HAVEN, Wis. – Whistling Straits’ Straits Course, home of the 43rd Ryder Cup on Sept. 24-26, is one of the most dramatic visual treats in golf.
Built by Pete Dye on the shore of Lake Michigan, the formerly flat site once housed a military base before the legendary designer trucked in some 13,000 loads of sand to shape an incredible vista of flowing dunes, fescue grass and incredibly difficult golf shots.
The Straits will play as a par 71 at 7,390 yards for the Ryder Cup. It’s normally a par 72, but the par-5 11th was shortened to a par 4 for the event.
The Straits ranks as the No. 1 public-access course in Wisconsin on Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play list, as well as No. 8 among all of Golfweek’s Best Modern Courses in the U.S.