A river that keeps turning up where you least want it.
Blackwolf Run sits in the Sheboygan River valley on the edge of Kohler, the company village an hour north of Milwaukee. It was Pete Dye’s first course for Herb Kohler, opening in 1988, and Golf Digest named it the best new public course of that year. The River Course is the one most visitors come for: GOLF ranks it 29th on its 2024–25 list of the top 100 courses you can play. Both 18-hole layouts are public, and the U.S. Women’s Open came here in 1998 and 2012.
Blackwolf Run (River Course) green fees and tee times.
You do not need to stay at the resort to play. Tee times for the River and Meadow Valleys are booked online through the Destination Kohler golf reservations system or by calling central reservations on 855-444-2838. Kohler does not publish a rack rate: the price for your date appears in the booking engine, and it excludes Wisconsin sales tax and gratuity. Tee times inside 4½ hours of official sunset cost 30% less than rack rate; inside 2½ hours the cut is 45%. A same-day replay after a full round is 45% off when the tee sheet allows; you arrange it with the golf shop once you finish. Juniors aged 17 and under with a paying adult also get 45% off, but only by phone. If your preferred time has gone, Kohler has used a Noteefy waitlist since 2024 that texts or emails you when a slot is released.
The courses at Blackwolf Run (River Course).
The River
The championship course, and the harder of the two by the numbers. The scorecard lists five sets of tees, from 7,404 yards (rating 76.2, slope 151) down to 5,120. Between 1995 and 1997 it staged the made-for-television World Championship of Golf, won by Mark McCumber, Greg Norman and Ernie Els. The finishing hole, Dyehard, is the longest par four on the course, with a bunker running the whole left side.
Meadow Valleys
Prairie, oak savannah and heathland on the front nine, then a steeper back nine through glacial ravines and over Weeden’s Creek. It plays to 7,314 yards and a slope of 145. The 15th carries to the largest green on the property, with a four-foot swale in it, and the 18th crosses the Sheboygan River to a double green below the clubhouse.
The Baths
A walking-only short course of ten holes between 60 and 175 yards, opened in 2021 and designed by Herb Kohler with Chris Lutzke, a Pete Dye protégé. A two-acre putting course sits alongside. Modern rental clubs are free, and hickory-shafted sets can be hired for a small fee.
The round, in perspective.
Dye liked to say the River was found rather than built: the routing follows about five miles of valley floor and bluff carved by glacial meltwater. The River uses half of the 18 holes that opened in 1988; nine more followed in 1989, and the complex reached 36 holes in 1990. The river runs the full left side of the opening par five and the full right side of the 11th. At the 6th, the bluff on the right drops 80 feet to the water. The 8th, Hell’s Gate, asks for a forced carry to a fairway about 50 feet below the tee. GOLF singles out the par-three 13th, played across a bend in the river with a big tree on the left, as one of the hardest shots for anyone who fades the ball.
Know before you go.
Carts
GPS carts US$50 per player (US$25 at twilight); fairway access weather permitting
Forecaddie
Optional, one per foursome; US$60 per player plus suggested US$35 gratuity
Rental clubs
US$100 per round, with two sleeves of balls
The Baths
Walking only; no carts
Rain
Prorated rain check that does not expire
Make the trip work.
Most visitors build a Kohler trip around both Blackwolf Run courses plus the Straits and Irish at Whistling Straits. Breakaway to Blackwolf covers two nights and three rounds here, while To Dye Four adds the lakeshore courses across three nights and five rounds, with cart and caddie fees included. The clubhouse restaurant, an American grill, looks out over both courses, and the Lost Sheep food truck serves The Baths in season.
Milwaukee Mitchell (MKE) is 64 miles south by Destination Kohler’s figures, and Green Bay (GRB) is 67 miles north; both are about an hour on Interstate 43. Chicago O’Hare (ORD), 134 miles away, has more international flights. The course is at 1111 West Riverside Drive, and you will want a car, though resort stays include shuttles around the village.
The American Club, a short drive from the first tee, opened in 1918 as lodging for immigrant Kohler workers and became a public resort in 1981. The adults-only Carriage House sits above Kohler Waters Spa next door. The Inn on Woodlake, beside a small lake in the village, is more casual, and the Kohler Cabin Collection is a third choice. Sheboygan, a short drive east on Lake Michigan, has chain hotels if the resort is full.
Make a trip of it.
Whistling Straits, roughly 20 minutes north-east on the lake, has Dye’s Straits and Irish courses. Purebred Farm, a 14-hole walking course by King-Collins Dormer beside Meadow Valleys, is due in 2027. Erin Hills, the 2017 U.S. Open venue, is roughly an hour south-west. Off the course, Kohler runs garden and factory tours in the village, and Kohler-Andrae State Park has dunes and a Lake Michigan beach south of Sheboygan.
Find your season.
Blackwolf Run is a summer course, closed through the Wisconsin winter. Wisconsin.golf reported a projected opening of 25 April in 2026, after a slow spring. Late September and October bring autumn colour to the valley hardwoods.
Yes, all three courses take public tee times. Military rates on Armed Forces Day and the Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day weekends are phone-only and open 30 days ahead.
How much are Blackwolf Run green fees?
There is no fixed published green fee; the booking engine prices each date and time. The cheapest ways in are super-twilight times at 45% off, a same-day replay, or a package that bundles rounds with a room.
Which course hosted the U.S. Women’s Open at Blackwolf Run?
Neither on its own. Both Opens used a composite championship course: the Meadow Valleys back nine plus River holes 1–4 and 14–18, stretched by more than 500 yards for 2012. Se Ri Pak won in 1998 after a playoff, and Na Yeon Choi won by four in 2012.
Last checked 10 November 2026. This is an independent planning guide, not a first-hand review or a booking service. Check live availability, access, fees and travel details with the operator before booking. Airport suggestions are starting points for route planning.
