The Golfing Bucket List: Add Whistling Straits to Your List Right Now

Every golfer has one. The Golfing Bucket List. Those courses and destinations that hold mythic status in the realm of Golfdom. I was lucky enough to play Whistling Straits this week. And it was as good as advertised.

The Golfing Bucket List. As an amateur golf trip planner, my yearly duties to my friends start with our own bucket list. You probably have one, too. Virtually every golfer’s list includes the three-headed Mount Rushmore of Golf – Pebble Beach, St. Andrews, and Augusta. This year’s course… the incredible Whistling Straits.

From there, the second tier is equally impressive. Mine includes courses like Pine Valley, Cypress Point, Bandon Dunes, and Shinnecock. The list goes on for miles which is why (don’t tell my wife) there will always be another need to take a trip with the boys.

Typically, the Bucket List is split into two distinct halves – Private course and Public ones. Private courses require a special invite, or just dumb luck, to access. For most of us, those courses will always remain on the list, but rarely get checked off. Their exclusivity, as much as the course itself, makes them special.

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But lucky for you and me, the world has a larger amount of public courses than private ones. The fact that you and I can play both St. Andrews and Pebble Beach is proof positive that golf, while in its infancy an exclusive pursuit of the rich, is now a game for the common man and woman.

In America alone, there are some of the best courses in the world open to the public. Venues that have hosted PGA tournaments and Major Championships. And any of us can tee it up at these places if we just pony-up the greens fee.

If you are just starting to think about creating a Golfing Bucket List, let me give you a few names that must be on every American golfer’s list.

Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill. They are neighbors on the Monterrey Penninsula and, truth be told, dollar for dollar Spyglass might be better. Blasphemy, I know, but Spyglass is that good.
Bandon Dunes. I haven’t been there…yet. But every golfer agrees that there may not be a better collection of courses at one location. That’s saying something when you think about the next name on the list.
Pinehurst. Pinehurst is a perfect example of a collection of courses that make the list on its history of hosting tournaments alone. It’s been the site of three U.S. Opens, The PGA Championship, The Tour Championship, Women’s U.S. Open, Men’s U.S. Amateur, Women’s U.S. Amateur, and the Ryder Cup. ‘Nuff said.
TPC Sawgrass. It’s the site of the PGA Players Championship and the unofficial “5th” Major. It also has perhaps the most iconic hole on tour – the island 17th.
Kiawah. The Ocean course hosted one of the most memorable Ryder Cups ever. It’s also going to host the PGA Championship in 2021. It’s surrounded by several other wonderful courses making it an ideal spot for a golf trip.
Whistling Straits. Along with Bandon Dunes, it’s as close to Scottish links golf as you can get without a passport. Whistling Straits is what happens when someone who loves golf also happens to have an unlimited budget. It’s damn near perfect.

With my head full of fresh memories from the past week at Whistling Straits, I’ll try to convince you – if you aren’t already – why you need to go.

First, know that there are two separate complexes that make up the Kohler Golf Experience – Whistling Straits and Blackwolf Run. Blackwolf Run is located nearer to Sheboygan, comprised of the River and Meadows Valleys courses. You’ll likely stay near this complex as Whistling Straits isn’t near any good lodging.

As the little brother to the Straits and Irish courses 20 minutes up the coast, Blackwolf Run is underrated. Both courses are in top condition and the layouts will challenge any golfer, even scratch handicappers. Luckily, they have a variety of tee boxes making it playable for any golfer. Both are interlaced with marshland, ponds, streams, and the Sheboygan River.

The River course, as the name implies, is wrapped around the twists and turns of the Sheboygan River, one of the most beautiful golf settings you’ll find without an ocean view. The river is crystal clear and beckoned me, on more than one occasion, to follow my ball into it and simply float away.

The Meadow Valleys is equally gorgeous and challenging. We were told the River course was more difficult, but my scorecard argues otherwise. Blackwolf Run by itself is worth a trip and Sheboygan is a charming coastal town with all the Wisconsin sausage you can eat.

And now the big boy – Whistling Straits, with the Straits and Irish courses.

The clubhouse, while younger than I am, looks like a centuries-old Scottish manor. And that’s just the front of it. The backside overlooks the 18th green, set down in a bowl with a clear view of the fairway and Lake Michigan on the horizon. It’s stunning. You could sit there all day with a cocktail (or six) and watch the groups come in. The approach shot options and devilish green complex make this a finishing hole as beautiful and dangerous as any in the world.

The course itself is set along a stairstep shoreline that gives almost every hole a lake view. That means wind, sun, surf for every shot.

Oh, and there are a couple of bunkers. The caddies will tell you there are about 1,000. That’s not a typo. It would be easier to count the patches of grass than the bunkers. When you hit a bad shot you don’t need to ask the caddy if your ball found a bunker. It did.

Lake Michigan provides an iron-blue backdrop to it all. The lies are tight, the subtly rolling greens are quick but not fast, and every hole is memorable in its own right.

I’ll be honest, it’s one of the most spectacular courses I’ve ever seen. Were it set on the California coast, rather than inside the “Sausage Belt”, it would surpass Pebble Beach. Again, hate me for that opinion, but it’s that stunningly good. The architecture is subtle but precise. You could play it every day and never really get the same experience.

The Irish course is often overshadowed by the Straits, but it’s every bit worth the time. Set inland a bit more, it has more dramatic elevation changes and, where it lacks the lake winds and water, it adds marshes, ponds, and deep bunkering.

It’s also home to countless turkeys, deer, and a herd of bell-wearing sheep. The little jingling can be heard throughout the round and you’ll definitely see them occasionally. It would seem they’ve figured out to remain in the thickets, away from even the most errant shots.

The Irish course is every bit a championship venue. You’ll need every club in the bag and, depending on the pins, you might go chip, putt, chip on a couple of greens.

The amenities and staff at both locations were top-notch, though I recommend eating at the little snack stands as the restaurant has good food but slow service. Should your game require a little swing lube, I recommend the caddy-endorsed Transfusion. It’s a potent concoction of vodka, ginger ale, and grape juice. A double Transfusion will lead to more doubles. Trust me.

If Whistling Straits isn’t on your bucket list, put it there – near the top. If you have an extra day as we did, you should visit hit Erin Hills, too. It’s a bit of Scotland in the middle of nowhere, but worth the trip. It’s one of the hardest courses I’ve ever played and, frankly, I’ve suppressed the memories of that round like a bad childhood accident. The Pros may have bombed Erin Hills into oblivion, but the average golfer will find themselves constantly saying, “This is a par-4? I’m still 235 out!”

Next. PGA Tour: Why is there no Break in the Golf Schedule?. dark

Next on my Golfing Bucket List? Cypress Point. I know a guy, who knows a woman, who … you get the idea. I’ll report back on that, with a few fewer golf balls in my bag, no doubt.

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