A little bit of Ireland in Kohlerfor Herb

WHEN asked by a journalist why the set-up at his superb complex at Whistling Straits has such an Irish flavour, Herb Kohler’s face lights up: “Ireland”, he exclaims with undisguised relish, “I love the place.”

Kohler is of Austrian extraction without a drop of Irish blood flowing in his veins. And yet his love for all things Irish shines through and is highlighted by his burning ambition to make Whistling Straits clones of Royal Portrush and Ballybunion.

He and his good friend Pete Dye have visited Ireland on at least 12 occasions and it was on those travels that Kohler dreamt up the notion of owning his very own links in his native Wisconsin and as close to the town of Kohler as possible. The town of Kohler? Yes, the place is called after the family which for more than a century has brought prosperity to a mainly farming community.