Folks:
Kohler's desire to build WStraits formed primarily from two threads -- the success of his Kohler courses (Blackwolf Run and Meadow Valleys) and his frequent travels (sometimes with Pete Dye) to Scotland and esp. Ireland to golf.
No one in Wisconsin thought Kohler's original two courses -- priced as they were well above the usual penny-pinching spending habits of the state's residents -- would succeed the way they did (and those first two courses weren't built so much out of a desire to create a shrine to golfing as they were to fill a business need -- Kohler's guests at the American Club frequently complained about the lack of golf opportunities locally; Kohler actually pursued buying a local club first before building the River course). Once Blackwolf Run established itself as a high-end golfing destination that saw the market bear the price he set, he decided to do another one -- and turned to Ireland in particular for his ideas. Rumor (although I've heard it enough from several people to lead me to conclude it's true) has it that Kohler and Dye played Ballybunion Old, and Kohler turned to Pete and said: "Build me this in Wisconsin." They found a piece of land on the lake, and WStraits was born.
As for Dye's relationship with Kohler, my take is that Kohler -- whose family has run a pretty successful business for years in a fairly autocratic way -- likes a golf designer who runs things they way Kohler runs things. Kohler, an enthusiastic but average golfer, trusts Dye's judgement when it comes to golf design, much in the same way he trusts the guys at Kohler Co. who design all those funky toilets and sinks -- hire someone good who you trust, and stay out of their way. (The well-worn story about WStraits is that Kohler told Dye he had an "unlimited budget, and Pete went out and exceeded it.")
I'm a bit skeptical that the Bandon courses were inspired by WStraits. Keiser and Kohler share a lot in common with their vision of golf -- note the absolute lack of housing at any of the eight courses they've overseen, the emphasis on walking, and what I might call a sense of "naturalism" with their courses (regardless of whether that look and feel is artificially created or not...). Make no mistake -- Kohler saw major golf championship tournaments as a part of his venture in a way that Keiser never has. But my sense in reading about the two men -- and I've read alot less about Keiser than Kohler -- is that both had a vision about golf in this country that they've successfully carried out.