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H o s t o f t h e 2 017 U . S . O p e n C h a m p i o n s h i p ®
E R I N ,
W I S C O N S I N
p h o t o g ra p h y b y PAU L H U N DL E Y w r i t t e n b y G A RY D’A M AT O
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H o s t o f t h e 2 017 U . S . O p e n C h a m p i o n s h i p ®
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TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S
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Right: This is dummy Following pages: The clubhouse and cottages of the Village Square.
H o s t o f t h e 2 017 U . S . O p e n C h a m p i o n s h i p ®
p h o t o g ra p h y b y PAU L H U N DL E Y w r i t t e n b y G A RY D’A M AT O
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TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S
FOR EWOR D
A NATURAL WONDER 10 CHAPTER ONE
GLACIERS IN THE BEGINNING 12 C H A P T E R T WO
TIMELESS POSSIBILITIES 16
THE LONE OAK 20
CHAPTER THREE
MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS 22
VILLAGE SQUARE 30
HOLY HILL 38
CHAPTER FOUR
THE U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP 40 CHAPTER FIVE
ERIN HILLS HOLE-BY-HOLE 48
THE DELL HOLE 74
CHAPTER SIX
THE 2011 U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP 130 CHAPTER SEVEN
ERIN HILLS & AMATEUR GOLF 146
Right: Holes No. 7 and 18 with Holy Hill beyond.
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Following pages: The clubhouse and cottages of the Village Square.
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C h a p t e r Tw o
Timeless Possibilities 17
CHAPTER THREE
HE CHALLENGES of achieving the greatness that Lang hoped
for at Erin Hills, along with a very difficult economic environment for golf following the massive global financial crisis of 2008, ultimately led Lang to make the decision to let someone else have the opportunity to take the golf course and property to the next level. Enter Andy Ziegler. Andrew Ziegler, who was raised in Madison, earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Wisconsin. Like many successful businessmen, Ziegler gravitated to golf for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was the competition and camaraderie that golf engenders. Athletic and driven, he took to the game with the determination and analytical approach that was a hallmark of his business acumen and soon had his handicap down in the single digits. The same year Ziegler joined the Milwaukee Country Club, Jim Reinhart also joined. The two were similar in age and had much in common, including accomplished careers in the financial sector. They soon became close friends and partnered regularly in the club’s annual member-member tournament. Reinhart, at the time, was also becoming active in golf administration and was a member of the USGA Mid-Amateur Committee. A few short years later, about the time Lang was piecing property together to build Erin Hills, Reinhart joined the USGA’s Executive Committee, eventually becoming the association’s vice-president. While Ziegler focused his efforts on building a business, Lang continued as the sole proprietor of Erin Hills, successfully hosting the 2008 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship, won by Tiffany Joh, and then being awarded
Previous pages: Hole No. 8 (now Hole No. 7) in 2006. Above: 2008 U.S. Women’s Public Links Champion Tiffany Joh.
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Opposite: Hole No. 4.
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CHAPTER THREE
V I L L AG E S Q UA R E
THE 2011 SEASON saw the opening of the “village� on top of the ridge behind the 1st tee. A new clubhouse with a larger dining room and an expansive view of the course from its porch and three guest cottages, each four bedroom/four bathroom, opened in time for the 2011 U.S. Amateur. Since then, two cottages have been added, with the majority of the overnight lodging now in the cottages as opposed to the Lodge. The initial concept for the village was to draw from the Irish roots of the town of Erin and design the buildings to look as though different families had built them. This goal was accomplished with the asymmetric use of building material (stone and wood) as well as different floor plans, colors and other exterior queues. In another nod to the area's proud Irish heritage and to help guests remember the name of their cottage, the five cottages have been named after well-known Irish links. Above: Clubhouse, detail.
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Right: Hole No. 18 with the Village Square beyond.
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HOLY HILL RARELY DOES A DAY GO BY AT ERIN HILLS when a golfer doesn’t face east on a
The Basilica is actually the third church built on the site, following a tiny log cabin
tee or green, stare into the distance for a few seconds and ask, with wonder in his or
chapel dedicated in 1863 and a second, bigger church dedicated by Milwaukee Arch-
her voice, “What is that?”
bishop Heiss in 1881.
Holy Hill, seen for the first time — or even for the thousandth time — has that kind of effect on people. The Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians, at Holy Hill is a
opened in 1931. It combines Romanesque features such as rounded arches with elements of Gothic architecture such as stained-glass windows and towers.
Roman Catholic shrine dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Viewed from the golf
The Bell Tower, to the left of the façade, contains three bells, the largest of which
course three miles to the west, the Basilica’s twin brick spires tower above the distant
weighs 1,200 pounds. The tower to the right of the façade is known as the Scenic Tower
treetops and inspire a sense of awe.
and is accessible to the public. It is 192 feet tall and visitors can climb its 178 steps to
“How many places would you have a landmark like that?” said course architect
the top; on a clear day, the Milwaukee skyline is visible thirty miles to the southeast.
Michael Hurdzan. “At Royal County Down, the view when you’re playing the ninth
Long before the Basilica was built, Native Americans climbed the hill to commune
hole back towards the village is stunning. In St. Andrews, you look back at the town.
with the Great Spirit. Later, European settlers trekked to the top of Holy Hill to pray
At Erin Hills, we have Holy Hill.”
for relief from sicknesses and infirmities. Today, more than 500,000 people visit the
The neo-Romanesque-style church was built atop a conical glacial hill called a
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The cornerstone for the Basilica was laid on August 22, 1926, and the church
Shrine annually.
kame, formed by silt, gravel, and boulders deposited by melting water flowing down
Holy Hill can be seen from many parts of Erin Hills but perhaps the most striking
the sides of a massive ice sheet during the Wisconsin Glacial Period. At 1,335 feet
visual occurs from the 18th tee, with the Basilica lined up directly behind — and seem-
above sea level and 824 feet above Lake Michigan, the hilltop is the highest point in
ingly looming over — the original clubhouse (now the Lodge). It’s a sight most golfers
southeastern Wisconsin.
don’t soon forget.
Right: This is dummy Following pages: The clubhouse and cottages of the Village Square.
Holy Hill overlooks the 18th hole during the Erin Hills Intercollegiate hosted by Marquette University.
(Source: “Holy Hill: A Sacred and Majestic Place,” edited by Cornel Rosario)
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Chapter Four
The U.S. Open Championship
CHAPTER FOUR
N WEDNESDAY JUNE 16, 2010, representatives of the
USGA and Erin Hills, plus dozens of reporters on hand to cover the 110th U.S. Open Championship at Pebble Beach, gathered in the media tent for an announcement that was expected by some golf insiders but came as a surprise to many casual fans of the game. The 2017 U.S. Open would be contested at Erin Hills, then a four-year-old public course that had undergone two major renovations and an ownership change. In fact, the course had closed the previous fall for maintenance and another round of construction and had yet to reopen. At Pebble Beach, prior to the press conference, the USGA had determined it would announce that the U.S. Open would return to Pebble Beach in 2019 in conjunction with Pebble Beach’s 100th anniversary, an announcement that would not typically be made before the current year’s championship was conducted. Obviously, it was flattering for Erin Hills to be announced as a future U.S. Open site at the same press conference that Pebble Beach would be named. A four-year old public golf course in rural Wisconsin being mentioned in the same breath as perhaps the most iconic course in America was music to Ziegler’s ears, as were the names of other venerable U.S. Open venues such as Oakmont (2016), Shinnecock Hills (2018) and Winged Foot (2020). Erin Hills was selected over a number of sites for the honor of hosting the national championship. “We had several Midwest sites that we were considering,” said USGA Previous pages: Holes No. 9 (foreground) and 10. Right: A USGA visit in August 2015 (left to right): Jeff Hall (USGA); Ron Whitten (architect);
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Zach Reineking, John Morrissett, Rich Tock, Andy Ziegler (Erin Hills); and Mike Davis (USGA).
THE U. S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
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Right: This is dummy Following pages: The clubhouse and cottages of the Village Square.
Chapter Five
Erin Hills Hole-by-Hole 49
TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S
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HOLE
1
608 yards
‥
par 5
THE FIRST HOLE RUNS from north to south, with the fairway curving around a wetland on the left side and flanked on the right by a steep-faced ridge and fescue rough. Though the hole is visually intimidating from the tee, the green is reachable in two by big hitters; the removal of a large oak tree at the corner of the dogleg made the shot and the hole less awkward (see pages 20-21). The tee shot landing area is a jumble of ripples, humps, and hollows, so that level lies are the exception rather than the rule. This aspect adds to the challenge golfers face when going for the green in two. The safe play is a layup over bunkers to an upper fairway, followed by a short-iron into the green. Miss the green to the left or long and a steep slope will deflect the ball into the wetland or close to it, leaving a difficult uphill chip or pitch. But there is plenty of room to the right, and balls that land short of the green on that side typically bound onto (and sometimes over) the putting surface. It’s one of few greens at Erin Hills that encourages a bump-and-run shot. Originally, the green was to be built about seventy-five yards to the right of its current location, in a natural hollow up on the ridge. Whitten suggested shifting the green to the left and much closer to the wetland. This created
Previous pages: Holes No. 10 (left) and 11 (right).
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HOLE 16 5 y a r d s
9 ‡
par 3
THERE ISN’T A “SIGNATURE HOLE” at Erin Hills, per se, but if golfers were asked to pick one, many undoubtedly would choose the ninth, a beautiful and confounding little par-3 that started out as a “bye” hole on which to settle bets. In the original routing, this hole followed the par-4 eighteenth, but when the routing was changed, the “bye” hole was positioned between numbers nine and ten, certainly not the ideal place for an extra hole. Ultimately, the hole did not work as the “bye” hole because it did not follow the 18th hole, as is the customary location for such a hole. Golfers did not know quite what to do, as the Rules of Golf do not allow players to play a practice hole during their round. Eventually, the decision was made to eliminate the Dell hole and make the bye hole the ninth. In retrospect, it was the right thing to do, considering the Dell hole was controversial from the start, and the bye hole is a challenging and memorable par-3. Golfers play from an elevated tee, through a prevailing right-to-left crosswind, down to a crescent-shaped green surrounded by seven formidable bunkers and a jumble of fescue-covered knobs and tiny crevasses. It’s one of the prettiest spots on the course, and one of the scariest shots, even though it’s typically just a short-iron. Though the lies in the irregularly shaped bunkers can be unlike anything a player has ever encountered, they are sometimes preferable to a ball settling in fescue on
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HOLE
18
663 yards
‡
par 5
THIS LONG, SNAKING PAR-5 is both a stern test and postcard-pretty. In the distance, more than one thousand yards away, the clubhouse, cottages, Lodge, and barn form a backdrop that resembles a tiny Irish village. Three miles behind the handsome buildings, but seemingly on top of them, looms majestic Holy Hill. “I love the optical illusion,” Whitten said. “You stand on eighteen tee and look at the green and (the Lodge) looks like it’s right behind the green. When you start walking down the fairway, it starts moving back.” The tee shot is slightly downhill, with the prevailing wind at the golfer’s back, to a firm fairway that provides plenty of roll. It’s reasonable to expect that some contestants will hit drives approaching four hundred yards during the 2017 U.S. Open. However, they must steer clear of the penal fairway bunkers. Big hitters will be tempted to take a rip at the green, but it’s a daunting risk-reward shot. Those who come up short or left find themselves in deep fescue or in unforgiving bunkers in front of the plateau green. Golfers who lay up to the right must avoid a central bunker to reach the elevated but generous home stretch of fairway. The third shot is a short-
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Chapter Six
The 2011 U.S. Amateur Championship 131
CHAPTER SIX
A
FTER NEARLY TWO YEARS of painstaking work to get Erin Hills ready for Wisconsin’s first U.S. Amateur, the
course was in pristine condition in August 2011. It had achieved just the right balance of stern challenge and stark beauty. Owner Andy Ziegler and his staff, starting with superintendent Zach Reineking, had left no stone unturned in preparing the course for the world’s top amateurs. In some areas, the fescue rough had not yet reached full maturity, but otherwise Erin Hills was perfect, with firm, bouncy fair-
ways and smooth-as-glass greens pushed to the very edge by Reineking and the United States Golf Association. The immaculate putting surfaces were being cut at .085 of an inch and would roll as fast as 13.8 feet on the Stimpmeter during the championship. The course officially measured 7,760 yards, though tees were moved forward and back daily. Because the U.S. Amateur features a field of 312 golfers, it requires two courses for stroke play qualifying. Erin Hills’ partner
course was historic Blue Mound Golf & Country Club in west suburban Milwaukee, about thirty minutes away.
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T H E 2 011 U . S . A M AT E U R
Blue Mound was founded in 1903 and the course was built on leased land in Milwaukee. In 1916, Walter Hagen won the Western Open on the original course. The membership purchased two farms at the current location and opened its new facility in 1926. The course was designed by acclaimed architect Seth Raynor and played host to the 1933 PGA Championship won by Gene Sarazen. Blue Mound also hosted the 1940 Women’s Western Open won by Babe Didrikson Zaharias and the 1955 Miller High Life Open, a PGA Tour event won by Cary Middlecoff. Known for its impeccable bentgrass fairways and challenging greens and surrounds, Blue Mound measured just 6,622 yards, but par was 70 and the stately parkland course presented a stiff challenge.
Below: Hole No. 16 during the final match.
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