Whistling Straits-How good and is it worth it?

[Ash Towe]

I will be visiting Chicago from 13 July to 16 July 2009 and would like to play a couple of rounds.  I was wondering what people felt about the course.  There seem to be varying opinions.  Also the green fee has to be factored into the equation.  Hopefully at the time I could be there conditions should be at there best. 
Thanks in advance.

[PThomas]

I will be visiting Chicago from 13 July to 16 July 2009 and would like to play a couple of rounds.  I was wondering what people felt about the course.  There seem to be varying opinions.  Also the green fee has to be factored into the equation.  Hopefully at the time I could be there conditions should be at there best. 
Thanks in advance.

I liked it a lot Ash..but now it is $400 to play! 

[Mark Arata]

go straight to Lawsonia....do not pass go, save 300 dollars.........(or more!)

[Anthony Gray]

  There are some things that you are not going to find on other courses. Also after playing it you will have a better perspective when it is on television. I believe it is on most golfers must play list.

[Rick Shefchik]

Ash,

I haven't played Whistling Straits yet -- my fault; I'm a half-day's drive away -- but I agree with Mark Arata: Put Lawsonia on your must list if you are headed up that way.

From all I've been able to gather from those who have played the Straits, it can't be labeled a must-play. At current rates, Lawsonia definitely is.

Rick

[SB]

WS is very good, but $400 clams is a lot.  If you're playing more than one round, I'd skip the Irish course and head to Blackwolf Run.  

[Ash Towe]

Rick,
Good to hear from you.  The round we he had together was one of the best in my golfing life.
Thanks for the advice and I hope our paths cross again.
All the best with the books.

[Mark Arata]

on your way up from Chicago, check out this course

http://www.gleneringolf.com/

It was a lot of fun to play, some pretty interesting holes and huge greens, and it was 25 dollars to walk.  I believe it is right on the way from Chicago.

[Ash Towe]

Mark,
Thanks for the advice on both courses.  It is much appreciated.

[Cliff Hamm]

Play Lawsonia...Links course....played 9 holes on the Woodlands and hated it after playing the Links...The Links is simply a blast to play.  Great fun.  Played late September and what a deal.  Stayed at the Heidel House with my wife.  Very, very nice.  5 minutes away.  $200 a nite (for both of us) including golf!!!  Likely more expensive in the summer but highly recommended.

[Andy Troeger]

If you go to the resort, play Blackwolf Run's River Course, at least when I played a few years ago it was half the price of Whistling Straits and a better golf course. If you follow the Lawsonia recommendations that might be a good duo to see.

Blackwolf Run is one of my two favorite Pete Dye designs--The Golf Club is the other.

As far as Whistling Straits, it is very good and a great experience. You wouldn't regret playing it (other than your wallet being lighter).

[Brent Carlson]

Ash,

I think Whistling Straits is a fine course.  The views of Lake Michigan are fantastic, but they course does not play like a links.  When I played there it was pretty soft making the ground game unlikely.

If money were no object my Wisconsin must play list would still be:

1.  Lawsonia
2.  Erin Hills
3.  Whistling Straits

Having played WS once I would not fork out more than $90 to play it again.  That said the atmosphere is really neat (no carts) and the clubhouse it really neat.  Would I recommend playing it once?  Sure.

Have fun!

I will be visiting Chicago from 13 July to 16 July 2009 and would like to play a couple of rounds.  I was wondering what people felt about the course.  There seem to be varying opinions.  Also the green fee has to be factored into the equation.  Hopefully at the time I could be there conditions should be at there best. 
Thanks in advance.

[Brian Cenci]

Whistling is worth a play once and your life and worth the $400 just once.  Play it, get it out of your system.  Someone suggesting that Lawsonia is a bigger must play than the Straits (even with money not being an object) is crazy IMO.  I want what they're smoking.

[Greg Clark]

The Straits gets marked down on this site because it is manufactured and doesn't play like a links course in front of the greens.  In my view it is an outstanding course and well worth your time.  Great par 3's, a couple of outstanding 5's and several strong 4's.  In addition, the walking only aspect with several strong caddies, and the lake and wind, make it somewhat of a unique experience in the States.  Well worth your time and much better than Erin Hills in my mind.

The River course at Blackwolf Run is a better value and a great American parkland course.  Hard to find a better mix of par 5's anywhere.  One of my favorite courses that I've played.   Lawsonia is wonderful and a real blast.  I've played it just once, but think of it often.  A great value.  But if you are like 99% of the golfers in the world, the Straits experience is superior.  Playing the Kohler courses as part of a stay and play package is actually pretty reasonable, but the Straits alone carries a big sticker price.  

I'm not ashamed to say that when a big event is played there I enjoy thinking about what shots I played on each hole when watching.  

[Matt_Ward]

Ash:

The short answer is NO.

The price tag puts WS at the same level w other top tier places one can play in the States such as Pebble Beach (which is higher) and Pinehurst #2, to name just two that come quickly to mind.

WS is completely manufactured and for some that won't matter and for others it will.

I've played the place and enjoyed it but for pure architectural thrills the time at Lawsonia would be a much better option. Ditto the $$ you will save.

I have not played Erin Hills but will defer to the comments Shivas made in it promotion.

Ash, candidly, if time permits -- take a bit of a side trip and head to Marquette, MI and play the Marquette GC and the renowned Greywalls GC by Mike DeVries.

[Ash Towe]

Gentlemen,
Thanks for your opinions.  Other alternatives have been very helpful.
Any others are appreciated.

[Anthony Gray]

   Ash,

  It is worth it. Seize the day.

[Greg Chambers]

$400 is too much to play any course.

[Jim Tang]

Ash -

$400 is a lot of cashola, but certainly worth it at least once, just for the experience.

The Straits is NOT a links course, it is actually pretty soft as several people have pointed out here.  So it won't play like a links course.  But it sure looks like one.  The course might have the best set of par 3's I've ever seen; dramatic and incredible.  The views of the lake are tremendous, and it is just a fun day.

With that said, I live just outside Chicago and haven't played Straits in 10 years.  I don't have a huge need to go back and play it again.  At some point I'll probably get back there, just not on a regular basis.

As others have mentioned, Blackwolf Run - River is a tremendous course and a ton of fun to play.  It has a great natural setting, dramatic elevation changes, tough.  If you can squeeze that in too, go for it.

My vote would be for you to play Straits, if you've never played it before.  

[Shane Wright]

Ash - if you can get in both, I would play Erin Hills.  It is much better than the Irish course.  Erin Hills has been discussed quite a bit here, but I think it is worth at least 1 trip.  You will definitely get the middle of nowhere feel and it will play much more like a links course than both at WS. 

However, I have not played Lawsonia - would you guys consider Lawsonia a true links course?  Should it be included on a list of the "links" courses in the U.S?

Sorry, not trying to change the subject here.

[Mark Smolens]

Have not been back to Kohler for a couple of years, but when they used to have a great package deal over Memorial Day, we would play one of the other three courses on property in the morning, and go over to the Straits as our "replay" in the pm -- if you swing it right you can even carry your own bag in the pm round.  Eliminates some of the $$ objections, and you can decide for yourself.

[Phil McDade]

However, I have not played Lawsonia - would you guys consider Lawsonia a true links course?  Should it be included on a list of the "links" courses in the U.S?

Sorry, not trying to change the subject here.

Shane:

I'm not sure I'd call any course built in the Midwest to be a "links" course. The underlying soil here just isn't what you'd find in Scotland (or Mullen, for that matter...).

Having said that, Lawsonia has a few links-like characteristics. It is a course acceptable, in most places, to some ground-game options -- several of the greens will accept a running shot, it that's your thing and conditions merit. It has, particularly on the back nine, the kind of wide-open feel that one often associates with links courses. Importantly, the course maintenance staff understand the importance and seek to keep it in what's been called fast and firm conditions. Reports from this fall suggest it's playing quite fast/firm.

But, for a mid-summer round, you're at the mercy of Midwestern weather, and that means thunderstorms, all-day rains, and humidity as real possibilities -- stuff that deters from the course resembling a true links course.

On the other hand, there are a number of good reasons to play Lawsonia, regardless of whether one views it as links or not.

[Dan Moore]

A group of us were at Lawsonia this past Saturday and Sunday.  Course was playing exceptionally fast and firm.  Fairways and areas fronting greens were very conducive to ground game options.  In fact many shots that landed on the front of the greens bounded over the green.  Greens were exceptionally fast, the fastest I have ever seen there as attested by my 4 putt from 35 feet on 10 Sunday.  A new regime of rolling seems to be paying dividends especially after an early fall aeration.  Any faster and they might have been out of control.  And the Saturday $23 rate to play at 2:00 pm was the bargain of the year and $45 to be the 3-4th group off on Sunday morning wasn't bad either.   Photos from two fine fall days in central Wisconsin to come.