All-star team assembled to build Wisconsin’s next top golf course
An all-star development, design and construction team has been named to create Kettle Forge, a new championship golf course in Ashippun, Wis., expected to be ranked in America’s top 100 courses and private clubs.
The collective includes:
- Jackson Kahn Design, made up of Tom Fazio disciples, is Kettle Forge’s lead course architect known for its work at Conway Farms, Monterey Peninsula, Scottsdale National and St. Lucia Preserve.
- Scott Hoffman, a Tom Fazio disciple and master of Kettle Forge’s early routing who created Lost Rail Golf Club near Omaha, Neb., and Mapleton Golf Club in Sioux Falls, S.D.; both private clubs serving as models for Kettle Forge.
- Steve Stricker, a design consultant to Kettle Forge and winner of 12 PGA Tour and 18 PGA Tour Champions tournaments who was essential in the making of TPC Wisconsin.
- Landscapes Unlimited, the golf course development and construction company responsible for nearly 75 Golf Digest and Golfweek top-ranked layouts globally, is project manager and will build the course.
- Landscapes Golf Management, sister company to Landscapes Unlimited, will operate the club upon opening, preceded by course grow-in oversight, membership sales and other planning functions.
Kettle Forge’s golf course with classic character and modern strategic design elements, located eight miles west of U.S. Open host Erin Hills, is considered a shoo-in for media-bestowed “best of” rankings by golf industry pundits who visited the 270-acre site and laid eyes on routing plans.
Construction is set to begin this fall, with the course expected to open in fall 2027.
At 7,600 yards from the tips, Kettle Forge will be one of the longest courses in Wisconsin. Set within native woodlands of oak and maple, the holes move through wetlands with varied elevation, wide fairways, deep bunkers, water features and greens made to reward accurate shots and offer memorable putts.
“Kettle Forge will uniquely look like a natural preserve with grasses, wildflowers and wetlands,” said Brett Craig, principal of Kettle Forge, a Wisconsin resident and past business executive and entrepreneur. “It promises to be a course that attracts repeat play — fair to members yet exhilaratingly difficult for those who desire challenge amid rugged elegance and timeless appeal.”
The name Kettle Forge is derived from the glacial kettles and mounds that characterize the land and a forge is where raw materials meet fire and purpose. At Kettle Forge, these two forces of nature and intention will converge.
A large hill with views stretching about 20 miles will be the site of the clubhouse and planned guest cottages. Amenities include fine dining, a wellness spa, a cigar and bourbon vault, business den, bike and walking trails, fishing and pheasant hunting on a partner game farm.
“This is pure, unadulterated golf without tennis and swimming,” said Bill Kubly, chairman of Landscapes Unlimited, principal of Kettle Forge and a Monroe, Wisc., native. “Based on our work at Lost Rail outside Omaha, Kettle Forge is likely to reach a full membership before the course opens.”
Combined with Erin Hills, Whistling Straits and Sand Valley, Kettle Forge will round out a rotation of courses in close proximity to Milwaukee and convenient to Madison, Appleton and Chicago.
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