Wisconsin golf tour: Erin Hills/Lawsonia/Blackwolf/Whistling (URLs fixed!)

[Joe Bausch]

Time for holes 4 thru 6.

#4.  Par 4 (No 1 stroke hole).



Intimidating view from the all the way back tees (500 yards):



Green tee view:



From 180 yards out, an approach shot view if you're playing from the tips:



Some love the mounds and bunkering, some not:



From the green tees this area of the fw is reachable off the tee, but canted left leaving a visually intimidating approach shot:



From short of the green:



From a mound over the green:



#5.  S-shaped par 5.



Green tee view:



It is tempting to try to cut the corner on the drive, but lots of bunkers await:



My drive was just a bit too far right and found a bunker and this view:



From short and right of the green, looking back down the fw:



From the same place now looking at the green:



From over the green:



I really like the short par 4 6th hole.

#6.  Dogleg-right par 4.



Green tee view where you need to stay left off the tee:



A good tee shot leaves a view like this for the approach shot:



Be a bit too far right, and this mound/bunker leads to a blind second:



If the pin is way far right like on this day, you can get lucky with a drive way right in the fw and still see the flag:



Some mean bunkers short of the green:



Up close view of a couple of those bunkers short of the green:



From over the green:



We'll finish the front-nine on Friday.

[Phil McDade]

That very deep and narrow bunker fronting the 6th green was expandly greatly for the most recent PGA; its early incarntion more closely resembled a traditional Road bunker, but now it's essentially turned that green into a two-section green. You can be on one portion of the green, and the pin in another, and legitimately only have a wedge shot to get close to the pin. I'm not sure I like the expansion. But overall, the 6th is a very good hole, as is the 4th.

[PCCraig]

I really love the 4th and 6th holes...but really hate the 5th.

[Joe Bausch]

I really love the 4th and 6th holes...but really hate the 5th.

Same here Pat.  Well, I don't hate the 5th, but it was uninspiring for me.

[Phil McDade]

Probably as good a time as any for a refresher on the evolution of the 5th -- the hole that Pete Dye has said made the entire course possible.

Kohler, in seeking to build on an old military dumping ground, ran into some issues with the state DNR (which regulates lake frontage and wetlands, among many other things). Essentially, part of the course running alongside the lakefront had to plow over a small existing wetlands. The DNR raised some objections, and Kohler and the agency agreed on a wetlands "trade" (the course was built during the Bush I era which had a stated policy of "no net loss" of wetlands) in which Dye would create a new wetlands area somewhere on or near the course, in exchange for the plowed-over wetlands on the lakefront. It turned out to be the ponds on either side of the 5th.

Dye has, in some interviews I've seen/read, conceded the 5th is somewhat our of character with the rest of the course. But he also argues it's the hole that allowed the other 17 -- and particulary the stretch of holes along the lakefront -- to be built.

[Matt Kardash]

4th hole: Great hole, I just wish the right side of the green was shaved so you could use the bank to bounce it. The superintendant needs to get on that.

5th hole: It's out of character, I agree. However, it is not a bad hole and it is fun to play. Like Phil said, it was the concession.

6th hole: Really cool short par 4. I like the addition of the coffin bunker. I just wish they would bring the fairway back to it's original width. That pot bunker that is now in the left rough is supposed to be a center-line bunker!

[Joe Bausch]

Let's finish the front nine at the Straits course today as the marine layer approaches....

#7.  Par 3.



Green tee view, where going right is, uhh, not good.



One of my playing partners had a fun second from a bunker right:



From just short of the green:



From a hill over the green:



No sign of fog yet....

#8.  Par 4, which I like but wonder why they didn't run the fw even closer to the coastline.



Here is the back tee view (507 yards!):



Green tee view:



View from 150 yards out:



From the left edge of the fw 100 yards out:



From the right edge of the fw 75 yards out:



From the front of the green:



And then the fog came in!!!! 

From over the green:



View on the way to the 9th tee:



#9.  Par 4



Here is the back tee view (449 yards):



Green tee view:



Bunkering right of the fairway:



Bunkering left of the fairway:



From 50 yards short of the green:



From over the green:



Picture taken later in the day from right of the green:



More eerie pictures over the weekend.   

[Joe Bausch]

The back nine begins with an uphill par 4. 

#10.  Par 4



Here's a pic taken after the round and post-fog:



From just short of the fw:



From just short and left of the green:



From right of the green:



From over the green:



A long dogleg-right par 4 awaits at the 11th.

#11.  Par 5.



Yep, it was hard to see at times as the green tee view shows:



From near the tee shot landing zone:



Approach shot view:



From 60 yards out:



Looking back over the cavernous bunker:



From right of the green:



Looking back down the fairway from right of the green:



Would love to play the par 3 12th again to a back right pin!

#12.  Par 3.



Green tee view to a middle pin:



Gosh a back right pin would be fun to play!



Two views from over the green:

[Phil McDade]

10, 11 and 12 begin a stretch of some very good holes. Dye said #10 is his favorite on the course, with a very good centerline bunker having a big impact on strategy off the tee. Singh essentially won the PGA here with his bold drive over and left of that bunker to set up an easy chip-and-birdie that Leonard and DiMarco couldn't overcome.

11 is a solid double dogleg with that enormous bunker playing on the second shot, and 12 is just a great par 3, with a sliver of green off to the right for final-round pinning. There is a mound right behind the green that is a great spot to watch incoming shots on 12 and (turning the other way) the tee on the dramatic 13th.

[Matt Kardash]

#10 got me thinking that when WS first opened people were blown away by the yardage of the course from the tips (7600 yards). However, there really are A LOT of short par 4's, probably more than you see on many modern courses. Holes 1,6,10,13 and 14 are basically roughly 400 yards or less. Then yuo throw in a short par 3 at #12.

I think many of it's short holes is what keeps the course from not being too overwhelming, and in fact, make the course play easier than it seems. I think in general Dye always throws in about 5 holes a round that really are not THAT tough. I think people often overlook that fact. On the Straits, the stretch from 10 thru 14 really is very manageable. A pro golfer can actually birdie all 4 of those holes in a row. If the golfer does not birdie at least 2 of those 4 i would think he would be quite dissapointed.

[Joe Bausch]

Thanks for participating Phil and matt.   

#13. Slight dogleg right par 4.



Just in front of the white tee view:



Taking a drive left of the raised up bunker is a good line:



From the right rough 125 yards out:



From 75 yards out:



Both me and one of my playing partners found this very difficult bunker left of the green:



From a hill over the green:



#14.  Dogleg left par 4.



Green tee view:



From the right rough, 125 yards out:



Ideal tee shot leaves this approach shot:



Plenty of bunkers right of the green:



From the back right lobe of the green:



#15.  Gently climbing, tough par 4.



Green tee view:



From 200 yards out:



Decent approach shot view from 150 yards out:



From the right rough 50 yards out:



These fellows were penned up on this late May day:



From just right of the green:



From just over the green:



The tour will finish tomorrow, both this course and the Wisconsin tour!

[Phil McDade]

#10 got me thinking that when WS first opened people were blown away by the yardage of the course from the tips (7600 yards). However, there really are A LOT of short par 4's, probably more than you see on many modern courses. Holes 1,6,10,13 and 14 are basically roughly 400 yards or less. Then yuo throw in a short par 3 at #12.

I think many of it's short holes is what keeps the course from not being too overwhelming, and in fact, make the course play easier than it seems. I think in general Dye always throws in about 5 holes a round that really are not THAT tough. I think people often overlook that fact. On the Straits, the stretch from 10 thru 14 really is very manageable. A pro golfer can actually birdie all 4 of those holes in a row. If the golfer does not birdie at least 2 of those 4 i would think he would be quite dissapointed.

Matt:

You've hit on one of the reasons I think WS is a very good championship course for the PGA, and will make a terrific Ryder Cup site. It's got a lot of ying and yang holes -- so-called hard birdie/easy par holes combined w/ hard par/easy bogie holes. And there's a lot of risk/reward out there, particularly with the lakeside holes, but also on holes like 5 with some penal elements close by. It's a course where a player on form and avoiding trouble can go low because of the birdie opportunities -- the two PGAs there have seen a 64, some 65s and a bunch of 66s. Yet it can bite you in the rear if you're not on your game -- Darren Clarke went from leading the tourney after one day in 2004 with a 65, yet progressively got worse as the tournament went on and finished with a 76 and out of the top 10. Nick Watney last year had three rounds in the 60s and led by three going into the final round before blowing up with an 81. You can really make a move there, either way, which makes it a fun and interesting course for the PGA championship.

[Joe Bausch]

Here we go, let's finish Whistling Straits!

#16.  Par 5.



Darn fog, but it is about to lift!



A better tee shot is a bit right of this (and some will go for this shorter par 5 in two):



Ahhh, the fog is lifting now...

From the left rough, 100 yards out:



From just short of the green:



From just left of the green looking back down the fw:



From the back of the green:



#17.  Par 3.



Real easy to bail right here!



From just short of the green:



But bailing right can still leave a tough shot:



From over the green:



Ahh, Dustin Johnson's favorite hole!

#18.  Par 4.



The view from the tips:



Green tee view:



A good tee shot can chase way down in this area:



To leave an approach shot like this:



From short of the green left:



The fairway and the layup area:



Just about everybody snaps a picture like this from over the green near the clubhouse:



This view from over the green also shows the 10th hole in the distance:



And this pic from earlier in the day standing near the 10th tee is a nice closer to the tour!



If you wish to view all 148 photos (1400 pixels wide) in a photo album, go here:

http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/albums/WhistlingStraits/index.html

That's it for the Wisconsin photo tour.  Please see Rusty on your way out as he has some documents for you to sign.   

[Phil McDade]

Look at all those well-defined bunkers on 18.

17 is a great hole -- I've never quite understood the criticism of this hole.

I still like the look and challenge of the 18th, but grant that there are those who find this over the top.

[Matt Kardash]

While people tend to rip the 18th, I always felt the most underwheling hole in a way was the 16th. Up until the 16th every hole is unique in look and in how it plays. I feel the 16th is the first hole that offers nothing new. I guess what I am trying to say is that it kind of reminds me a little of the 2nd hole....and I actually prefer the 2nd. But by no means is it a bad hole. This is me just trying to find something to be picky about in terms of the design of the holes.

I really beleive the 17th should be considered one of the great par 3's of the world. And as a 17th hole, it has everything you could ever want in terms of challenge, without even relying on water (even though the lake is present, but I don't think is really in play for any golfer of decent skill).

Honestly, if I could change anything about Whistling Straits i would actually maybe throw in an extra blind shot or two. Dye is famous for hiding greens behind huge mounds, yet on this course he chose not to do it. Out of all his courses with a mound blocking the green it would have been most at home here. Pity.

[Phil McDade]

Matt:

I do think the skyline green at 16 is pretty cool.

Re. the blind greens -- Dye and Kohler knew WStraits was going to be the championship course that lured the big tourneys; that was their intent w/ it all along (the daily fee crowd was a secondary consideration). I wonder if Dye instinctively knew that blind approaches into greens would draw too much criticism from the pros, and maybe would have to be changed.

[Matt Kardash]

Phil,

I agree with you about the green and about the blind shots. I think that is why Dye put the blind par 3 on the Irish because he knew he could get away with it there. I just thought about it, and all of Dye's famous championship layouts do not feature a  straight up blind hole. Maybe you are right and he knows when it's not time to piss the pro golfers off TOO much. Though he does throw in blind shots on his championship courses if you are not in an ideal position (6th at the Straits, 4th and 12th at TPC)

[Matt Kardash]

And to be fair, the Straits does feature at least 2 or 3 totally blind tee shots from the tips (though I do not think they make the pros play from those tees....big surprise)

[Jeff Tang]

Joe, thanks for a great photo tour of all four courses. I have always enjoyed going to Kohler and while the River course is my favorite I would happily play any of the four.

Regarding the 18th at WS I thought it was a bit of an odd hole because you could easily run out of room with your tee shot and all shots seemed to collect in the same area.  I played the course shortly after it opened and I know aspects of the hole have changed since but I think this is still the case.

My question is was Dye's strategic intent on this hole to give the player the choice of "conservatively" going down the right side versus going for the heroic carry down the left side of the hole leaving only a short distance from the hole and a better angle?  If so I think that's kind of cool but the hole certainly doesn't play this way.  I remember in the last PGA at one point on TV they commented on the carry distance to the left and it was huge to the point that no one would try it. Would it be a better hole if the carry to the left was a more viable option?

[Phil McDade]

Jeff:

I think that was Dye's intent on 18. I tend to agree that left-side fairway is fairly risky for the reward you get.

[Keith Buntrock]

For those who have played both or all, how do you separate 10 rounds between Meadow Valleys and the Irish courses? 10 rounds between the River and Straits courses?

[Jeff Tang]

For those who have played both or all, how do you separate 10 rounds between Meadow Valleys and the Irish courses? 10 rounds between the River and Straits courses?

Keith, I would go 8 MV and 2 Irish.  For River and Straits I would go 6 River and 4 Straits.

If I had 10 for the whole resort I would go:

River 4
Straits 3
MV 2
Irish 1

[Joe Bausch]

I took the time today to fix all the broken URLs and make each photo 'clickable' to a larger size. 


Now I remember why I basically stopped putting together photo tours like this as it takes so much time!

[David Harshbarger]

I took the time today to fix all the broken URLs and make each photo 'clickable' to a larger size. 


Now I remember why I basically stopped putting together photo tours like this as it takes so much time!

I'm glad you did.  This is an incredible photo tour. 


Ran, if you are reading, provide a way to let the posters upload photos on to this site.  The photo history that people are sharing is worth preserving.  As it stands today, this heritage will only be lost over time as the photo hosting services fail/move/migrate and as posters abandon this site, pass away, or just decline to patch up old links.