Kohler...then Sand Valley?

[DavePelz4]

On 5/11/2023 at 11:00 AM, Phreddy said:

I may be the only person in the history of Rosendale to get a warning.  My wife has gotten two tickets.  That is still a very touchy subject at our house.

 

Are you a smooth talker Phreddy or did you get pulled over by a female trooper who you had swooning?

[bird206]

I'm currently in the planning stages of this Wisconsin Trip in 2024 and hoping some experienced Wisconsin golfers can add their expertise.

 

5/5 Arrive in Milwaukee Airport 4:35PM and drive to Sand Valley (travel day)

5/6 Mammoth Dunes/Lido

5/7 Sand Valley/Mammoth Dunes

5/8 drive from Sand Valley to Whistling Straits for 3:30 twilight time

5/9 Erin Hills in the morning and fly out from Milwaukee at 5:30

 

Questions:

Anybody play the 6 hole loop at Sand Valley? Is it available all the time in the later afternoon hours?

Is Grafton a good halfway point city between Whistling Straits and Erin Hills for overnight lodging? If not, is there a better location? It doesn't have to be super fancy, just clean and comfortable.

Is it better playing Whistling Straits and Erin Hills before Sand Valley instead of after Sand Valley rounds, or it doesn't matter?

Is there a lot of traffic from Erin Hills to Milwaukee airport around 2pm

 

Thanks for any suggestions to the itinerary or answers to my questions.

 

 

[Drwoods2017]

12 hours ago, bird206 said:

I'm currently in the planning stages of this Wisconsin Trip in 2024 and hoping some experienced Wisconsin golfers can add their expertise.

 

5/5 Arrive in Milwaukee Airport 4:35PM and drive to Sand Valley (travel day)

5/6 Mammoth Dunes/Lido

5/7 Sand Valley/Mammoth Dunes

5/8 drive from Sand Valley to Whistling Straits for 3:30 twilight time

5/9 Erin Hills in the morning and fly out from Milwaukee at 5:30

 

Questions:

Anybody play the 6 hole loop at Sand Valley? Is it available all the time in the later afternoon hours?

Is Grafton a good halfway point city between Whistling Straits and Erin Hills for overnight lodging? If not, is there a better location? It doesn't have to be super fancy, just clean and comfortable.

Is it better playing Whistling Straits and Erin Hills before Sand Valley instead of after Sand Valley rounds, or it doesn't matter?

Is there a lot of traffic from Erin Hills to Milwaukee airport around 2pm

 

Thanks for any suggestions to the itinerary or answers to my questions.

 

 

You might want to check on the Lido because I was told its a private course that will have some public tee times for resort guests but you aren't able to book in advance.  They basically say the week before we have these tee time available.

[bird206]

3 hours ago, Drwoods2017 said:

You might want to check on the Lido because I was told its a private course that will have some public tee times for resort guests but you aren't able to book in advance.  They basically say the week before we have these tee time available.

These tee times are all already booked including Lido. Sand Valley allows Lido reservations for resort guests Mon-Thur and only once during your stay there.

[hbrar99]

17 hours ago, bird206 said:

I'm currently in the planning stages of this Wisconsin Trip in 2024 and hoping some experienced Wisconsin golfers can add their expertise.

 

5/5 Arrive in Milwaukee Airport 4:35PM and drive to Sand Valley (travel day)

5/6 Mammoth Dunes/Lido

5/7 Sand Valley/Mammoth Dunes

5/8 drive from Sand Valley to Whistling Straits for 3:30 twilight time

5/9 Erin Hills in the morning and fly out from Milwaukee at 5:30

 

Questions:

Anybody play the 6 hole loop at Sand Valley? Is it available all the time in the later afternoon hours?

Is Grafton a good halfway point city between Whistling Straits and Erin Hills for overnight lodging? If not, is there a better location? It doesn't have to be super fancy, just clean and comfortable.

Is it better playing Whistling Straits and Erin Hills before Sand Valley instead of after Sand Valley rounds, or it doesn't matter?

Is there a lot of traffic from Erin Hills to Milwaukee airport around 2pm

 

Thanks for any suggestions to the itinerary or answers to my questions.

 

 

Sorry for the long winded response, I hope this answers some of your questions. 

 

We just got back from a similar trip and for all but one, it was our first trip to Wisconsin to play golf. My itinerary was posted earlier in this thread. We had a few guys that came in early and stayed at Erin Hills for the night, while myself and few landed in Chicago, headed to Erin Hills, played and then drove to kohler.  There was no real traffic for the guys who flew into MKE and landed at 1:15. A few of us landed at Ohare at 5:30am the next day, and there no real traffic driving to Erin Hills.

 

Here were our experiences. 

1. The guys that stayed at Erin Hills all said that it was by and far and away the best place and most fun place they stayed at on the trip. The service was spectacular, everyone there was so kind, the service was top notch. Everyone agreed that if it was closer for us (we're coming from California), we'd come back to Erin Hills alone and plan a guys trip there. It is worth staying the night there and the golf course and facilities were amazing. I am very glad we played it on the front end of trip (8/9 rounds per guy over 6/7 days), because it was the toughest walk. The elevation changes from green to tee were real. I don't think I noticed it as much because it was my first round, but be prepared. Erin Hills was also the consensus 1b course we played with the Straights course being 1a. Erin Hills played shorter than the distance  on the card than most of us expected, with the caveat that you needed to hit fairways. Plenty of roll. But if you missed the fairway, it was trouble. Play the tees to your ability and you will love it. It was an amazing property. If possible, I would play Erin Hills first as you won't be tired. 

 

2. Kohler was great. Nothing to do at night. We stayed at the Inn at Woodlake and watched NBA playoffs in the lobby TV they had. Not a problem for us, because it was a pure golf trip.

Straights course was amazing. Only course I played twice, and it was worth it. I was surprised that the Straights courses were so far away from town. I would definitely get there early and have lunch outside, overlooking 18. It was spectacular. Service was helpful and great. We had a package deal and added the second round at Straights a la carte to the package. We had some confusion, and all the last rounds ended up on my ticket. The staff, knowing that we were leaving after the round, met us after 18 to confirm that was our intention or if we wanted them on individual accounts. They went out of their way to help us fix it and were prepared that this was not what we wanted. Extremely professional and helpful. All that being said, if you get an earlier tee time at the straights, I would get it and head to Erin Hills and stay the night there. It was only a little over an hour from Erin Hills to Kohler. 

 

A number of our guys loved BWR River course. It was beautiful and exceptionally difficult, as the greens were fast and hard. I didn't particularly enjoy it, but to be fair, it was also the one clunker round I had and I spent a lot of time looking for my ball. But I thought it was worth it. 

 

The Irish course was the least favorite of our courses, but the greens were shaggy/bumpy. Our caddie's told us that they hadn't grown out yet, Not in your itinerary, but when we go back, we will skip the Irish. 

 

We drove from Whistling to Sand Valley, it was a long drive after playing. Ended up taking 2 hours and 45 with a stop. We were definitely tired. I think staying at after your rounds and driving in the morning as your itinerary has it is a better way to do it. 

 

3. Sand Valley. The good and the bad. We played Mammoth and Sand Valley. The good was that the courses were great. Really enjoyed both. The rooms were awesome. The service was atrocious. We had trouble ordering food, getting drinks, getting cold food. We got chastised for not knowing that there was no corkage allowed in Wisconsin. My bill had 3 random groups charges on it. When I questioned them about it and asked for the tickets, they told me that outside the bar, they didn't get signatures on the tickets. (I hadn't purchased anything from the shop yet). When I insisted on seeing the tickets, they begrudgingly retrieved them. They were obviously not mine and I had to argue with them to have them removed. They had a replay round on my account. I insisted I didn't play and they wouldn't remove it. It was only when I showed them a drink ticket that I signed during that time in the Mammoth Bar that the finally agreed that I couldn't have been on the course and signed the bar bill at the same time. The final day in the shop, half our group waited over 30 min before giving up purchasing items with 5 staff members all talking about getting back to Sand Valley. They were rude and unhelpful. 

 

Our caddie experience was a mixed bag. I requested Pro caddies for all our bags and was given a card with caddie services that fees were  $100 plus gratuity. The pro caddies that we had were great. Highly recommend Chris S. from Streamsong. He was spot on. The problem were what they had "A" caddies or junior caddies on some of our bags. They had almost no knowledge of the course and were there just to carry your bag. It wouldn't have been a problem if they had told us. Our pro caddie ended up telling us all this information and that the rates are different for the junior caddies. We raked our own bunkers, as the caddies told us they don't rake bunkers and it was a local rule to move balls out of footprints. It was extremely disappointing. 

 

Overall, SV was a mixed bag. I think that in the during all of the golf and moving from one place to another, it felt far from Kohler and Erin Hills , I'm not sure we will return, especially because we go to Bandon at least once a year and it is in my opinion just better top to bottom. We unfortunately had rain on one of days in SV, so we didn't play the sandbox or the 6 hole loop after we got a slight, but steady rain for 17 of the 18 holes that day. 

 

Lastly, I would recommend looking into all flight options. Madison was 1 hour and 45 min from SV and I believe not much further than MKE from Erin Hills. If you can fly into there, it may make the driving loop easier. A few of us flew out of MSP. It was 3.5 hours from SV, but we could get direct flights back to LA, which made total travel time shorter. Not a single direct flight from CA to Wisconsin other than Spirit Airlines when we were traveling. And with clubs and a tight window, no one was taking a spirit airlines 

 

All told, it was great seeing all 3 resorts. We thought it was a total bucket list. But we loved it so much, we will go back and next time focus on Erin Hills and Kohler. 

 

PS, Our group is mostly walkers at home. SV, Straights and Erin Hills are all tougher than normal walks. Nothing out of the ordinary if it was a normal weekend, but on a trip with the sheer amount of golf we played and eating out and drinking, we started feeling it by the end of the trip. Be prepared for the walk for multiple rounds. The sitting in the car from Kohler to SV definitely felt a lot longer and stiffer because of it. 

 

 

[Phreddy]

3 hours ago, hbrar99 said:

Sorry for the long winded response, I hope this answers some of your questions. 

 

We just got back from a similar trip and for all but one, it was our first trip to Wisconsin to play golf. My itinerary was posted earlier in this thread. We had a few guys that came in early and stayed at Erin Hills for the night, while myself and few landed in Chicago, headed to Erin Hills, played and then drove to kohler.  There was no real traffic for the guys who flew into MKE and landed at 1:15. A few of us landed at Ohare at 5:30am the next day, and there no real traffic driving to Erin Hills.

 

Here were our experiences. 

1. The guys that stayed at Erin Hills all said that it was by and far and away the best place and most fun place they stayed at on the trip. The service was spectacular, everyone there was so kind, the service was top notch. Everyone agreed that if it was closer for us (we're coming from California), we'd come back to Erin Hills alone and plan a guys trip there. It is worth staying the night there and the golf course and facilities were amazing. I am very glad we played it on the front end of trip (8/9 rounds per guy over 6/7 days), because it was the toughest walk. The elevation changes from green to tee were real. I don't think I noticed it as much because it was my first round, but be prepared. Erin Hills was also the consensus 1b course we played with the Straights course being 1a. Erin Hills played shorter than the distance  on the card than most of us expected, with the caveat that you needed to hit fairways. Plenty of roll. But if you missed the fairway, it was trouble. Play the tees to your ability and you will love it. It was an amazing property. If possible, I would play Erin Hills first as you won't be tired. 

 

2. Kohler was great. Nothing to do at night. We stayed at the Inn at Woodlake and watched NBA playoffs in the lobby TV they had. Not a problem for us, because it was a pure golf trip.

Straights course was amazing. Only course I played twice, and it was worth it. I was surprised that the Straights courses were so far away from town. I would definitely get there early and have lunch outside, overlooking 18. It was spectacular. Service was helpful and great. We had a package deal and added the second round at Straights a la carte to the package. We had some confusion, and all the last rounds ended up on my ticket. The staff, knowing that we were leaving after the round, met us after 18 to confirm that was our intention or if we wanted them on individual accounts. They went out of their way to help us fix it and were prepared that this was not what we wanted. Extremely professional and helpful. All that being said, if you get an earlier tee time at the straights, I would get it and head to Erin Hills and stay the night there. It was only a little over an hour from Erin Hills to Kohler. 

 

A number of our guys loved BWR River course. It was beautiful and exceptionally difficult, as the greens were fast and hard. I didn't particularly enjoy it, but to be fair, it was also the one clunker round I had and I spent a lot of time looking for my ball. But I thought it was worth it. 

 

The Irish course was the least favorite of our courses, but the greens were shaggy/bumpy. Our caddie's told us that they hadn't grown out yet, Not in your itinerary, but when we go back, we will skip the Irish. 

 

We drove from Whistling to Sand Valley, it was a long drive after playing. Ended up taking 2 hours and 45 with a stop. We were definitely tired. I think staying at after your rounds and driving in the morning as your itinerary has it is a better way to do it. 

 

3. Sand Valley. The good and the bad. We played Mammoth and Sand Valley. The good was that the courses were great. Really enjoyed both. The rooms were awesome. The service was atrocious. We had trouble ordering food, getting drinks, getting cold food. We got chastised for not knowing that there was no corkage allowed in Wisconsin. My bill had 3 random groups charges on it. When I questioned them about it and asked for the tickets, they told me that outside the bar, they didn't get signatures on the tickets. (I hadn't purchased anything from the shop yet). When I insisted on seeing the tickets, they begrudgingly retrieved them. They were obviously not mine and I had to argue with them to have them removed. They had a replay round on my account. I insisted I didn't play and they wouldn't remove it. It was only when I showed them a drink ticket that I signed during that time in the Mammoth Bar that the finally agreed that I couldn't have been on the course and signed the bar bill at the same time. The final day in the shop, half our group waited over 30 min before giving up purchasing items with 5 staff members all talking about getting back to Sand Valley. They were rude and unhelpful. 

 

Our caddie experience was a mixed bag. I requested Pro caddies for all our bags and was given a card with caddie services that fees were  $100 plus gratuity. The pro caddies that we had were great. Highly recommend Chris S. from Streamsong. He was spot on. The problem were what they had "A" caddies or junior caddies on some of our bags. They had almost no knowledge of the course and were there just to carry your bag. It wouldn't have been a problem if they had told us. Our pro caddie ended up telling us all this information and that the rates are different for the junior caddies. We raked our own bunkers, as the caddies told us they don't rake bunkers and it was a local rule to move balls out of footprints. It was extremely disappointing. 

 

Overall, SV was a mixed bag. I think that in the during all of the golf and moving from one place to another, it felt far from Kohler and Erin Hills , I'm not sure we will return, especially because we go to Bandon at least once a year and it is in my opinion just better top to bottom. We unfortunately had rain on one of days in SV, so we didn't play the sandbox or the 6 hole loop after we got a slight, but steady rain for 17 of the 18 holes that day. 

 

Lastly, I would recommend looking into all flight options. Madison was 1 hour and 45 min from SV and I believe not much further than MKE from Erin Hills. If you can fly into there, it may make the driving loop easier. A few of us flew out of MSP. It was 3.5 hours from SV, but we could get direct flights back to LA, which made total travel time shorter. Not a single direct flight from CA to Wisconsin other than Spirit Airlines when we were traveling. And with clubs and a tight window, no one was taking a spirit airlines 

 

All told, it was great seeing all 3 resorts. We thought it was a total bucket list. But we loved it so much, we will go back and next time focus on Erin Hills and Kohler. 

 

PS, Our group is mostly walkers at home. SV, Straights and Erin Hills are all tougher than normal walks. Nothing out of the ordinary if it was a normal weekend, but on a trip with the sheer amount of golf we played and eating out and drinking, we started feeling it by the end of the trip. Be prepared for the walk for multiple rounds. The sitting in the car from Kohler to SV definitely felt a lot longer and stiffer because of it. 

 

 

Really well done write up of your trip, and I am happy that on the whole it was a good experience.  I am sad to read that your experience at SV was less than stellar.  That is not in keeping with the Keiser business tradition, and I hope they can fix it.  Adams County Wisconsin is the poorest county in the state.  They probably do not have a large pool of talent available and that requires a top shelf training and mentoring program.  Something needs to be addressed.  As a native I hope you found enough here to bring you back and that you add Lawsonia to your itinerary.  It blows my mind that Wisconsin such a multitude of quality golf courses available, particularly when they spend so much of the year under a blanket of snow.  Before he died, Herb Kohler secured the permitting for another course, and that might be reason enough to come back.  Lido at SV promises to be something special. as well.

 

Unfortunately Milwaukee's airport has become a ghost of its former self.  With all of the airlines having gone to a hub-and-spoke model there are very few direct flights to MKE.

[bird206]

On 5/24/2023 at 1:36 PM, hbrar99 said:

Sorry for the long winded response, I hope this answers some of your questions. 

 

We just got back from a similar trip and for all but one, it was our first trip to Wisconsin to play golf. My itinerary was posted earlier in this thread. We had a few guys that came in early and stayed at Erin Hills for the night, while myself and few landed in Chicago, headed to Erin Hills, played and then drove to kohler.  There was no real traffic for the guys who flew into MKE and landed at 1:15. A few of us landed at Ohare at 5:30am the next day, and there no real traffic driving to Erin Hills.

 

Here were our experiences. 

1. The guys that stayed at Erin Hills all said that it was by and far and away the best place and most fun place they stayed at on the trip. The service was spectacular, everyone there was so kind, the service was top notch. Everyone agreed that if it was closer for us (we're coming from California), we'd come back to Erin Hills alone and plan a guys trip there. It is worth staying the night there and the golf course and facilities were amazing. I am very glad we played it on the front end of trip (8/9 rounds per guy over 6/7 days), because it was the toughest walk. The elevation changes from green to tee were real. I don't think I noticed it as much because it was my first round, but be prepared. Erin Hills was also the consensus 1b course we played with the Straights course being 1a. Erin Hills played shorter than the distance  on the card than most of us expected, with the caveat that you needed to hit fairways. Plenty of roll. But if you missed the fairway, it was trouble. Play the tees to your ability and you will love it. It was an amazing property. If possible, I would play Erin Hills first as you won't be tired. 

 

2. Kohler was great. Nothing to do at night. We stayed at the Inn at Woodlake and watched NBA playoffs in the lobby TV they had. Not a problem for us, because it was a pure golf trip.

Straights course was amazing. Only course I played twice, and it was worth it. I was surprised that the Straights courses were so far away from town. I would definitely get there early and have lunch outside, overlooking 18. It was spectacular. Service was helpful and great. We had a package deal and added the second round at Straights a la carte to the package. We had some confusion, and all the last rounds ended up on my ticket. The staff, knowing that we were leaving after the round, met us after 18 to confirm that was our intention or if we wanted them on individual accounts. They went out of their way to help us fix it and were prepared that this was not what we wanted. Extremely professional and helpful. All that being said, if you get an earlier tee time at the straights, I would get it and head to Erin Hills and stay the night there. It was only a little over an hour from Erin Hills to Kohler. 

 

A number of our guys loved BWR River course. It was beautiful and exceptionally difficult, as the greens were fast and hard. I didn't particularly enjoy it, but to be fair, it was also the one clunker round I had and I spent a lot of time looking for my ball. But I thought it was worth it. 

 

The Irish course was the least favorite of our courses, but the greens were shaggy/bumpy. Our caddie's told us that they hadn't grown out yet, Not in your itinerary, but when we go back, we will skip the Irish. 

 

We drove from Whistling to Sand Valley, it was a long drive after playing. Ended up taking 2 hours and 45 with a stop. We were definitely tired. I think staying at after your rounds and driving in the morning as your itinerary has it is a better way to do it. 

 

3. Sand Valley. The good and the bad. We played Mammoth and Sand Valley. The good was that the courses were great. Really enjoyed both. The rooms were awesome. The service was atrocious. We had trouble ordering food, getting drinks, getting cold food. We got chastised for not knowing that there was no corkage allowed in Wisconsin. My bill had 3 random groups charges on it. When I questioned them about it and asked for the tickets, they told me that outside the bar, they didn't get signatures on the tickets. (I hadn't purchased anything from the shop yet). When I insisted on seeing the tickets, they begrudgingly retrieved them. They were obviously not mine and I had to argue with them to have them removed. They had a replay round on my account. I insisted I didn't play and they wouldn't remove it. It was only when I showed them a drink ticket that I signed during that time in the Mammoth Bar that the finally agreed that I couldn't have been on the course and signed the bar bill at the same time. The final day in the shop, half our group waited over 30 min before giving up purchasing items with 5 staff members all talking about getting back to Sand Valley. They were rude and unhelpful. 

 

Our caddie experience was a mixed bag. I requested Pro caddies for all our bags and was given a card with caddie services that fees were  $100 plus gratuity. The pro caddies that we had were great. Highly recommend Chris S. from Streamsong. He was spot on. The problem were what they had "A" caddies or junior caddies on some of our bags. They had almost no knowledge of the course and were there just to carry your bag. It wouldn't have been a problem if they had told us. Our pro caddie ended up telling us all this information and that the rates are different for the junior caddies. We raked our own bunkers, as the caddies told us they don't rake bunkers and it was a local rule to move balls out of footprints. It was extremely disappointing. 

 

Overall, SV was a mixed bag. I think that in the during all of the golf and moving from one place to another, it felt far from Kohler and Erin Hills , I'm not sure we will return, especially because we go to Bandon at least once a year and it is in my opinion just better top to bottom. We unfortunately had rain on one of days in SV, so we didn't play the sandbox or the 6 hole loop after we got a slight, but steady rain for 17 of the 18 holes that day. 

 

Lastly, I would recommend looking into all flight options. Madison was 1 hour and 45 min from SV and I believe not much further than MKE from Erin Hills. If you can fly into there, it may make the driving loop easier. A few of us flew out of MSP. It was 3.5 hours from SV, but we could get direct flights back to LA, which made total travel time shorter. Not a single direct flight from CA to Wisconsin other than Spirit Airlines when we were traveling. And with clubs and a tight window, no one was taking a spirit airlines 

 

All told, it was great seeing all 3 resorts. We thought it was a total bucket list. But we loved it so much, we will go back and next time focus on Erin Hills and Kohler. 

 

PS, Our group is mostly walkers at home. SV, Straights and Erin Hills are all tougher than normal walks. Nothing out of the ordinary if it was a normal weekend, but on a trip with the sheer amount of golf we played and eating out and drinking, we started feeling it by the end of the trip. Be prepared for the walk for multiple rounds. The sitting in the car from Kohler to SV definitely felt a lot longer and stiffer because of it. 

 

 

Great review and details of your trip. Thank you! Unfortunate to hear about SV service, hopefully the golf courses made up for it. I'd think the service would be up to par as Bandon but maybe different locations in the country may cause that. I guess I'll be checking my receipts when I'm there.

 

For the Wisconsin natives, is Grafton a good half way town between Whistling Straits and Erin Hills? Or any other town halfway recommended? Really just need a one night clean comfortable place to sleep after a twilight Whistling Straits round, then off to Erin Hills for early morning tee time. I'd consider staying at Erin Hills but maybe not worth the price since we're just needing one night place to sleep and no other amenities.

[Phreddy]

Grafton would be fine.  There is a fairly new hotel (Hampton Inn) right at I-43 and Hwy. 60.  Next door is Water Street Brewery with okay bar food.

[WisconsinGolfer12]

I agree, Grafton doesn't have much going on, but it should be perfect for what you need for the night

[bird206]

Sounds like I'll be staying in Grafton for the first time in my whole life. 😉

[Chigolfer2]

On 5/24/2023 at 3:36 PM, hbrar99 said:

Sorry for the long winded response, I hope this answers some of your questions. 

 

We just got back from a similar trip and for all but one, it was our first trip to Wisconsin to play golf. My itinerary was posted earlier in this thread. We had a few guys that came in early and stayed at Erin Hills for the night, while myself and few landed in Chicago, headed to Erin Hills, played and then drove to kohler.  There was no real traffic for the guys who flew into MKE and landed at 1:15. A few of us landed at Ohare at 5:30am the next day, and there no real traffic driving to Erin Hills.

 

Here were our experiences. 

1. The guys that stayed at Erin Hills all said that it was by and far and away the best place and most fun place they stayed at on the trip. The service was spectacular, everyone there was so kind, the service was top notch. Everyone agreed that if it was closer for us (we're coming from California), we'd come back to Erin Hills alone and plan a guys trip there. It is worth staying the night there and the golf course and facilities were amazing. I am very glad we played it on the front end of trip (8/9 rounds per guy over 6/7 days), because it was the toughest walk. The elevation changes from green to tee were real. I don't think I noticed it as much because it was my first round, but be prepared. Erin Hills was also the consensus 1b course we played with the Straights course being 1a. Erin Hills played shorter than the distance  on the card than most of us expected, with the caveat that you needed to hit fairways. Plenty of roll. But if you missed the fairway, it was trouble. Play the tees to your ability and you will love it. It was an amazing property. If possible, I would play Erin Hills first as you won't be tired. 

 

2. Kohler was great. Nothing to do at night. We stayed at the Inn at Woodlake and watched NBA playoffs in the lobby TV they had. Not a problem for us, because it was a pure golf trip.

Straights course was amazing. Only course I played twice, and it was worth it. I was surprised that the Straights courses were so far away from town. I would definitely get there early and have lunch outside, overlooking 18. It was spectacular. Service was helpful and great. We had a package deal and added the second round at Straights a la carte to the package. We had some confusion, and all the last rounds ended up on my ticket. The staff, knowing that we were leaving after the round, met us after 18 to confirm that was our intention or if we wanted them on individual accounts. They went out of their way to help us fix it and were prepared that this was not what we wanted. Extremely professional and helpful. All that being said, if you get an earlier tee time at the straights, I would get it and head to Erin Hills and stay the night there. It was only a little over an hour from Erin Hills to Kohler. 

 

A number of our guys loved BWR River course. It was beautiful and exceptionally difficult, as the greens were fast and hard. I didn't particularly enjoy it, but to be fair, it was also the one clunker round I had and I spent a lot of time looking for my ball. But I thought it was worth it. 

 

The Irish course was the least favorite of our courses, but the greens were shaggy/bumpy. Our caddie's told us that they hadn't grown out yet, Not in your itinerary, but when we go back, we will skip the Irish. 

 

We drove from Whistling to Sand Valley, it was a long drive after playing. Ended up taking 2 hours and 45 with a stop. We were definitely tired. I think staying at after your rounds and driving in the morning as your itinerary has it is a better way to do it. 

 

3. Sand Valley. The good and the bad. We played Mammoth and Sand Valley. The good was that the courses were great. Really enjoyed both. The rooms were awesome. The service was atrocious. We had trouble ordering food, getting drinks, getting cold food. We got chastised for not knowing that there was no corkage allowed in Wisconsin. My bill had 3 random groups charges on it. When I questioned them about it and asked for the tickets, they told me that outside the bar, they didn't get signatures on the tickets. (I hadn't purchased anything from the shop yet). When I insisted on seeing the tickets, they begrudgingly retrieved them. They were obviously not mine and I had to argue with them to have them removed. They had a replay round on my account. I insisted I didn't play and they wouldn't remove it. It was only when I showed them a drink ticket that I signed during that time in the Mammoth Bar that the finally agreed that I couldn't have been on the course and signed the bar bill at the same time. The final day in the shop, half our group waited over 30 min before giving up purchasing items with 5 staff members all talking about getting back to Sand Valley. They were rude and unhelpful. 

 

Our caddie experience was a mixed bag. I requested Pro caddies for all our bags and was given a card with caddie services that fees were  $100 plus gratuity. The pro caddies that we had were great. Highly recommend Chris S. from Streamsong. He was spot on. The problem were what they had "A" caddies or junior caddies on some of our bags. They had almost no knowledge of the course and were there just to carry your bag. It wouldn't have been a problem if they had told us. Our pro caddie ended up telling us all this information and that the rates are different for the junior caddies. We raked our own bunkers, as the caddies told us they don't rake bunkers and it was a local rule to move balls out of footprints. It was extremely disappointing. 

 

Overall, SV was a mixed bag. I think that in the during all of the golf and moving from one place to another, it felt far from Kohler and Erin Hills , I'm not sure we will return, especially because we go to Bandon at least once a year and it is in my opinion just better top to bottom. We unfortunately had rain on one of days in SV, so we didn't play the sandbox or the 6 hole loop after we got a slight, but steady rain for 17 of the 18 holes that day. 

 

Lastly, I would recommend looking into all flight options. Madison was 1 hour and 45 min from SV and I believe not much further than MKE from Erin Hills. If you can fly into there, it may make the driving loop easier. A few of us flew out of MSP. It was 3.5 hours from SV, but we could get direct flights back to LA, which made total travel time shorter. Not a single direct flight from CA to Wisconsin other than Spirit Airlines when we were traveling. And with clubs and a tight window, no one was taking a spirit airlines 

 

All told, it was great seeing all 3 resorts. We thought it was a total bucket list. But we loved it so much, we will go back and next time focus on Erin Hills and Kohler. 

 

PS, Our group is mostly walkers at home. SV, Straights and Erin Hills are all tougher than normal walks. Nothing out of the ordinary if it was a normal weekend, but on a trip with the sheer amount of golf we played and eating out and drinking, we started feeling it by the end of the trip. Be prepared for the walk for multiple rounds. The sitting in the car from Kohler to SV definitely felt a lot longer and stiffer because of it. 

 

 

We were going to do Sand Valley next year but almost no availability for a large group so we are thinking about Kohler.  You mentioned you hung out in the lobby not the suite.  How many people can the suites accommodate for watching a game or cards etc?  Did anyone stay at the Resort Hotel?  Did you ever hang out at the Horse and Plow for a night?  That looks like the only place a golf group might hang out.  Trying to see what works for a group of 12 guys on a golf trip.  Ever go into town?