Whistling Strats

WHISTLING STRAITS

Whistling Straits is a golf resort located in Haven, Wisconsin with 2 Pete Dye designed courses - The Strats Course and The Irish Course. It is part of the American Club - a resort owned and operated by the Kohler Corportion (famous for bathroom fixtures and faucets). The American Club also incorporates 2 more Dye courses 8 miles south of Whistling Straits in the town of Kohler, Wisconsin - Blackwolf Run River Course and Blackwolf Run Meadow Valleys Course. The town of Kohler is inhabited entirely by employees of the Kohler Comany and the factory forms the lifeblood of the town. The Straits Course and The River Course are regarded as the two best layouts of the four. So good is the Straits Course that it hosted the 2004 PGA Championship. Golf enthusiasts will remember the memorable birdie by Vijay Singh on the 18th hole to defeat Justin Leonard and Chris DiMarco in a 3 way playoff to claim the Wanamaker Trophy.

I called the reservation department at The American Club during the 17 hour drive from Denver to Milwaukee hoping to play the Straits Course and the River Course. My excitement was abated when I learning that both layouts would be closed until the 28th of the month. I would have to play the alternatives - the Irish Course in the morning and the Meadow Valley Course in the afternoon. After checking into a hotel at 12:45 in the morning, I headed to my room and set the alarm for 6AM. My round at the Irish Course was to begin at 8:45 and I was still 1 hour south of the course.

ROUND #34 - WHISTLING STRAITS - IRISH COURSE

The clubhouse at Whistling Straits is made of gray stone with large wooden doors welcoming visitors inside. As clubhouses go, this one is modest in size and resembles an old Irish Inn. This morning I was paired with 3 other golfers - Lonny, Rich, and Scott. Lonny was the reserved one, Rich was a moderate conversationalist, and Scott was the talker. Our foursome elected to walk the course, carrying our bags the enitre way. From the first tee shot I felt the soreness of my skiing excursion 2 days prior and the inability to excercise it out the next day due to the long drive. My lower back, upper shoulders, and pectorals were on fire beneath my windbreaker for the duration of the round.

The Irish Course offers a taste of Ireland on the banks of Lake Michigan. High mounds of earth laced with sand bunkers and tall fescue grass grace virtually every hole. Players must negotiate large, undulating greens before they can triumphantly or angirly remove their ball from the cup. The soreness made the round difficult, especially from the tee where a stronger, more attacking swing is favored, whether correctly or not, in order to generate more distance and make the hole shorter. In typical Dye fashion, the course is loaded with railroad ties linked together to create separation in fairways, bunkers, and tee boxes. For the duration of the round, Scott would complain about this being the worst he had played all season. All said and done, he probably shot a 96, and he maybe should be shooting in the high 80's, but his complaints were numerous and unwarranted. Lonny's passive nature made conversation easy. Rarely did he dwell on a poor shot, and it never affected his ability to continue talking about topics unrelated to the game. Rich, being more on guard than Lonny, was slightly more difficult to converse with but pleasant nonetheless.

My round was erratic. Pars rarely came easy and double bogeys were not easily avoided. The 92 I shot did not help my handicap and the high number came by way of a few bad holes. I did encounter a rarity - a hole that Dye created with which I totally disagree. The 18th is a medium lenght par 5 which offers a layup area that funnels directly into a hazard. My contention is that if you offer a player a chance to layup, it should not be penalizing. Pete has the final say, and the layup remains regardless of my stance. After the round, I had a quick lunch at Cousin's Subs - endorsed by Sports Center anchor Dan Patrick! - and moved the all day golfing fiesta to the village of Kohler and its Blackwolf Run Meadow Valley course.

ROUND #35 - BLACKWOLF RUN - MEADOW VALLEYS COURSE

My tee time at the Meadow Valleys Course was scheduled for 3PM. I knew launching at this time would make it difficult to fit the entire 18 in, so once I arrived at the proshop I inquired about getting onto the course as soon as possible. The staff member told me I could join with a 3-some that was already headed to the tee. I accepted the offer, paid my greens fees of $65 (a bargain for this course) and made my way to the #1 tee. Mark, the solo rider of the group, was about to tee off when I pulled up to the tee. I unstrapped my bag, grabbed the belongings from my cart, and consolidated everything onto his. He was now my chauffeur for the next 4 1/2 hours. His tee ball did not fly straight, and came to rest in the right rough. Brian's tee shot found the right edge of the fairway but did not travel far due to his club hitting the ground before the ball. Another Mark fired next, spraying his ball deep into the right rough. My tee shot, the last of the foursome was awkward - making contact low on the clubface - with the ball flying low off the ground and rolling along the fairway until it stopped 200 yards shy of the green on this short par 4. "At least it's in the short stuff," I said.

Mark and I were quick to strike up a conversation about our lives and golf. I discovered he was a purchasing agent for a technology firm in Chicago. My knowledge of his profession was sparse so we did not dwell on the topic long. He was fascinated at my transition from tennis pro to golf adventurer, and asked many questions about my journey. I did not speak with the members of the other cart, the other Mark and Brian, often. Only small comments after a missed or made putt, a question about Brian's new clubs, and an offering of excuses after a wayward drive.

The 85 I scored on this beautiful and open course that winds through meadows surrounded by trees was a 7 improvement over the morning round. My swing echoed greater confidence, and my ball striking was clean. Fortunately the round went south on the last 2 holes as I double bogeyed the par 3 17th and par 4 18th. I can count the double bogey on the 17th green to the rain that began to fall while the sun was still shining - creating a huge arching rainbow that stretched from one corner of the course to the other, centered directly above the oversize American Flag flying over the proshop. I stopped to take a picture, but the sight was too vast, and both legs of the rainbow which stretched to the ground would not fit within my lens. This sight was an acceptable diversion from the double bogey I had just scored.

The car trip after the round to Lemont, Illinois was quick - lasting only 2 1/2 hours - and I settled into a hotel room near the Cog Hill Golf Club that was to host my 36th round of the trip early the next afternoon.

Today's Morning Round: Whistling Straits Irish Course
Score: 92
Today's Afternoon Round: Whistling Straits Meadow Valleys Course
Score: 85
Handicap: 10.6
Overnight Location: Lemont, Illinois
Tomorrow's Course: Cog Hill #4 Dubsdread
Tomorrow's Overnight Location: Indiannapolis, IN