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KOHLER, Wis. – Destination Kohler in Wisconsin, home to golf clubs at Whistling Straits and Blackwolf Run, is in for a very big year. Aside from being a booming destination with four full-size golf courses and a overflowing menu of top-tier amenities on or near the shore of Lake Michigan, the Straits will welcome one of the game’s largest events as the Ryder Cup tees off in September.
But the small things matter too, and Destination Kohler recently opened a compact golf experience that promises big fun. The Baths of Blackwolf Run – a 10-hole, par-3 course sitting on 27 acres at Blackwolf Run – promises laughs and a few cold ones in a fantastic setting, complete with a 2-acre putting course, an events patio, a firepit, even an old claw-foot bathtub that pays tribute to the Kohler brand of plumbing supplies.
Pete Dye built the four big courses at Kohler, and his protégé, Chris Lutzke, built The Baths with a focus on playability for any level of player. There are formal tees, but golfers are encouraged to tee it up from whatever length they like on a given hole – just find a flat spot and swing away.
“Play it from wherever you want, whatever you want to do,” said Mike O’Reilly, the golf operations manager at Destination Kohler. “There’s some recommended tee boxes out there, but you can do whatever you like. That’s really all about fun.”
O’Reilly said he has taken his young sons to the course, and they can play from different distances to make the holes right-sized. His 9-year-old plays from about 60 yards, while his 11-year-old plays from about 100. A similar approach can work for new players of any age, allowing accomplished players to hit a few longer shots while their newbie friends experience the course at a manageable yardage.
“You build fun into a short course by making it flexible,” O’Reilly said. “Almost every one of the holes, you could play from about 60 yards, and then the longest one, you could play from about 175 yards. If you play the proper tee boxes, they’re all going to play between 80 and 170 yards.
“So, you build fun into it by making it not terribly penal. … You just make it a little more playable and give those options for proper tee boxes.”
It makes it a perfect respite from the resort’s larger courses, especially the Straits, which ranks as No. 1 on Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play list for Wisconsin and No. 8 on Golfweek’s Best Modern Courses list for all layouts opened in or after 1960 in the United States. The Straits is beautiful, one of Dye’s masterpieces and the site of three PGA Championships, but it’s a major test without a lot of shots that allow a player to relax.
At The Baths, maybe have a drink, make a few putts, enjoy an easy stroll across the 10 holes, scorecard optional.
“We’re going to be serving Spotted Cows like crazy up there,” O’Reilly said of the Wisconsin-brewed ale. “I think people are going to come out to play and find themselves hanging out for two hours after they’re done playing.”
Golfweek videographer Gabe Gudgel flew his drone over The Baths shortly before it opened, and the video shows the dramatic landscape and holes that promise to welcome players of all abilities.
