“Why not 14 holes?” That is how Dirk Willis, Kohler’s vice president of golf, landscape and retail, answers the obvious question about Purebred Farm, the newest course rising on the Village of Kohler property just west of Blackwolf Run. It is a fair point. Nobody ever finished an 18-hole round and said, “Man, I really needed those last four.” Most of us start negotiating with the beer cart around hole 15 anyway.

Ground broke in October 2025, and Purebred Farm is on track to open in fall 2027. When it does, Kohler’s golf menu jumps to 96 holes: the two championship courses at Whistling Straits, the two at Blackwolf Run, the 10-hole Baths of Blackwolf par-3 course, and this new 14-hole walking-only layout that may turn out to be the most fun of the bunch.

From Cattle Pasture to Golf Course

The name is not marketing fluff. The 47 acres Purebred Farm sits on were once part of the Kohler Farms operation, which raised Chiangus beef cattle, a Chianina and Angus cross. So yes, the newest golf course at one of America’s great resorts is built on a former cow pasture. Golf has started from worse. St. Andrews had sheep.

The land sits directly west of Meadow Valleys, near the I-43 and Highway 28 overpass. Purebred Farm will be open to the public, not just resort guests. Golfers will check in at the existing Blackwolf Run clubhouse, which means your post-round routine at the Blackwolf Run restaurant stays exactly where you left it. The routing rolls through prairie, old farmland, river valley ridges, pines and hardwoods, and every wetland on the property stays untouched. Most of the existing hiking trails remain, and Kohler has floated the idea of adding more down the road, so the non-golfer in your group gets something out of the deal too.

The KCD Factor

Here is where it gets interesting. When Pete Dye and Herb Kohler were alive, this would have been another Dye project, no question. Dye passed in 2020 and Herb Kohler in 2022, so Willis and CEO David Kohler went shopping. They interviewed a long list of architects and landed on King Collins Dormer Golf Course Design out of Chattanooga, Tennessee, the firm co-founded by Tad King and Rob Collins.

If those names do not ring a bell, Sweetens Cove should. KCD built the nine-hole cult classic in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, that turned a floodplain into one of the most talked-about courses in America. I have played Sweetens Cove, and the thing that sticks with you is not the length. It is the decisions. Every hole asks you a question, and half the time the honest answer is “I have no idea, hand me the 3-wood.”

Willis compared the KCD crew to Pete Dye in the early-to-mid 1970s, a renegade bending the rules before anyone else figured out the rules could bend. That is a big statement coming from the house Dye built, and it tells you how seriously Kohler is taking this one. Willis has also said Purebred Farm will match Whistling Straits in architectural quality, just with a completely different look.

Collins describes KCD’s courses as minimalist designs that fit into the land instead of fighting it. He wants them to work your brain as much as your eyes. Based on what the firm pulled off in Tennessee, that is not just press-release talk.

What to Expect on the Course

Plan on roughly 4,900 to 5,000 yards spread over a multi-loop routing with par 3s, 4s and 5s. Collins has said the course will be stacked with par 5s you can reach and par 4s you can drive, which means your buddy who swings out of his shoes finally has a legitimate excuse.

The design takes its cues from Golden Age architecture of the early 20th century, and Collins describes it as a found golf course. Translation: very little fairway shaping. The ground was already soft, rolling and easy to walk, with natural contours worth keeping, so KCD is mostly getting out of its way. Willis wants it to feel like a course that has been sitting on that land for 100 years.

A few details already jump off the renderings:

  • Holes 1 and 13 share a double green, a classic Old World touch that makes for some fun traffic management.
  • The historic Tomczyk Cabin, formerly part of the Kohler Cabin Collection, is being converted into a rest station that golfers will reach after the 4th and 9th holes. A cabin in the woods with refreshments halfway through your round is about as Wisconsin as it gets.
  • The multi-loop design means you can play a shorter loop when time is tight, or go around again when the bar tab is running and nobody wants to leave.

It is walking only, so leave the cart-path excuses at home. At about 5,000 yards over gentle terrain, this is not a death march. It is the kind of walk where you actually talk to each other.

Why It Matters for Your Next Kohler Trip

Kohler has posted record-setting golf rounds for five straight years, and the resort is reading the room. Today’s golf traveler wants variety and does not always want to spend five-plus hours on one round. Purebred Farm fills a real gap in the lineup.

Think about how a buddy trip shakes out. Day one, you get humbled on the Straits Course with Lake Michigan laughing at you. Day two, the River Course at Blackwolf Run finishes off whatever was left of your confidence. Day three, Purebred Farm is the morning round where everybody actually has fun, followed by a lazy afternoon at the Baths of Blackwolf with a cold one in hand.

For couples, a 14-hole walk through prairie and pines is a far easier sell than a full day of carry bunkers and fescue. Pair it with Kohler Waters Spa and dinner at The Immigrant and you have a weekend nobody has to be dragged to.

Purebred Farm is also part of a larger push. Kohler is building The Serve, a racquet facility with six indoor pickleball courts, two heated outdoor platform tennis courts and a social lounge, and has been renovating the Carriage House at The American Club. The resort is clearly working to give people reasons to show up beyond the golf season.

The Bottom Line

Fourteen holes. A former cattle farm. An architect best known for a nine-hole course in rural Tennessee. On paper it sounds like a bar bet. At Kohler, it sounds like the next course everyone will be arguing about.

Fall 2027 cannot come fast enough. Start planning the trip now, and save me a spot on the first tee.