GOLF DIGEST 2017/2018
#4 WHISTLING STRAITS
Whistling Straits was the best golf experience I’ve ever had. It was unbelievably amazing from the caddy, to the views, to the shots, even to the 20 mph winds. There are few courses in the US that one must see in their lifetime, and this is one of them. It ranks right up there with Pebble Beach.
(The first hole wastes no time taking the player to the water. While modest in length, a par is a fine way to begin the round.)
Pete Dye designed Whistling Straits in 1998, and in its first twenty years, it’s already held three PGA Championships and is hosting the 2020 Ryder Cup!
(The par five second is reachable in two shots though water left and a pot bunker short right guard the green...
...a myriad of stances and lies can be found in here. Should be interesting to see how it influences players at the Ryder Cup.)
It’s hard to believe Whistling Straits is completely man made. It once was an airfield called Camp Haven. Dye brought in over a million cubic feet of dirt and moved it around until it became what he envisioned. His figure 8 routing has been labeled genius and golfers play along Lake Michigan four distinct times during the course of the round.
It’s hard to believe Whistling Straits is completely man made. It once was an airfield called Camp Haven. Dye brought in over a million cubic feet of dirt and moved it around until it became what he envisioned. His figure 8 routing has been labeled genius and golfers play along Lake Michigan four distinct times during the course of the round.
(The par three third is beautifully perched above the water. The slope in back right will push ball towards the left and rear pin location.)
(The fourth follows with a strong par four.)
The setting at Whistling Straits cannot be overstated. There’s something about being on the water that adds another element to one’s round. The olfactory receptors are stimulated by wind and moisture.
(The drive at the sixth...
...leads to this green that is essentially split in two by a nasty bunker eating into the middle. Pin in pic is accessible via aerial or ground, but pin on the right demands perfection.)
(Whistling Straits has more than just have water views. It literally plays on the shoreline! The par three seventh is another captivating one shotter!)
The par threes at Whistling Straits are incredible! I’m not sure there’s a better set anywhere in the world. All four play along the Lake Michigan shoreline, and each one has its own particular demands and shot requirements.
(The par twelfth is a birdie hole when the pin is in the meat of the green on the left, but when it’s placed on the “whale tail” to the right, it’s like trying to hit the ball to an area the size of your living room.)
(The seventeenth is probably the most iconic hole at Whistling Straits. This view looking back to the green shows just how tall the volcano bunker is short right. There’s plenty of room behind it if they want to “hide” the pin.)
Whistling Straits is arguably Pete Dye’s best course. While a handful of others can make that claim, there’s no mistaking the engineering marvel that went into building it. The two miles of shoreline is awfully hard to beat too.
(It’s possible to see them move the tees up and make the thirteenth a driveable par four for the Ryder Cup.)
(The “infinity green” at the par five sixteenth. Nothing behind it except blue skies and blue water.)
I give Whistling Straits a 10 (perfect)(must play during one’s lifetime). It’s a modern classic that is only going to get more recognition as time moves on. The PGA of America loves the place and the Ryder Cup is only going to improve its stature. It will also increase the rate on what is already a big ticket item. 
(The eighteenth green with the large stone clubhouse in the background. It takes two well struck shots to reach this green in regulation. It gets panned by many as being too over the top, but for pro competition, it provides high drama.)
[A couple sidebars to point out. First, a few years ago, Arcadia Bluffs was voted as the number one course in Midwest. At a third the cost, it is a better value, but Whistling Straits is undoubtedly the better course.
Second, from 1997-1999, Bay Harbor, Whistling Straits, and Pacific Dunes all opened and there was a huge headline in one of the golf magazine about the next Pebble Beach. It’s twenty years later, and if you look at the rankings, both PD n WS are ranked in the top five, yet BH is at 73. Makes me wonder if a better architect could’ve designed a top twenty course. I’ve played all three.
PD 10 WS 10 BH 7]
Other reviews:
Arcadia Bluffs
Pete Dye’s Harbour Town
No comments:
Post a Comment