Herb Kohler, owner of Whistling Straits, Blackwolf Run, dies at 83

MILWAUKEE — Herbert Kohler Jr., longtime leader of Kohler Company, died Saturday, according to a news release from the company. He was 83.

“His zest for life, adventure and impact inspires all of us,” his family said in the statement Sunday. “We traveled together, celebrated together, and worked together. He was all in, all the time, leaving an indelible mark on how we live our lives today and carry on his legacy.”

Kohler was the CEO of Kohler Company for 43 years before he handed the role off to his son, David Kohler, in 2015. Since then, Herbert continued in the company as executive chairman.

During his time as CEO, Kohler grew the company from a $133 million operation in 1972 to one that in 2015 was approaching $6 billion in annual revenue.

Kohler opened several world renowned golf courses in Wisconsin. Blackwolf Run, his first course, opened in 1988. Whistling Straits came online 10 years later. It most recently hosted the 2021 Ryder Cup. Those two venues house four top courses — Whistling Straits Straits Course, Whistling Straits Irish, Blackwolf Run Meadow Valley and Blackwolf Run River.

The Straits course is ranked No. 5 on the Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play list; the Irish course is tied for 67th.

Whistling Straits hosted the 2015 PGA Championship, won by Jason Day, as well as the 2010 PGA (Martin Kaymer) and the 2004 PGA (Vijay Singh).

Two months ago, Kohler scored a legal victory, allowing plans for a Whistling Straits sister course to move forward.

Kohler was born Feb. 20, 1939, to Herbert Kohler Sr. and Ruth Myriam DeYoung. He was the oldest of three. He had a sister, Ruth DeYoung Kohler II, and brother Frederick Cornell Kohler, both of whom preceded him in death.

Kohler graduated from Yale in 1965, after spending time at a couple other colleges. He started at Yale but left after a year and went to Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, where he studied theater and met Linda Karger, whom he married in 1961. Kohler then enrolled at Furman in South Carolina and worked on the side, before returning to Yale to get a degree in business administration.

Although his grandfather, John Michael Kohler II, founded the Kohler Company in 1873 and Herbert Sr. served as CEO for 43 years, Herbert Jr. recalled in interviews that he had not wanted to be a part of the family company.

But after graduating from Yale in 1965, he began working at Kohler. He was 26. Kohler became chairman and CEO of Kohler Company in 1972.