David Kohler recalls his dad knew little about the game when he envisioned
building a golf course in Sheboygan, soon after opening Kohler’s American Club resort in 1981.
“He would use his father’s old hickory shafts once a year to go out and play
with friends at a local golf event,” says the fourth-generation leader of Kohler Company, smiling at the irony.
President and, since June 1, CEO David Kohler credits Executive Chairman Herb Kohler for helping to put Wisconsin on the map as a golf destination. Partnering with one of the world’s best golf course architects — Pete Dye, who met his match in creativity, passion and personality — Herb followed his vision and scored a legacy win for Wisconsin.
“It’s been a great enhancement in terms of driving tourism to the state,” David says.
Indeed, all eyes will be on Whistling Straits Aug. 10 to 16 when Kohler hosts its third PGA Championship.
With more than 1,000 members of the media — including Turner Sports and CBS — expected to descend on Sheboygan County, 500 million viewers worldwide will see breathtaking views of the course, perched on the sand dunes at the edge of Lake Michigan.
Business leaders statewide, including many from Northeast Wisconsin, are supporting the event through sponsorships, tickets and word-of-mouth promotion.
“The Kohler Hospitality Group and the Kohler family have developed a fabulous destination for the state to really be proud of and show off in the most remarkable way,” says Dan Ariens, CEO of Ariens Company, fellow member of the Young Presidents Organization and personal friend of David Kohler. “We have the water, the Great Lake of Michigan, the sand dunes, beautiful grass — all that will be on display during the PGA.”
Hosting the 97th PGA is an enormous undertaking, especially since the goal this time is “new, better, different,” says David Kohler, general chair of the 2015 PGA. “The complexity of the operational setup is going to be immense.”
Construction of 30 air-conditioned and fully-appointed chalets for major sponsors in temporary, clustered “villages” along the ninth, 15th, 17th and 18th holes began in May. More than 1,000 people are working on the event, expected to draw some 225,000 visitors to Whistling Straits, 10 miles northeast of the village of Kohler, population 2,000.
All the top names in golf — current Masters champion Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson and yes, Tiger Woods — are expected to be among the 156 players to qualify, according to PGA Championship Director Jason Mengel. The field will be narrowed to 70 who will split the $10 million purse, the largest in the game of golf. The winner will take $1 million and the Wanamaker Trophy.
“It’s significant,” David says. “Think about having a Super Bowl at your high school football field. We’re having a Super Bowl at Whistling Straits.”
From vision to reality
David, 49, was there when his dad, now 76, began to envision the hospitality business at Kohler. He recalls walking in the woods together along the Sheboygan River in the 1970s, eyeing the spot Herb had chosen for what would become an exclusive recreational retreat and dining club on a 500-acre wilderness preserve.
“I remember standing and looking into the foundation where it was going to be,” he says. River Wildlife, followed by Blackwolf Run, would be built not far from the company headquarters founded by John Michael Kohler in 1873.
Today, Kohler is a $5.8 billion global manufacturer of engines and generators, kitchen and bath fixtures, furniture and tile. It also operates a five-star resort and spa, restaurants, shops and world-renowned golf courses — including The Dukes St. Andrews in Scotland, where Kohler also runs a hotel and waters spa.
Launching Kohler Destinations, the company’s hospitality division, was not part of a grand corporate plan but rather the personal brainchild of Herb Kohler, David says.
“The whole hospitality group was really his doing, and it happened incrementally,” he says. “It was kind of like the game of golf. You hit your shot, then go to that spot and you hit your next shot. So you build one property, it’s a success, and then determine what to do next.”
He explains how Herb saw potential in the vacant, 1918 brick building near the Kohler manufacturing operations that was once a dormitory for the company’s immigrant workers.
“He came upon the idea of creating a luxury hotel — a Five-Diamond, Five-Star hotel — and the board at the time thought he was crazy,” David says.
“He had to approach the board a number of times to convince them that we could build a hotel across from a factory and actually make that work — and he did. It’s a great story of, ‘If you build a quality product, people will come.’” Soon it was named to the National Register of Historic Places.
The resort is one of only 48 hotels in North America with both the Forbes Five-Star and AAA Five-Diamond distinction. Kohler Waters Spa in Kohler is the only Forbes Five-Star spa in Wisconsin and one of 48 spas worldwide to hold this distinction.
Moving ‘mountains’ to create the Straits
As David tells it, shortly after the American Club opened, Herb responded to customer comments that persistently asked about golf. At first, he arranged for them to play at local courses. But soon he and his business development director —Robert Milburn, who happened to know quite a lot about golf — decided to build their own course. They searched far and wide until they settled on Dye, and together designed Blackwolf Run. Since it opened in 1988, Kohler added three more courses in Sheboygan, including Whistling Straits in 1998.
The friendship between Herb Kohler and Pete Dye is something of a legend. During a summer 2014 reception for New North, Inc. board members at Whistling Straits, David Kohler recounted a story of how his father insisted that certain features of the natural landscape along the lake be preserved as the course was constructed. In particular, he was adamant that Dye preserve a stately elm tree that stood in the midst of a fairway under construction (or, small grove of elms, or box elders — depending on which national media report you read). Dye tried to reach Herb all day as the bulldozers roared, in an attempt to get Herb’s blessing to cut the tree. As recounted in a 2010 article in Forbes magazine:
“Said Dye: ‘I wanted to cut them down. I told Herb to meet me at 5 p.m. on the day I was going to get rid of them. Herb is a notoriously late fella. I waited until 5, then I cut them down and lit them on fire. Herb finally showed up at the course at 6:30 and those trees were just out there, burning. He damn near had a heart attack and wanted to kill me. But he finally got over it.’”
David Kohler chuckles over such stories but holds deep respect for his dad.
“I think my father and Pete are kindred spirits — both are very passionate about what they do, both really love design and attention to detail and they’re both kind of authentic, rugged individualists and craftsmen,” he says.
The PGA and Kohler: A Partnership
Planning and hosting the 2015 PGA is a partnership between the PGA of America and Kohler Company; together they plan and execute the tournament and will share in any profit or loss from corporate hospitality sales, including the chalets, ticket sales and merchandise sales. Media rights are not included in the deal.
“Honestly, this is not something we do for money,” David Kohler says. “This is something we do because it’s a great honor to be associated with a major championship, and for very positive recognition for our business, our golf courses and also for the state of Wisconsin.”
The media attention has helped shine the spotlight on Kohler. In the year 2000 Golf Digest magazine ranked Sheboygan County as No. 7 of the “50 Greatest Golf Destinations in the World,” on a list with Monterey, Calif., Ireland and St. Andrews, Scotland.
Kohler and the PGA kicked off the promotion of the 2015 PGA two years ago, and have been successful in selling the suites and private chalets, priced between $35,000 for 10 guests in the “Champions Club” to $270,000 for 100 guests in a private chalet (some limited opportunities may still be available in the smaller suites). Individual tickets are still available starting at $30 for practice rounds early in the week; championship rounds the last two days of the event ($90 and $95) are expected to sell out early.
Every adult who buys a ticket can bring up to four children ages 17 and under for free. A need for 3,400 volunteers has already been filled.
“We were outpacing any PGA in history (for hospitality and sponsorship sales) through the end of March,” David Kohler says. “The ticketing side is also going exceptionally well. We are one of the top events in history so far in terms of our overall ticket sales.”
Kohler is pleased so many business leaders from throughout Wisconsin are supporting the PGA and plan to attend. Ariens plans to be there for at least a few days. Prevea Health CEO Dr. Ashok Rai plans to spend time in Prevea’s chalet on the course. Prevea, which does a quarter of its business in Sheboygan County, is the official health care provider for the 2015 PGA.
“We definitely recognize the economic impact of not only what happens at Kohler year round but by what they are able to draw during the PGA,” says Rai, who as president of the Greater Green Bay Chamber of Commerce has a keen interest in economic development of the region.
“From a business perspective, we get an opportunity to show ourselves off — but it wouldn’t be possible if the Kohler family and the Kohler Company had not made these investments in our area years and years ago,” Rai says. Self-described as “passionate about the sport,” Rai had planned to golf in Kohler the day after he spoke with Insight in early May.
“I love the break it gets me away from my hectic life,” he says. “It takes me by about the second hole at Whistling Straits to truly appreciate it and remember how lucky we are to live in this part of the country to have a course like this.
“And then, you get angry because the course is so tough!” he says with a laugh. “By the second hole I’m thinking how beautiful this is, and by the third hole I’m thinking, ‘What am I doing here?’
“I don’t care how bad of a round you have, you will never have a more beautiful round than at Whistling Straits. With the eyes of the world on us, we have nothing to do but shine.”
Highlights from the Kohler Hospitality timeline:
» 1978: Kohler opens a 500-acre wilderness preserve along the Sheboygan River, known as River Wildlife, which allows access to outdoor recreation activities for its private members.
» 1979: The Sports Core, a 35,000-square-foot athletic facility, completes one of the most comprehensive indoor sport and fitness centers in the nation.
» 1981: Following extensive renovations, The American Club, formerly a dormitory for Kohler factory workers, opens as a resort hotel. Today, it remains the Midwest’s only AAA Five-Diamond resort hotel and has earned this distinction every year since 1986.
» 1985: The 36,000-square-foot Kohler Design Center in Kohler is dedicated as a showcase for Kohler products featuring design ideas for the kitchen and bath.
» 1988: Kohler opens its Blackwolf Run golf course, which was named the year’s best new public golf course by Golf Digest magazine.
» 1994: The Inn on Woodlake opens in the Village of Kohler.
» 1998: Kohler opens the Straits course at Whistling Straits on Lake Michigan, northeast of the village of Kohler.
» 1998: Blackwolf Run hosts the U.S. Women’s Open Championship.
» 2000: The Kohler Waters Spa opens in the Carriage House adjacent to the American Club.
» 2001: The Riverbend estate (former home of Walter J. Kohler, originally built in 1923), opens as a private membership club.
» 2003: Kohler introduces KOHLER Original Recipe Chocolates.
» 2004: Kohler hosts the 86th PGA at Whistling Straits.
» 2004: Kohler acquires the Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa and The Duke’s course in St. Andrews, Scotland.
» 2006: Kohler opens its second Waters Spa in the Old Course Hotel in St. Andrews, Scotland.
» 2007: Whistling Straits hosts the U.S. Senior Open.
» 2010: Kohler hosts the 92nd PGA Championships at Whistling Straits.
» 2012: The American Club and Kohler Waters Spa earns their first Forbes Five-Star awards.
» 2012: Kohler hosts the U.S. Women’s Open at Blackwolf Run.
» 2015: Whistling Straits hosts the 97th PGA Aug. 10-16.
» 2020: Kohler will host the 43rd Ryder Cup Matches at Whistling Straits.
Kohler Company: A family, community and global legacy
Generators and bathtubs? Fine dining and signature chocolates? A Five-Star, Five-Diamond resort … and world-class golf? Ask Kohler President and CEO David Kohler what ties them all together and he’ll tell you that it all fits within the company’s mission:
“To enhance the level of gracious living for all those people touched by our products and services.”
Kohler Company employs 32,000 people and runs 50 manufacturing locations on six continents. The family-owned, $5.8 billion company enjoys the No. 1 market share in plumbing fixtures in both the United States and China. All operations are headquartered in Kohler, Sheboygan County — population 2,000.
“We really try to live our mission and focus on how we can improve the lives of our consumers and associates and people in the communities where we operate,” says Kohler, eighth president and fourth-generation leader of the family-owned company since 2009. David Kohler officially added the title CEO on June 1 when he succeeded in the role his father held since 1972. Herbert V. Kohler, Jr., serves as Executive Chairman.
“Our No. 1 guiding principle is to live on the leading edge of design and technology, and we’re very focused on innovation,” David Kohler adds. “Our second guiding principle is to produce only one single standard of quality in everything we do. So whether it’s your experience on Whistling Straits or having a meal at the Horse & Plow restaurant or buying a Kohler plumbing product or Kohler engine, we want to have a single level of quality that stands the test of time.”
Austrian immigrant John Michael Kohler, David Kohler’s great-grandfather, founded Kohler Company in 1873 as a foundry that produced cast iron and steel products, and 10 years later developed a process that resulted in the cast-iron, enamel bathtub.
(Incidentally, Walter J. Kohler Sr. and Walter J. Kohler, Jr., also descendants of John Michael Kohler, both served in leadership roles with Kohler Company and as governor of Wisconsin, from 1929-31 and 1951-57, respectively.)
In 1920, Kohler added the Power Systems business with the introduction of the world’s first engine-powered electric generator. It soon added a plant that produced faucets and other brass accessories and became a full-line plumbing products manufacturer — a line it continually improved upon with trendy designs and colors. It began producing and marketing small engines in 1948, opening plants in South Carolina and Mexico and China, the start of its global reach. In 1986, Kohler entered the interiors business, expanding with international acquisitions of furniture, cabinetry, tile and stone companies.
The Hospitality division of Kohler has earned the company international accolades, especially for its golf. The Straits, on Lake Michigan, was ranked No. 4 in GolfWeek’s 2015 Best Resort Courses and No. 22 in Golf Digest’s 2015-2016 America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses. The Irish at Whistling Straits, just inland, was ranked No. 35 in GolfWeek’s 2015 Best Resort Courses and No. 47 in Golf Digest’s 2015-16 America’s 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses. (At Blackwolf Run is the River Course and The Meadow Valleys Course.) Kohler operates 12 restaurants from casual dining at Horse & Plow to fine dining at the Immigrant Restaurant at the American Club.
