1 Aug 2010

In August the final major championship for 2010 was played on the Straits Course at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin, designed by enigmatic 80+ year-old architect Pete Dye. Whistling Straits first opened for play in 1998, two years prior to Scotland’s Kingsbarns course, which is a similarly extravagant, and manufactured, big dune layout set close to the water.

In this month’s ‘course comparison’ we look at these two modern greats, and ask readers to comment on which one is better – Whistling Straits or Kingsbarns?

Along with the Links Course at Fancourt in South Africa, these are the two most effective artificial dune courses in golf. Designed by Kyle Phillips, Kingsbarns is noted for tumbling sand ridges that appear completely natural, while Whistling Straits is most commonly remembered for the sheer size and audaciousness of dunes that pop up randomly across the property and provide a base for the staggering 900 odd bunkers here.

Kingsbarns is far more playable and enjoyable for the average golfer, but the Straits Course might be the ultimate modern test – especially for professionals as it has loads of length, extreme greens and plenty of heroic carries. The course runs right along the Lake Michigan shoreline and, like Kingsbarns, enjoys almost constant views of the water.

Pete Dye’s work at Whistling Straits has been widely hailed in America, with both Golf Digest and GOLF Magazine ranking the course in the Top 25 in the USA. GOLF Magazine even lists it at number 40 in the world, around 20 places higher than Kingbarns.

For some purists the chief criticism they have with Kingsbarns is that it plays too democratically, or as one of my more forthright correspondents put it, ‘the course is visually spectacular but, in my opinion, more American than Scottish. It reminds me of a Weiskopf course and has a terrible finishing hole.’

As for Whistling Straits the same correspondent noted that Pete Dye’s work was an ‘example of overspending an unlimited budget!’ He added that ‘Again the 18th hole is awful even though it has been changed several times – there is no driving zone and a bizarre “Pete” green.’

Other readers have differing views on these modern big-dune courses, with an Australian colleague describing Kingsbarns as ‘at least the equal of the other British Open venues in Scotland, St Andrews aside.’ On Whistling Straits he concluded that ‘it wasn’t my cup of tea, but I can see why people love it. The views are stunning and those par threes are among the best I’ve ever played.’

In a poll that ran on the Planet Golf Blog users overwhelmingly declared Kingbarns the superior course, Kyle Phillips course garnering around 80% of the votes received.

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