When you arrive for your sure-to-be memorable round at the windswept majesty of Whistling Straits, you first must pass the gatekeeper. The imposing guardian of the greens. We’re talking about the iconic, grand, yet mischievous face on the logo at the course’s gates.
The unforgettable logo traces itself back to the folklore of the British Isles, just as the Pete Dye-designed course, and home to the 43rd Ryder Cup, pays homage to the original home of golf, and all its weather-related charms. The blustery gales and roaring waves off Lake Michigan made naming the course a simple task for late Kohler Company Executive Chairman Herbert V. Kohler, Jr.
“As I was standing there amidst the elements, the place seemed to name itself,” he said.
As the course and its place along Lake Michigan’s western shore seems as if it was lifted straight from the coast of Ireland, Gaelic influence is seen in the logo, which is as distinctive as the course itself.
Tracing elements back to the folklore of the British Isles, the logo’s main image is that of a mischievous sprite – with a beard resembling churning waves, and a puckered mouth threatening to blow a mighty wind sending golf balls in every direction.
The leprechaun-like face is styled after a carving found on an Irish Rocco side table dating from the late 18th century that caught Herb Kohler’s attention almost at once.
“I sensed immediately that the mask captured the personality of the course,” Kohler said. “What Puck is to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, this impish fellow is to Whistling Straits.”
“I sensed immediately that the mask captured the personality of the course,” Kohler said. “What Puck is to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, this impish fellow is to Whistling Straits.”
Kohler used to delight in suggesting that on certain fog-shrouded days, this character could be seen on the course.
“He seems to come out of the water, or perhaps the waterside bluff, we’re not quite certain where he resides,” he said. “Once on the course, he scampers about the fairways and dances jigs on the greens. He stays as long as you hold his stare; but glance away or blink…and he vanishes.”
Some say the iconic image is of the late chairman himself, although he fervently denied such innuendo.
So, if you feel a cold wind hit your back on a drive, or get a chill while lining up that putt, it may be a wink and a nod from Herb. Or just a mischievous hobgoblin out to have a little fun at your expense.