An all-star development, design and construction team has been named to create Kettle Forge, a new championship golf course in Ashippun, Wisconsin. The collective includes five industry leaders: Jackson Kahn Design, Scott Hoffman, Steve Stricker, Landscapes Unlimited and Landscapes Golf Management.
Here is what each is bringing to the project, expected to open fall 2027.
▪️ Jackson Kahn Design (JKD): Comprised of Tom Fazio disciples, JKD is Kettle Forge’s lead course architect and is known for its critically acclaimed work at Conway Farms Golf Club, Monterey Peninsula Country Club (Dunes) and Scottsdale National.
▪️ Scott Hoffman: A fellow Tom Fazio disciple, Hoffman is responsible for Kettle Forge’s early routing. He also created Lost Rail Golf Club near Omaha, Nebraska, and Mapleton Golf Club in Sioux Falls, South Dakota — 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. Stricker was integral in the making of TPC Wisconsin.
▪️ Landscapes Unlimited: The golf course development and construction company is responsible for nearly 75 Golf Digest and Golfweek top-ranked layouts globally. It will serve as project manager and will build the course.
▪️ Landscapes Golf Management: Landscapes Unlimited’s sister company will operate the club upon opening, preceded by course grow-in oversight, membership sales and other planning functions.
At 7,600 yards from the tips, Kettle Forge, located 8 miles west of U.S. Open host Erin Hills, will represent one of the longest courses in Wisconsin. Authentically and seamlessly carved into the native rolling woodlands with mature oak and maple groves, holes will traverse through wetlands with dramatic elevations changes. The course will feature generous fairways; deep, sculpted bunkers; strategically placed water features; and undulating greens that will reward shot-making precision and create memorable putts.
“Kettle Forge will uniquely look like a natural preserve with grasses, wildflowers and wetlands,” said Brett Craig, principal of Kettle Forge. “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 two sources. Kettle comes from the glacial kettles and mounds that characterize the land, while forge represents where raw materials meet fire and purpose.
A dominant aesthetic is a massive hill offering 20-mile panoramic views on which the clubhouse and future guest cottages will sit. Amenities will include fine dining, a wellness spa, a cigar and bourbon vault, a business den, bike and walking trails, and 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 and principal of Kettle Forge. “Based on our work at Lost Rail outside Omaha, Kettle Forge is likely to reach a full membership before the course opens.”
THE SOCIAL ASPECT
Back home from Chicago after prepping for my renovation w/ @QuitnoGolf at Merit Club, a wonderful open setting on the edge of the Illinois prairie & 2000 @uswomensopen host. Irrigation upgrades, full bunker redesign/renovation, and targeted fairway/greens expansions start 9/2. pic.twitter.com/3LjsqwrGcQ
— Nathan Crace, ASGCA, PLA (@lipouts) August 29, 2025
DESERT HIGHLANDS RESTORATION MOVING ALONG
Desert Highlands, the original home of The Skins Game in Scottsdale, Arizona, announces significant progress in its $10 million Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course restoration project.
Launched on April 28, the project is led by Nicklaus Design architect Chad Goetz, in partnership with Heritage Links and Desert Highlands’ agronomy team under director of agronomy Cody Horstman. The project has advanced through through several key phases:
▪️ Greens: All 18 putting surfaces have been shaped. Sod installation and seeding began in late July, with all holes complete with drainage and grassing phases.
▪️ Bunkers: Shaping, lining and Caltega sand installation are underway across all holes with strategic adjustments to bunker locations to enhance playability.
▪️ Fairways and tees: Fairway fraise-mowing was completed earlier this summer. The 13th tee boxes have been enlarged and raised for improved flexibility and visibility. New bunkers added to the 18th fairway introduce strategic variety to the closing hole.
▪️ Landforms: Mounding behind the 18th green has been lowered, creating a more dramatic backdrop and opening panoramic views from the clubhouse patio and Jack’s Backyard.
"Our team is proud of the tremendous progress made since construction began in April," general manager Desi Speh said. "With Nicklaus Design, Heritage Links and Cody Horstman’s agronomy team, we’re on track to unveil a restored course that elevates the Desert Highlands golf experience for generations to come. Every week, the vision becomes more real."
The restored Jack Nicklaus Signature Course is targeted to reopen in November 2025.
The Gary Panks-designed, par-41 putting course — the first of its kind in the United States — is also being revitalized. The project includes full removal of sod and irrigation; coring out of greens to subgrade for rebuild to modern standards; new drainage and irrigation systems; final shaping and sprigging with TifEagle Bermuda; Bermuda sod installation throughout the surrounds. The putting course closed in July and restoration is ongoing with no firm reopening date set.
Alongside the golf course restoration project, Desert Highlands is executing a $2.5 million modernization of its golf shop and women’s locker room. The lower clubhouse refresh is scheduled for completion in mid-October 2025.
Among the enhancements are a redesigned layout for the golf shop, plus an expanded entrance and a relocated retail counter. In addition, the women’s locker room will showcase brighter finishes, a refreshed card lounge, upgraded vanity and wet areas, and a new self-serve comfort station featuring snack drawers and a Pour-My-Beer tap system.
CDP WEIGHS IN ON PORTSEA
Clayton, DeVries & Pont has signed on to consult at Portsea Golf Club in Victoria, Australia. KruseGolf will also collaborate on the project.
Located on the Mornington Peninsula, approximately 60 miles south of Melbourne, Portsea dates to 1926. It rolls through coastal sand dunes and Moonah forests and boasts views of Port Philip Bay.
Over time, a collection of Australia’s top architects have advised on the course, including Alex Russell, Sloan Morpeth, Mike Clayton and Ogilvy, Cocking & Mead. The club has now turned back to Clayton, who will lead the project, along with Harley Kruse, Lukas Michael and Mike DeVries.
"I’m delighted to be back advising Portsea, which was one of my first clients in the late 1990s when I was participating with Bruce Grant and John Sloan," Clayton told GolfCourseArchitecture.net. "To be working with John again, who advises the club on its agronomy, is exciting. Kyle Wilson, the club’s superintendent, was a longtime employee of Bruce Grant at The National and is the perfect link to Bruce and all the things he accomplished at this, his favorite course.
"Part of the project will be for John and Kyle to introduce fescue into the fairways. The back nine is one of the best in the state and, by definition, the country. Our task is to bring the opening nine up to the same standard. There’s also a big space by the new clubhouse to make a great short-game area, something which members have never had. The course can undoubtedly be elevated to another level. Harley, Mike, Lukas and I look forward to helping achieve that over the coming decade.”
