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Whistling Straits

Coordinates: 43°51′04″N 87°44′06″W / 43.851°N 87.735°W / 43.851; -87.735
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Whistling Straits
Clubhouse during 2010 PGA Championship
Club information
LocationTown of Mosel, at Haven,
Sheboygan County, Wisconsin
Established1998, 26 years ago
TypePublic
Owned byKohler Company
Operated byThe American Club
Total holes36
Events hostedPGA Championship
(2004, 2010, 2015)
U.S. Senior Open (2007),
Ryder Cup (2020)
WebsiteWhistling Straits
Straits Course
Designed byPete and Alice Dye
Par72
Length7,790 yards (7,123 m)
Course rating77.2
Slope rating152[1]
Irish Course
Designed byPete and Alice Dye
Par72
Length7,201 yards (6,585 m)
Course rating75.6
Slope rating146
11 Fairway on the Straits Course
Aerial view

Whistling Straits is one of two 36-hole links-style golf courses associated with The American Club, a luxury golf resort located near Kohler, Wisconsin, and owned by a subsidiary of the Kohler Company. The other is Blackwolf Run, west of the city of Sheboygan. The Whistling Straits complex is located north of Sheboygan, in the unincorporated community of Haven in the Town of Mosel in Sheboygan County. Although the Whistling Straits courses are located in Haven, the promotional and postal address is Kohler, site of The American Club.

The courses at Whistling Straits (and Blackwolf Run) were designed by Pete and Alice Dye.

Straits Course

The Straits Course is the flagship course at Whistling Straits. As of 2012, it had a length of 7,790 yards (7,123 m) and a par of 72. It hosted the 2004 PGA Championship won by Vijay Singh in a playoff over Chris DiMarco and Justin Leonard, the 2007 U.S. Senior Open won by Brad Bryant, and the 2010 PGA Championship won by Martin Kaymer in a playoff over Bubba Watson. The course hosted the PGA Championship for a third time in 2015. In 2020 the Ryder Cup will be held on the course.

The Straits Course replicates the ancient seaside links courses of the United Kingdom and Ireland. Nestled along a two-mile (3 km) stretch of Lake Michigan, the course has eight holes hugging the lake, a flock of Scottish Blackface sheep, elevation changes of approximately 80 feet (24 m), and three stone bridges. It has vast rolling greens, deep pot bunkers, grass-topped dunes and winds that sweep in off the lake. Being a coastal links-style course, there are few large trees or woods on the course. The course is open and exposed to the wind and elements.

Before the course was built, the property was an abandoned airfield called Camp Haven (1949–1959),[2] with a stream running through the middle. Kohler Company CEO Herbert Kohler signed up Dye as course architect. During construction, the original landscape of the Straits Course was covered with about 800,000 cubic yards (610,000 m3) of dirt and sand.[3]

Hiroshi Iwata holds the course record for the Straits Course with a 63 in the second round of the 2015 PGA Championship.

Irish Course

The second course at Whistling Straits is the Irish Course, an inland grass-and-dune layout. It is a par-72 course that features 7,201 yards (6,585 m) of golf from the longest tees, with a course rating of 75.6 and a slope rating of 146. Also designed by Pete Dye, it opened for play in 2000.[4]

View of Lake Michigan from the Irish Course

Major tournaments hosted

Year Tournament Winner Score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up Winner's
share ($)
2004 PGA Championship Fiji Vijay Singh 280 (−8) Playoff United States Justin Leonard
United States Chris DiMarco
1,125,000
2007 U.S. Senior Open United States Brad Bryant 282 (−6) 3 strokes United States Ben Crenshaw 470,000
2010 PGA Championship Germany Martin Kaymer 277 (−11) Playoff United States Bubba Watson 1,350,000
2015 PGA Championship Australia Jason Day 268 (−20) 3 strokes United States Jordan Spieth 1,800,000

Scorecards

Whistling Straits - Irish Course
Tee Rating/Slope 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Black 75.6 / 146 400 372 147 489 570 160 372 555 484 3549 398 208 413 183 564 479 474 375 558 3652 7201
Blue 73.5 / 141 387 360 138 443 517 149 363 542 409 3308 387 193 396 160 520 459 436 355 536 3442 6750
Green 72.0 / 137 369 347 128 432 501 135 344 501 322 3079 378 177 373 152 508 416 425 335 523 3287 6366
White 70.3 / 133 359 340 118 405 477 123 339 459 308 2928 361 169 349 145 469 370 383 325 493 3064 5992
Red 65.6 / 121 301 309 87 336 430 97 320 392 263 2535 340 125 290 111 380 335 333 272 388 2574 5109
SI 4 6 18 2 14 16 12 10 8 5 15 13 17 11 1 3 7 9
Par 4 4 3 4 5 3 4 5 4 36 4 3 4 3 5 4 4 4 5 36 72
Whistling Straits - Straits Course
Tee Rating/Slope 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Black 77.2 / 152 493 597 188 494 603 409 221 506 442 3953 391 645 163 402 396 503 568 249 520 3837 7790
PGA Champ. 408 593 181 493 598 355 221 507 449 3805 361 618 143 404 373 518 569 223 500 3709 7514
Blue 74.2 / 145 405 533 180 451 563 378 205 470 412 3597 376 563 138 389 360 464 545 223 487 3545 7142
Green 71.9 / 141 370 521 166 414 543 360 185 429 384 3372 334 544 118 364 346 429 535 197 424 3291 6663
White 70.4 / 137 361 508 154 404 527 352 172 405 371 3254 320 519 99 336 332 402 513 165 420 3106 6360
Red 66.4 / 129 325 447 111 354 459 282 132 355 347 2812 304 479 89 319 271 367 412 131 380 2752 5564
SI 15 7 17 1 5 13 9 3 11 12 6 18 14 16 4 10 8 2
Par 4 5 3 4 5 4 3 4 4 36 4 5 3 4 4 4 5 3 4 36 72

References

  1. ^ "Course Rating and Slope Database: Whistling Straits: Straits Course". USGA. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  2. ^ Mead Library Information on Camp Haven
  3. ^ History of Camp Haven, accessed August 2015.
  4. ^ http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/188489-whistling-straits-irish-course-haven-wi/

43°51′04″N 87°44′06″W / 43.851°N 87.735°W / 43.851; -87.735