Kohler Co. Unveils Blackwolf Run River And Meadow Valleys Courses After Major Maintenance Project

Kohler Co. recently unveiled the Blackwolf Run River and Meadow Valleys courses after completing a major maintenance project to all 36 holes. The two-year undertaking resulted in new grasses on greens, tees, fairways and selected rough areas, as well as extending the yardage of the courses, all aimed to bring back some of the original playing characterizes that Pete Dye intended when Blackwolf Run was first built more than 20 years ago.

One of Pete Dye's crowning achievements, Blackwolf Run opened for play in June 1988 and was named that year's "Best New Public Course" by Golf Digest. It has continued to accumulate awards and honors including regularly being ranked on the list of "America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses" by Golf Digest and the "Top 100 You Can Play" by GOLF Magazine.

"The new black tees, as well as the new length of the other five sets of tees gives the River course a fresh feel for golfers who have played it in the past," comments Jim Richerson, General Manager & Group Director of Kohler Golf. "The improved playing surfaces will provide major championship-caliber conditions for our everyday amateurs, as well as provide a stiff challenge for the best professionals at the 2012 U.S. Women's Open."

This is the first time since 2008 that both courses are open for play. The 2010 season showcased the Original Championship Course, the same course that will be played during the 2012 U.S. Women's Open, July 2-8. The maintenance initiative was supervised by Pete Dye and managed by the Kohler golf maintenance team, headed by Jim Richerson and Michael Lee, Manager of Grounds Maintenance for Kohler Co.

Specific improvements include:

Greens and Fairways
Replaced a mixture of grass types with a single improved variety of Creeping Bentgrass. This improved variety is hardy in Wisconsin winters, allowing significant improvement in spring and late fall playing conditions. The new grass variety has a deeper, more vigorous root system so it requires less water, which provides golfers with faster and firmer fairways and putting surfaces. The fairways and putting surfaces are also considerably more uniform because of the extreme density of the turf. A more uniform surface supports a faster and firmer fairway surface as well as fewer ball marks and more accurate putts.

Tees
Re-leveled and replaced turf on tees for an improved tee firmness and level golf stance, in turn improving golfers tee shots.

Added several new tees to expand the overall course yardage by 400 yards on the River course and 200 yards on the Meadow Valleys course.

Created five distinctive teeing options on each hole for golfers to choose from.

Roughs
Rough grass was replaced in selected areas around the putting greens to improve chip shots. The turf is more uniform and dense allowing more accurate chip shots.

Bunkers
The Bunker margins were reestablished to their original shape. In addition, the sand and drainage was replaced to provide a more uniform sand shot and will play dryer immediately after rain events.

Practice area
The practice area was expanded and the turf on the primary practice tee replaced, offering golfers more options to practice chipping and a higher quality of turf to practice on.