Whistling Straits
There are a few getaways in the game of golf that seem to make people say: “That place is wild. You need to experience it for yourself.”
Typically, these are unconventional course designs in special locations.
The publicly accessible courses listed below can be polarizing, but they’re unquestionably memorable and undeniably wild.
Black Desert Resort (Ivins, Utah)
One of the latest additions to the destination golf market is this gem in Southwest Utah framed by the dramatic surrounds of nearby national and state parks like Snow Canyon and Zion. The 19-hole Tom Weiskopf design, which is hosting a PGA Tour event right out of the gate, qualifies as one of those must-be-seen-to-be-believed layouts – with lush, green playing corridors snaking their way through a field of jet-black lava rock and panoramic backdrops in various hues: red rocks, off-white sand hills, and brown mountain peaks. The combination makes for a breathtaking landscape for risk-and-reward golf.
Black Desert Resort
The Lido (Sand Valley Resort – Nekoosa, Wisc.)
One of the game’s most storied designs, the lost Lido on Long Island, was recreated in the sand dunes of central Wisconsin, across the street from the main Sand Valley Golf Resort. The course features many of the classic template holes – Alps, Redan, and Eden – that were part of the original C.B. Macdonald design that was demolished after the Navy acquired the land as a military base during World War II. The layout is a visual stunner, with dramatic bunkering and green complexes, and offers limited availability to Sand Valley resort guests from Sunday through Thursday.
The Lido
The Loop (Forest Dunes – Roscommon, Mich.)
In Northern Michigan, this reversible course from golf architect Tom Doak delivers a pair of layouts that have each been ranked among the greatest public offerings in the country. The Black routing plays clockwise around “the loop,” while the Red Course goes counter-clockwise – with the courses alternating availability each day. The challenges are unique, with firm and fast conditions and green complexes that play very differently depending on the direction of approach. The Loop is an experience that’ll have you saying, “I’ve never seen something like that…,” especially when you get a look at a green you played to the day before from a completely different angle.
The Loop
Old Macdonald (Bandon Dunes Golf Resort – Bandon, Ore.)
Another Doak offering, Old Macdonald might be the most divisive of the seven special courses at Bandon Dunes on the rugged Oregon coast. It’s wide open and windswept, with vast greens, fierce bunkers and an abundance of angles. The course starts behind a sand ridge, climbs past what perhaps is the resort’s most iconic landmark in the “Ghost Tree,” and then introduces a smorgasbord of holes inspired by architect C.B. Macdonald’s iconic design work. There are a few aggressive climbs in elevation, multitiered greens, blind shots, railroad ties, and long views of the Scottish-style landscape. While occasionally misunderstood by some, Old Mac is not to be missed.
Old Macdonald
Tobacco Road Golf Club (Sanford, N.C.)
From the world of love-it-or-hate-it golf, the late, great Mike Strantz delivered his magnum opus in the sand hills near Pinehurst, North Carolina. Tobacco Road is undeniably one of the most unforgettable golf courses in the country, with Strantz crafting a masterpiece across a bold piece of property that was once a tobacco farm and later a sand quarry. Strantz’s stated goal was to test a player’s “eye, determination and wits,” and Tobacco Road is an uncompromising mix of sandy waste areas, aggressive mounding and earth-moving, intimidating shots, and dramatic green sites. It’s been called Pine Valley on steroids, with a layout that grabs your attention from the opening tee shot between two towering dunes.
Tobacco Road
Whistling Straits (Destination Kohler – Kohler, Wisc.)
The Straits Course was sculpted across two miles of rugged and windswept terrain along the shoreline of Lake Michigan, famously boasting more than 1,000 sand bunkers and scrapes. Pete Dye’s design defines big and bold, sprawling across more than 560 acres, and has hosted multiple major championships along with the Ryder Cup. Dye once said the Straits course is like popcorn, “but sometimes you choke on popcorn.” Tight landing areas and fearsome bunkering will do that, with hole names like “Shipwreck,” “On the Rocks,” “Endless Bite,” “Pinched Nerve” and “Dyeabolical” giving a glimpse of what players are in for.
Whistling Straits
Wolf Creek Golf Club (Mesquite, Nev.)
When a course is described as playing golf on the moon, and the construction process necessitated that helicopters deliver sand for some of the most treacherously placed bunkers, you know you’re in for a unique challenge. With wild elevation changes and a routing that winds through wandering canyons just over an hour from Las Vegas, a round at Wolf Creek will have many players wondering how a golf course was created on this precipitous but picturesque landscape. At times the design feels like it was pulled right out of a video game, with unique holes, endless views, and loads of visual drama.
Wolf Creek Golf Club