Blackwolf’s parkland surroundings are a diametric opposite to the raw fury of Whistling Straits, on the lake nine miles to the northeast.

Opened in 1998, the Straits course is a result of Herb Kohler’s jones for links golf, acquired when he toured the U.K.’s great seaside courses. Determined to have his own links, Kohler purchased property that was once a military training facility, Camp Haven, with Lake Michigan marking its eastern boundary. On flat, unremarkable terrain, Dye trucked in some 13,000 loads of sand to fashion a heaving landscape reminiscent of southwest Ireland.

Eight holes play directly adjacent to the shoreline, and every hole is within view of the intensely blue lake. The name Whistling Straits came to Kohler as he walked the site during construction one blustery day—a north-to-south gale was whistling along the bluffs and whitecaps were breaking on the rocky shoreline.

Adjacent to the Straits, the Irish course has a similarly shaggy look to its bunkers and rough, but only five holes within sight of the lake.

Two worthwhile diversions from golf are the Kohler factory, where visitors can see raw material turned into finished product; and the Kohler Design Center, where those products are exhibited for homeowners and builders interested in top-of-the-line kitchen and bath fixtures. On one wall alone is a three-story, floor-to-ceiling display of sinks, tubs and toilets, all reflecting the “bold look of Kohler.”

Come to think of it, that label also sums up the collection of holes that makes this region an emerging golf mecca in the Midwest.