The Irish course at Whistling Straits - No majors, but elite golf for the rest of us
Released on = June 10, 2007, 5:45 am
Press Release Author = GolfPublisher Syndications
Industry = Media
Press Release Summary = Irish course holds its own in Whistling Straits\' Dye duo. Midwest golf courses at WorldGolf.com
Press Release Body = By Brandon Tucker, Staff Writer, Golf Publisher Syndications
The Straits course at Herb Kohler\'s Whistling Straits golf club might have the PGA Championship/Ryder Cup pedigree and the best Lake Michigan views, but the sibling Irish course is still a Midwest must-play offering a serious Pete Dye test.
KOHLER, Wisc. - Herb Kohler commissioned the Straits course at Whistling Straits with golf\'s big events in mind. He\'s succeeded mightily, securing the 2004 PGA Championship and 2020 Ryder Cup.
The Irish course next-door, the newest track in the Kohler stable, wasn\'t built to fluster the world\'s elite. But play it first and you\'ll be forgiven for not pegging it as the more forgiving of the two.
Especially when your first tee shot must carry 150 to 200 yards (depending on the tee) into a breeze just to reach the fairway. This is a Pete Dye concoction, after all, with the 7,201-yard length and 146 slope rating to prove it.
It might labor under its prestigious sibling\'s shadow, but the only thing lacking at the Irish course is Lake Michigan views (there are just a handful). This is must-play Midwest golf, 18 holes on aggressively shaped, heavily bunkered land that won\'t present you with the same shot twice.
The course got its fair share of the 8,000 truckloads of dirt brought in to give the originally flat Whistling Straits land a rugged makeover. Crafted dunes range from rolling to giant. And as at the Straits, the sand is splattered everywhere - even behind tee boxes.
The layout blends links tradition and bold, modern target golf. There are many spots where you can play a low, Scottish-style running game, but several holes play over ponds and grassy streams, requiring precision to find the ideal landing zone. Greens are fast and firm with more subtle slopes than sharp tiers.
The par-3 13th, \"Blind Man\'s Bluff,\" takes a page from Old Tom Morris\' book, playing over dunes to a blind green. A modern twist is its split-level tee location: From the top you can see but a sliver of the massive 14,000-square-foot green; from the bottom, it\'s only partially blocked
For more details visit -http://www.worldgolf.com/course-reviews/wisconsin/the-irish-course-at-whistling-straits-straits-course-midwest-golf-5506.htm
June 08, 2007 Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management.
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