Hilty at 920-400-7485 or MHilty@sheboygan.gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @maya_hilty.
You want options? Pete Dye gives a player plenty of them at Whistling Straits’ Straits Course in Wisconsin, and U.S. Captain Steve Stricker will be able to take advantage of them when it comes to hole length for this week’s Ryder Cup.
The Straits features multiple tee boxes on every hole, and the host captain has the right to choose from which box players will tee off for each round. It’s likely Stricker will adjust the holes based on wind direction off Lake Michigan and the status of the matches, as well as which players he might send out for any session.
In all, the Straits will be listed at 7,390 yards with a par of 71 for the Ryder Cup. The layout normally plays to a par of 72, but No. 11 will play as a par 4 this week instead of its normal par 5.
Thanks to yardage books provided by Puttview – the maker of detailed yardage books for more than 30,000 courses around the world – we can see exactly the challenges that players face this week. Check out each hole below.
Each hole includes a note on the listed yardage at which the hole will play for the Ryder Cup, plus a link to Golfweek’s exclusive drone photography with hole details provided by Mike O’Reilly, the golf operations manager at Whistling Straits.
HAVEN, Wis. – Whistling Straits’ Straits Course, home of the Ryder Cup on Sept. 24-26, is one of the most dramatic visual treats in golf.
Built by Pete Dye on the shore of Lake Michigan, the formerly flat site once housed a military base before the legendary designer trucked in some 13,000 loads of sand to shape an incredible vista of flowing dunes, fescue grass and incredibly difficult golf shots.
Golfweek’s Gabe Gudgel has shot aerial drone videos of each hole to get you ready for the Ryder Cup. Video of one hole will be released each day for 18 days. Today’s hole is No. 18, which will play as a 515-yard par 4 for the matches between the U.S. and Europe.
Mike O’Reilly, the golf operations manager at Whistling Straits, has provided commentary on each hole. He began his career at Destination Kohler’s sister club, Blackwolf Run, as a caddie before Whistling Straits even opened, and he has had a front-row seat to all the action in three previous PGA Championships. His insights are invaluable.
The Straits will play as a par 71 at 7,390 yards for the Ryder Cup. It’s normally a par 72, but the par-5 11th will be shortened to a par 4 for the event. The Straits ranks as the No. 1 public-access course in Wisconsin on Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play list, as well as No. 8 among all of Golfweek’s Best Modern Courses in the U.S.
And for more golf in Wisconsin, check out this road trip that played the top five courses in a surprisingly strong golf state.
MOSEL, Wis. – Whistling Straits’ Straits Course, home of the Ryder Cup on Sept. 24-26, is one of the most dramatic visual treats in golf.
Built by Pete Dye on the shore of Lake Michigan, the formerly flat site once housed a military base before the legendary designer trucked in some 13,000 loads of sand to shape an incredible vista of flowing dunes, fescue grass and incredibly difficult golf shots.
Golfweek’s Gabe Gudgel has shot aerial drone videos of each hole to get you ready for the Ryder Cup. Video of one hole will be released each day for 18 days. Today’s hole is No. 17, which will play as a 223-yard par 3 for the matches between the U.S. and Europe.
Mike O’Reilly, the golf operations manager at Whistling Straits, has provided commentary on each hole. He began his career at Destination Kohler’s sister club, Blackwolf Run, as a caddie before Whistling Straits even opened, and he has had a front-row seat to all the action in three previous PGA Championships. His insights are invaluable.
The Straits will play as a par 71 at 7,390 yards for the Ryder Cup. It’s normally a par 72, but the par-5 11th will be shortened to a par 4 for the event. The Straits ranks as the No. 1 public-access course in Wisconsin on Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play list, as well as No. 8 among all of Golfweek’s Best Modern Courses in the U.S.
And for more golf in Wisconsin, check out this road trip that played the top five courses in a surprisingly strong golf state.
MOSEL, Wis. – Whistling Straits’ Straits Course, home of the Ryder Cup on Sept. 24-26, is one of the most dramatic visual treats in golf.
Built by Pete Dye on the shore of Lake Michigan, the formerly flat site once housed a military base before the legendary designer trucked in some 13,000 loads of sand to shape an incredible vista of flowing dunes, fescue grass and incredibly difficult golf shots.
Golfweek’s Gabe Gudgel has shot aerial drone videos of each hole to get you ready for the Ryder Cup. Video of one hole will be released each day for 18 days. Today’s hole is No. 15, which will play as a 518-yard par 4 for the matches between the U.S. and Europe.
Mike O’Reilly, the golf operations manager at Whistling Straits, has provided commentary on each hole. He began his career at Destination Kohler’s sister club, Blackwolf Run, as a caddie before Whistling Straits even opened, and he has had a front-row seat to all the action in three previous PGA Championships. His insights are invaluable.
The Straits will play as a par 71 at 7,390 yards for the Ryder Cup. It’s normally a par 72, but the par-5 11th will be shortened to a par 4 for the event. The Straits ranks as the No. 1 public-access course in Wisconsin on Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play list, as well as No. 8 among all of Golfweek’s Best Modern Courses in the U.S.
And for more golf in Wisconsin, check out this road trip that played the top five courses in a surprisingly strong golf state.
MOSEL, Wis. – Whistling Straits’ Straits Course, home of the Ryder Cup on Sept. 24-26, is one of the most dramatic visual treats in golf.
Built by Pete Dye on the shore of Lake Michigan, the formerly flat site once housed a military base before the legendary designer trucked in some 13,000 loads of sand to shape an incredible vista of flowing dunes, fescue grass and incredibly difficult golf shots.
Golfweek’s Gabe Gudgel has shot aerial drone videos of each hole to get you ready for the Ryder Cup. Video of one hole will be released each day for 18 days. Today’s hole is No. 14, which will play as a 401-yard par 4 for the matches between the U.S. and Europe.
Mike O’Reilly, the golf operations manager at Whistling Straits, has provided commentary on each hole. He began his career at Destination Kohler’s sister club, Blackwolf Run, as a caddie before Whistling Straits even opened, and he has had a front-row seat to all the action in three previous PGA Championships. His insights are invaluable.
The Straits will play as a par 71 at 7,390 yards for the Ryder Cup. It’s normally a par 72, but the par-5 11th will be shortened to a par 4 for the event. The Straits ranks as the No. 1 public-access course in Wisconsin on Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play list, as well as No. 8 among all of Golfweek’s Best Modern Courses in the U.S.
And for more golf in Wisconsin, check out this road trip that played the top five courses in a surprisingly strong golf state.
