Blackwolf Run (River), The Baths and Whistling Straits (Irish)

The Wisconsin golf trip ends up with two excellent Kohler courses as well as the short course.

We finished up our trip with two great courses and snuck in a round at The Baths, the 10-hole par-3 course located just off of Meadow Valleys. Check out posts from earlier this week to see where we played - it was quite the trip!

First up, we tackled Blackwolf Run (River). This is the other prominent course on property and has hosted a lot of championship events on its own. Unlike the Straits course, it’s not really walkable whatsoever. It also features some very gimmicky greens and pin placements (at least four or five times we saw a pin atop a mound, making it almost impossible to hit a putt over a few feet).

The holes that are good are … really, really good. Still, like all Pete Dye courses, there’s huge forced carries (one from a tee box that’s about 500 feet above the fairway but behind acres of bad, bad things), massive sandtraps and a lot of water.

The 9th hole might be the dumbest hole I’ve ever seen on a championship level course. I didn’t take a picture because my jaw was slack at how dumb it was.

See the green there off to the right? It’s only about 280 yards away “as the crow flies.” But you can’t really go at it - the tree is way too high and unless you hit a truly perfect shot, you’re in the water or under that tree. And if you do hit through those two “field goal” trees but don’t reach the green, you have a terrible angle at a nasty green. There’s no reward, just risk. So, instead, you’re hitting two 150-yard shots - maybe you take a bigger club and go left of the tree, but you’re only getting yourself to a 115-120 yards out distance. It’s just not worth it.

Also, quite oddly, the River course is near a shooting range that I’m sure is an attraction other guests partake in. For us, it just made it unnerving when you’re lining up to hit a golf shot.

The course overall is gorgeous, challenging and often a really solid test of golf.

That flag is visible from almost EVERYWHERE at Blackwolf Run.

The defining feature of the course is, of course, the titular River that runs through most of the course and has more than a few Srixons in it, courtesy of me. There are also folks fishing in that river which is both charming and a bit unnerving when you’re worried you’re going to brain someone preoccupied with reeling in a trout. (Are trout in a river? I don’t fish. Clearly.)

There is no question that River is a world-class course, but if I’m being honest it was just too tricked up, mean and - especially with the ninth hole - quite silly. (There’s another par-5 that gives you such few choices and brings in so much danger that I also hate it, but I’m limited in space here.)

We played The Baths after this, and like all short courses is a great way to wind down after a long 18 holes elsewhere. It turns out that if you stay on property, you can play The Baths for free every day. I would recommend this as it’s a LOT of fun.

The next morning, we woke up and tackled our last course and the only one we’d yet to play, Whistling Straits (Irish). The “easier” of the Whistling Straits courses, it’s still no joke. And while it only teases you with the coast that the Straits course spends so much time on, the inland holes made me question - only slightly - our plan to only play links courses when we are in Ireland next summer. Because man, this was fun.

One hole on the back (can’t remember exactly which one, apologies) has an Irish flag at the top and it’s pretty impressive. It’s also crazy to think that ALL of this land was DEAD flat before Kohler came in. It looks fairly natural.

Don’t leave your approach short! Or left (there’s a bunker)! Or long! Right is…okay. Just hit the green you can’t see. Simple, right?

Another great par-3 where the flag is blind from the tee. I was right next to my friend in the blue and had no idea after I hit my shot where it was. Also, another of our friends is in a bunker on the left here - so deep he’s invisible.

The dunes and bunkers through the Irish are gorgeous and yet the course is more playable than it seems. Me and my cart mate decided not to keep score when we teed off, just to make it as fun as possible - but I’m fairly sure I would have been right around bogey golf had I done so.

The Wisconsin trip was truly epic and because I’m me, a few rankings:

Overall Rankings, which will probably change by the time I post this

1. Whistling Straits - Straits

2. Erin Hills

3. Sand Valley

4. Mammoth Dunes

5. Whistling Straits - Irish

6. Blackwolf Run - River

7. Wild Rock

8. Blackwolf Run - Meadow Valleys

9. Lawsonia Links

What course would you play if you could only play one round of golf?

• Whistling Straits - Straits. The views, the challenge and the epic nature of the course make

What course would you play if it was the only course you could ever play again?

• Lawsonia Links. Yes, it’s the last on my rankings above, but look at the courses it’s up against. It’s one of the most walkable courses here, and there’s a lot to learn. Playing Erin Hills or Straits regularly would break my very soul.

Where are you the most eager to get back to?

• For me, the answer is Sand Valley - a cheat, because I get two courses in one. But unlike Kohler (where there’s four), these courses are the most my speed of all of these, and knowing that there will be two more courses there by the time I’m able to return makes this a true destination. Plus, the vibes can’t be beat.

Thanks for indulging my trip down memory lane. If you are planning a golf trip, consider Wisconsin - it’s chock full of world-class courses. And don’t skip the cheese curds and Spotted Cows while you’re there.