The Straits Course: Golf in the Town of Mosel, Wisconsin

Whistling Straits' own page states airport distances in miles, each paired with a named airport: 72 miles to General Mitchell International Airport (MKE), Milwaukee; 142 miles to O'Hare International Airport (ORD), Chicago; and 58 miles to Austin Straubel International Airport (GRB), Green Bay. Sheboygan County Memorial Airport, about 5 miles away, is accessible to private air transportation. The Village of Kohler — a separate municipality about ten road miles inland, home to the resort's hotel and to Blackwolf Run — sits two-thirds of a mile west of Interstate 43; northbound, take exit 126 for WI-23 West, keep right for WI-23 West/Kohler/Plymouth onto WI-23 Trunk West/Kohler Memorial Drive, take the County Highway-Y exit toward Kohler, and turn slight right onto Highland Drive. Getting from the village out to the course itself takes separate planning: the resort's shuttle between the Village of Kohler and Whistling Straits, covering the ten miles between them, runs only from May 1 through October 15, departing on the hour from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Outside that window, a guest needs their own transportation to reach the course.

Pete Dye designed the Straits Course, which opened in 1998 and plays 7,790 yards from the back tees at a slope of 152. The club's own page: "Host to major championships and the 43rd Ryder Cup, the Straits is defined by its windswept links carved along two miles of rugged Lake Michigan coastline. A walking-only course rooted in the timeless traditions of the game, this is golf as it is meant to be played." The rates and policy page confirms it again: "The Straits Course is a walking only golf course. Golf carts are not allowed." It has hosted three PGA Championships, the 2007 U.S. Senior Open, and the 2021 Ryder Cup. Golf Digest's own course profile carries the fuller ranking history: "100 Greatest: Ranked since 2001. Highest ranking: 16th, 2013-'14. Previous ranking: 26th. 2025-'26 ranking: 26th. 100 Greatest Public: Ranked since our inaugural edition in 2003. Highest ranking: 2nd, 2013-'14. Previous ranking: 3rd. 2025-'26 ranking: 4th. Best in State: Ranked first since 2011. 2025-'26 ranking: 1st."

Kohler's own FAQ answers the access question plainly: "Can I play golf at Whistling Straits or Blackwolf Run without staying at the resort? Yes. All Kohler golf courses are open to the public." It then adds a caveat about this course specifically: "The Straits Course may have booking restrictions for non-resort guests" — without saying anywhere on the resort's site what those restrictions are. What the resort does publish is timing: its reservations page splits booking by lead time. Tee times within 30 days of play can be booked online through Kohler's own reservations system. Tee times beyond 30 days, and every stay-and-play golf package, must be arranged by calling 855-444-2838 or through the resort's online golf inquiry form. Junior and military rates cannot be booked online at all — both are telephone-only, and the military rate carries its own 30-day limit. Because the resort reserves an unspecified restriction on the Straits Course for guests not staying with it, a non-resort visitor should call ahead rather than assume the online window will hold a date. Golf Digest's course profile, dated to its 2025-'26 ranking edition, lists a price of $695 for the Straits Course, over its own caveat that the figure "covers all ranges of greens fees" and that readers should "check with the course on specific timing and pricing" — it is Golf Digest's reported figure, not a rate Kohler posts. For the 2026 golf season — the resort's own dating for these figures — Kohler's rates page lists a caddie fee of $90 per person on the Straits (recommended gratuity $70 per bag), a forecaddie fee of $60, and a club rental fee of $100 per person per round; golf carts are not offered on the Straits. The same page discounts off an unstated rack rate: twilight play at 30% off, starting four and a half hours before official sunset, and super-twilight play at 45% off, starting two and a half hours before; a same-day replay round and junior play (17 and under, with a paying adult) are each 45% off. "Rates and policies listed apply for the 2026 golf season and do not include Wisconsin sales tax or gratuity."

Kohler's golf season is a northern one. The resort's own writing places the start in "the final two weeks of April," though no 2026 opening or closing date is published anywhere on the resort's site. Play on the Straits Course runs at least through November 1, 2026: the Kohler Fall Challenge occupies the course on the mornings of October 31 (River Course/Straits Course, tee times 10 a.m. to 12:10 p.m.) and November 1 (Straits Course/River Course, tee times 9 to 11:10 a.m.), priced at $540 per player for 2026 under the page's own promo code FALLCHALL26, with golf nonrefundable after Wednesday, October 28. That is a tournament field, not a closure — the resort does not say the course closes to other play during it. A visitor planning a late-October or early-November trip should note both dated constraints together: the shuttle from the Village of Kohler stops running after October 15, and the Straits then hosts Fall Challenge play on those same two late-season mornings.

The second course to play is Blackwolf Run: River Course, fifth on the same Golf Digest Wisconsin list and also labelled "Public." It sits at 1111 W. Riverside Drive, Kohler, Wisconsin, in Kohler village, Sheboygan County — a separate municipality from the Straits Course's Town of Mosel. The same FAQ answer covers it by name: "Can I play golf at Whistling Straits or Blackwolf Run without staying at the resort? Yes. All Kohler golf courses are open to the public." The property is credited to Pete Dye and Herb Kohler; a ten-hole par-3 and putting course on the same grounds, The Baths, is credited to Herb Kohler and Pete Dye protégé Chris Lutzke. Blackwolf Run hosted the 1998 and 2012 U.S. Women's Opens, won by Se Ri Pak and Na Yeon Choi.

The Kohler resort's basecamp hotel is The American Club, at 419 Highland Drive, Kohler, Wisconsin 53044 — not the 444 Highland Drive address in the resort's own site footer, which belongs to Kohler Co.'s corporate offices, not the hotel. Opened in 1918 as accommodation for newly arrived immigrant workers, it was reborn as a resort open to the public in 1981. The resort's own copy: "With lush gardens, historic details, and fireplaces that crackle year-round, The American Club is a captivating setting for unforgettable moments," offering "luxe guest rooms, suites, and an adults-only Carriage House located above Kohler Waters Spa." Dinner within the hotel is served at The Immigrant Restaurant: "Rich in heritage and historic elegance, The Immigrant Restaurant showcases a menu featuring seasonal plants, seafood, pristine meats, and game sourced from Wisconsin and beyond," open Tuesday through Saturday, 5:30 to 10 p.m., closed Sunday and Monday. What the sources establish is that the hotel and restaurant exist and what they offer; neither says whether either is trading today, so this guide does not say so either. Other Kohler lodging and dining exist under their own names only, not individually characterized here: Inn on Woodlake and the Carriage House among the lodging, and The Wisconsin Room, The Horse & Plow, Taverne on Woodlake, Blackwolf Run Restaurant, Whistling Straits Restaurant, and River Wildlife Restaurant among the dining rooms.