The latest report from The Scrambler’s return to Kohler is … no report at all. By all accounts, he should be on day three of the trip, enjoying the challenges of the Straits Course, site of last August’s PGA Championship, won by Martin Kaymer over Bubba Watson. To whet your appetite for his anticipated pieces, here is a rerun of a bit he offered five years ago, on the occasion of our first trip to Destination Kohler.<\/p>\n
Day 1 \u2013 A Short Trip to Ireland.<\/em><\/p>\n On a rainy Friday afternoon, the Scrambler was running in a downpour, frantically shoving all his golf clubs and luggage into the far too small cabin of his wife\u2019s Ford Ranger.\u00a0 Groceries and other miscellany had been put in the front, while all the golf gear and clothes had been loaded in the back of the truck, ready to meet up with Mo\u2019 Golf and Travellin\u2019 Duff for a weekend voyage.\u00a0 The sudden downpour caused an immediate detour in the best laid plans, and a little comic relief for Mrs. Scrambler.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cNow, where exactly are you going?\u201d she asks.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cKohler, Wisconsin \u2013 we\u2019re playing Whistling Straits and Blackwolf Run over the weekend,\u201d I replied, knowing full well that these answers meant absolutely nothing to my wife.\u00a0 She may vaguely recognize Kohler as the faucet and fixture people, but other than that, it meant nothing.<\/em><\/p>\n To my fellow members at Elma Meadows and other Golf enthusiasts, Kohler means Whistling Straits and the 2004 PGA Championship.\u00a0 Blackwolf Run and the 1998 US Women\u2019s Open.\u00a0 Future host to the 2007 Senior U.S. Open Championship, severa future PGA Championship returns, and the 2020 Ryder Cup.\u00a0 Pete Dye and Herb Kohler transforming the shore of Lake Michigan into a new Golfing Mecca.<\/em><\/p>\n As we passed through Chicago around 9:30 at night, I called the Mrs. for a travel update.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re not there, yet?!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not even close, we still have a few hours to go.\u00a0 It\u2019s about an 11 hour drive.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWhy on earth would you drive that far just to play Golf?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The answer would be granted less than 12 hours later.<\/em><\/p>\n The Irish Course at Whistling Straits<\/em><\/p>\n All afternoon, I\u2019ve been thinking of the best way to capture how impressive this course is.\u00a0 To put it most simply… if you consider yourself an avid golfer, you MUST make the trek to Wisconsin and see this for yourself.\u00a0 And I\u2019ve only seen one of the four courses \u2013 and supposedly, this was the only course of the four in Kohler that did not receive a Five Star ranking from Golf Digest. (Only 16 courses receive Five Star Rankings – Kohler Resort boasts 3 of these).\u00a0 If this is the warm-up band, I can only imagine what the headliners will do to me.<\/em><\/p>\n On the inside of the Irish Course yardage book is a quote from Pete Dye which reads \u2013<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s nothing on the United States that has the look and feel of this course.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n As a Golfer who values aesthetics far over conditioning, there is nothing better than letting the feel of a course just wash over you and soaking in the atmosphere.\u00a0 There are endless opportunities to do that here, and not just from the confines of the links.<\/em><\/p>\n A glance out the restaurant window revealed the panorama of Lake Michigan serving as a backdrop for one of the most beautiful holes I have ever seen.\u00a0\u00a0 Once on the course, the breathtaking views just kept on coming, with the 5th hole \u201cDevil\u2019s Elbow\u201d drawing some raves, and the massive 8th fairway rising high to reveal an inviting glimpse at the distant green.\u00a0 The remarkable 10th features dramatic elevation changes, a Cape hole tee-shot, followed by a Redan-style green, and completed by a towering mound nicknamed \u201cMount Dune\u201d by the BuffaloGolfer trio.<\/em><\/p>\n However, all these holes paled in comparison to what was about to come.\u00a0 The climb to the 11th tee provided a glimpse of several holes, including some from the adjacent Straits course, all with Lake Michigan in the background.\u00a0 The feelings of awe were on par with the first time I witnessed Bethpage\u2019s massive 4th.\u00a0 While the Irish Course turned away from Lake Michigan a few holes later, I am heartened by the fact that all 18 holes at the Straits course will be in view of the Great Lake, raising my anticipation for Monday\u2019s coming experience.<\/em><\/p>\n Yet, even more amazing than the end product is the transformation and development of Whistling Straits.\u00a0 The trek from our hotel to the course was filled with miles of flat farmland. However, as we crossed over one last country road and through the Whistling Straits entrance, we seemingly passed through a space porthole which transported us from Wisconsin dairyland to the rugged Ireland Coast in the span of 100 feet.\u00a0 Until you experience it firsthand, you cannot possibly comprehend how much earth was moved to create this Pete Dye masterpiece.<\/em><\/p>\n The Scrambler normally likes the \u201cminimalist\u201d approach to course design, where golf holes arise from the natural landscape and are not forced onto the land.\u00a0 I\u2019ve often been turned off by courses I felt were overly \u201cmanufactured\u201d as they just don\u2019t appear to fit the land. <\/em><\/p>\n After today\u2019s experience, I told Mo\u2019 Golf that I was challenging my aversion to \u201cmanufacturing,\u201d especially when done this spectacularly.\u00a0 Pete Dye didn\u2019t force Irish-Style Golf holes and bunkers onto a piece of non-descript land.\u00a0 Rather, Dye first metamorphosed the entire landscape into a miniature Emerald Isle.\u00a0 Massive sand dunes frame your paths, appearing as if they had been worn by centuries of erosion, not created from flat farmland less than a decade ago.\u00a0 The end result is a design that blends with its environment as smoothly as any genuine Ireland links.<\/em><\/p>\n With Day One in the books, I now know why three men would drive over 11 hours to play Golf.\u00a0 Great tracks like the Irish Course at Whistling Straits transcend Golf beyond a mere game or activity that is \u201cplayed\u201d, providing those memorable moments of euphoria and awe that allow Golf to be fully \u201cexperienced.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Ability to Scramble<\/em><\/p>\n It\u2019s a Pete \u201cDye-abolical\u201d design, so what do you think?\u00a0 If you miss, you will be appropriately dealt with, especially when there are thousands of sand dunes dotting the landscape and rough everywhere else.\u00a0 However, the fairways and landing areas are more than generous enough, so this is certainly a fair test. <\/em><\/p>\n The Scrambler probably could have lost several balls, but his Titleist 8 started to take on \u201cRasputin\u201d-like qualities.\u00a0 The \u201cOcho\u201d seemingly refused to be lost, and came back to life several times from the heavy rough and dunes.\u00a0 However, there are few heroic recoveries available from these places, as severe slopes and ugly lies abound \u2013 rather you are destined to get back into play and try to make it up with the short game.<\/em><\/p>\n Favorite Hole:\u00a0 13th Hole \/ 160 yards \/ Par 3<\/em><\/p>\n This hole is named \u201cBlind Man\u2019s Bluff\u201d and seems to be Pete Dye\u2019s homage to the \u201cDell Hole\u201d \u2013 Tom Norris\u2019 much copied design at Lahinch\u2019s Old Course.\u00a0 A massive sand dune blocks all views of the green, with the top of a 15 foot flag as the only aiming indicator available.\u00a0 The Scrambler loves this hole for its beauty and nod to Golf\u2019s storied past.\u00a0 However, even more so, it flies in the face of a disturbing trend in modern golf architecture.\u00a0 Many architects seem to believe that the only way to make a hole challenging is by pushing tees farther back, resulting in new courses with several non-descript 200+ yard Par 3\u2019s.\u00a0 At only 160 yards, this hole is reachable with a short iron, but yields very little.\u00a0 Assuming you choose the proper short club \u2013 a real challenge given the significant elevation change and restricted view \u2013 the green is likely to see more 4-putts than 1-putts, as the 14,000 square foot dance floor ebbs and flows, sending poorly struck putts severely off-line.<\/em><\/p>\n To find out more about the Irish Course at Whistling Straits, visit www.DestinationKohler.com, and follow the \u201cGolf\u201d links to see the variety of world-caliber Golf available. <\/em><\/p>\n On tap for Day Two is a 36 hole marathon at Blackwolf Run, playing the River Course in the morning and Valley Course to wrap up the day.\u00a0 Stay tuned to www.BuffaloGolfer.com for more on the Golf adventures of Mo\u2019 Golf, Travellin\u2019 Duff and the Scrambler.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The latest report from The Scrambler’s return to Kohler is … no report at all. By all accounts, he should be on day three of the trip, enjoying the challenges of the Straits Course, site of last August’s PGA Championship, won by Martin Kaymer over Bubba Watson. To whet your appetite for his anticipated pieces, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-scrambler"],"yoast_head":"\n