by Ronald S. Montesano of www.buffalogolfer.com

If there were a way to combine the Norman Rockwell-look of a Kohler winter with the golf of a Kohler summer, I believe that I would truly be in an American sort of heaven. As it is, you’ll have to be satisfied with one or the other. Since this is a column about golf, we’ll pass on the snow, roasting chestnuts and Clydesdales and focus on fairways and greens (and other places, as you’ll soon learn.)

Mr. Herb Kohler, current overseer of the Kohler Kitchen and Bath Fixture company, made plans to build a remarkable resort in the factory’s hometown of Kohler, Wisconsin. Golf was to be of central importance, to the extent that the top architect of the day, Pete Dye, was retained to create four golf courses. Land slightly to the west of town was reserved for the Blackwolf Run complex. Named for a native chief, Blackwolf Run became the site of two, uniquely American, inland courses. Half of the River course was the site of the 1998 USGA Women’s Open championship, and is recognized as one of the top ten public access courses in America by many experts. The River follows the course of the Sheboygan River, at times surging uphill, at others, cascading downward. Like all courses at Kohler, please choose the correct tee decks. If you give in to pride, you’re in for a long and forgettable (not to mention painful) day. Trust me, play it shorter than you think best, and you might approach your handicap! (Click here to read the article in full)