Erin Hills hole-by-hole
Following is a detailed look at each hole at Erin Hills, with yardages for the U.S. Open:
Erin Hills starts and finishes with dramatic par-5s. The first hole is shaped like a semicircle, curving to the left around a wetland. Corporate hospitality chalets on a 30-foot glacial ridge to the right will offer exceptional viewing.
Though the hole is visually intimidating from the tee, in favorable conditions the green will be reachable in two for many in the U.S. Open field. The second shot was made less daunting in 2010, when a specimen oak at the corner of the dogleg was removed. There will be some eagles and plenty of birdies.
Still, there are few level lies in the rumpled fairway and almost any miss to the left will bound down into the hazard. For shorter hitters, the safe play is a layup over bunkers to an upper fairway, followed by a pitch to a green that is only 26 yards deep and runs away from the player.
The green is one of few at Erin Hills that accepts a bump-and-run shot.
During construction, more dirt was moved on No. 1 than on any other hole because of the severity of the slope from right to left and down to the wetland.
THE HOLE STORY: A pivotal Round of 16 match at the 2011 U.S. Amateur between Patrick Cantlay and Russell Henley was tied after 18 holes. The golfers went back to No. 1 to extend the match – and halved it with eagles. Cantlay went on to win in 21 holes.
Designed by glaciers during the Ice Age and massaged ever so gently by the architects, the second hole is a fascinating short par-4 that will be drivable at least one day of the championship.
Many golfers who see it for the first time assume the oval green, which crowns a mound in the center of a valley, must have been pushed into place by bulldozers. Actually, it was a natural landform left behind by the retreating glaciers.
The hole begins with a blind tee shot over a mound, which runs diagonally from upper left to lower right and gradually levels off into the L-shaped fairway. The aiming point is a small hawthorn bush, which by coincidence is perfectly located on the side of the mound.
The farther left a golfer aims the harder he must hit his tee shot in order to clear the mound but the better positioned he will be for the approach, which will be nothing more than a short pitch for the best players in the world. Those who take on the alternate driving line to the right must clear a bunker-strewn ridge in order to reach the green.
The grass on the hillside around the green is tightly mown, so golfers will have to choose between putting the ball, chipping it or pitching it from a tight lie.
The field scoring average for No. 2 could be below par.
THE HOLE STORY: Initially, no dirt was moved on this hole, but during a subsequent renovation the tiny green doubled in size, from 1,850 square feet to a bit less than 4,000. The expanded surface provides more options for hole locations.
After putting out on the second green, golfers climb a steep hill to the elevated tee box on No. 3, a long, straight hole that plays into the prevailing wind. Drives seem to hang in the air forever before finding the fairway below, but then it’s a gradual uphill trek to the green.
The fairway slopes from right to left and a good drive on an aggressive line over bunkers on the right will get a beneficial forward kick off a “speed slot.” Too far right, however, and the golfer will be hacking his second shot out of knee-high fescue on a jagged ridge.
An alternate championship tee box, not used for public play but sure to be used during the U.S. Open, was built on the opposite side of the second green. From the tips, it’s 337 yards to carry the bunkers on the right.
This hole has gone through two significant modifications. In 2008, three bunkers were added on the left side of the fairway. In 2013, a new green was built some 15 yards to the right of the original two-tiered green, which was deemed a bit too severe by the United States Golf Association.
THE HOLE STORY: A small pond, dug by former landowner Earl Millikin for his prized Charolais cattle, once stood in what is now the landing area in the lowest part of the fairway. The pond was filled in during construction.
In its original form, the fourth hole offered golfers a breather because the green was built in a natural punchbowl and accepted mediocre approach shots.
“It was not a very challenging golf hole,” former course owner Bob Lang wrote in describing his enhancement program of 2008-’09. “Although beautiful, the punchbowl could accept poorly hit second shots. The green did not drain well.”
Without consulting the course architects, Lang shifted the green some 20 yards back and to the left, atop a dune. No. 4 thus became one of the most difficult holes at Erin Hills.
When the flag is on the right side, the approach must be precise. A false front punishes shots that don’t carry far enough, with the ball rolling backward down the fairway and leaving a difficult 25-yard pitch. If the approach is slightly long, the ball will bound over the green and down toward a hazard.
THE HOLE STORY: Contestants in the 2008 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship played to the punchbowl green. The new green was in place for the 2011 U.S. Amateur.
Mother Nature designed the fifth hole, from the fairway corridor to the perfectly formed amphitheater setting for the green. Other than building tee boxes, no dirt was moved during construction.
In 2008, the landing area was lowered left of the center bunker, about 300 yards from the championship tee, and the fairway was re-contoured. That change eliminated a blind approach shot for the golfer who hits a well-placed drive.
Bunkers guard the green short, right and long but the hole typically plays downwind so there will be plenty of birdies.
THE HOLE STORY: The huge bunker in the right-center of the fairway is in play, but if the wind is out of the west and the fairways are firm, it wouldn’t be out of the question to see drives crest a hill and roll out to 400 or more yards.
From the tip of the back tee box to a back flagstick, the sixth hole can play as long as 260 yards. The USGA won’t quite go to those lengths.
The sixth hole originally was the first of back-to-back par-3s. No. 7, which played to a green hidden in a valley, was inspired by the famous Dell hole at Lahinch in Ireland; that hole was eliminated during a 2008 renovation.
Though changes were made to the first five holes, No. 6 “really hasn’t changed at all,” said superintendent Zach Reineking.
THE HOLE STORY: At 47 yards, the green is the deepest on the course and slopes to the rear, which means putts of 100 feet or more are possible from the back of the putting surface to a front hole location.
Originally, this hole was No. 8, a fairly straightforward 482-yard par-4 which played into the prevailing wind. After the Dell hole, a blind par-3, was removed from the routing in 2008, this hole became No. 7.
A new set of tees boxes was built, which lengthened the hole by some 120 yards and turned it into a par-5 pocked with 22 bunkers.
The change meant that for one season, from the time the course opened in 2009 until it closed in the fall, Erin Hills played to a par of 73. When the course reopened in 2010 under new owner Andy Ziegler, No. 10 had been shortened from a par-5 to a par-4 and overall par for the course was back to 72.
Golfers hitting into the huge elevated green must avoid nasty bunkers; a large swale in front of the putting surface on the right collects imprecise approach shots. From the bottom of the swale, only the upper part of the flagstick is visible – if at all.
THE HOLE STORY: Walking off the tee, golfers can’t help but notice a large bell at the beginning of the fairway. It’s the last remnant of the Dell hole. Golfers rang the bell to signal to the group behind that the green was clear. If you look closely at the ironwork around the bell, you’ll notice the inspiration for Erin Hills’ logo.
In the architects’ original routing, this was the 18th hole. Lang convinced them to flip the nines, so when Erin Hills opened the hole was No. 9. Then, after the Dell hole was eliminated, this hole moved into its current position in the routing.
Confused?
“During construction, the architects went back and forth several times about which one should be what,” Reineking said. “I saw several versions of the final plan and it depended on what day it was printed.”
Caddies advise their players that a well-struck drive over the left rough line will kick to the right and bound down the hill into the fairway. The golfer who doesn’t trust the tip and hits one down the middle will be disappointed to discover that his ball has rolled into the right rough.
From there, hitting the elevated green is a challenge. Three deep bunkers protect the front and the putting surface is only 24 yards deep.
THE HOLE STORY: Lang named this hole “Roller Coaster” because of the severe up-and-down movement of the fairway. One day, during the early stages of construction, he flew over the hill in his Jeep and nearly collided with a crew coming from the other direction in a cart. The “Roller Coaster” promptly was closed to vehicular traffic.
It’s the shortest hole at Erin Hills but that doesn’t mean No. 9 is the easiest.
Golfers play from an elevated tee, through a prevailing right-to-left crosswind, down to an irregularly shape green surrounded by seven formidable erosion bunkers and a jumble of fescue-covered knobs and crevasses.
It’s one of the prettiest spots on the course, but the tee shot can be a knee-knocker even though it typically requires no more than a wedge.
At 36 yards, the green is one of the deepest on the course. The key is judging the wind and elevation change and pulling the correct club. Any shot blown off line could wind up in a spot that brings double-bogey into the equation.
“Without wind (it’s) probably no more than a gap wedge for most of these tour players,” said USGA executive director Mike Davis. “But they’d better hit the green.”
A grandstand behind the green will be a popular spot for spectators.
THE HOLE STORY: PGA Tour star Steve Stricker, invited by Lang during construction to walk the course and offer suggestions, had considerable input in the design of the green complex, including the bunkering.
In its original form the 10th hole was a true three-shot par-5 with a massive Biarritz green – one with a trough or swale running through its middle – that was nearly 100 yards deep and some 25 yards wide.
Golfers either hated the Biarritz green or they loved it. The USGA was not fond of it because though the putting surface was huge, there were not a lot of good hole locations.
“The pin was almost always in the valley,” Reineking said. “It just didn’t work out very well. I think the green was 98 yards deep. It was a maintenance nightmare because the fairway was so massive and the green was so big.”
No. 10 underwent significant changes in 2010, after Andy Ziegler bought Erin Hills. The Biarritz green was eliminated and the hole was shortened and turned into a par-4, which returned overall par to 72 (during the abbreviated 2009 season, par at Erin Hills was 73).
THE HOLE STORY: Lang added most of the fairway bunkers in 2009, digging many of them himself though he was nearing 60. “Bob added these incredible sand traps on the left-hand side,” Reineking said. “You could stand in them and you couldn’t see a person’s hat.”
Other than the addition of a back tee box, which isn’t even on the scorecard, No. 11 didn’t change much through two rounds of renovations. There was a cosmetic change during the latter stages of construction, however, when trees were removed right of the fairway in order to open a vista to the west.
The hole curves almost imperceptibly to the left, creating the illusion from the tee that the best route to the green is to aim right at it. However, that brings knee-high fescue rough left of the fairway into play.
The landing area to the right is expansive. Most U.S. Open contestants will have a short-iron or wedge into the green, which slopes dramatically from left to right. It’s possible to miss the green by several yards to the left and wind up with a makeable birdie putt because of the tightly mown surround.
THE HOLE STORY: The architects debated about building the clubhouse on a plateau behind the 11th green and near the tee for No. 9. That idea eventually was ruled out because an access road and parking lot would have ruined too much of the natural topography.
Lang liked to call the 12th hole “the heart of Erin Hills.” The wide fairway spills over a massive hill formed by glaciers and then narrows and wraps around a fescue-covered mound to a partially hidden green.
Reineking said the hole “really kind of symbolizes the true Kettle Moraine.
The rise and fall of elevation is something you can’t create. It’s just so incredible.”
Ziegler said he didn’t have a single favorite hole at Erin Hills, but Nos. 8, 12 and 15 would rank among his favorites. All are laid over dramatic hills or ridges.
“Those things weren’t made by bulldozers,” he said.
The spacing of the hill in relation to the tee boxes is ideal. Golfers stare at a wall of green rising up from a valley and challenging them to hit their best tee shot. Well-struck drives carry the hill and bound down the other side. Poorly struck drives leave a nightmarish second shot.
THE HOLE STORY: In the architects’ original routing, this was to the starting hole. Ron Whitten thought so highly of the memorable terrain that he predicted the hole would be regarded as the best opener in the world. It’s not a bad No. 12.
Golfers tee off from atop a dune and aim at a green that is deeper than it is wide and runs gently away from the tee. Shots that come up short or right wind up in a tightly mown collection area. The golfer then must choose to pitch, chip or putt onto the green; in each case the shot requires touch and imagination.
Bunkers left of the green stop balls from running into a wetland but no golfer wants to be in them.
Like the other par-3 holes at Erin Hills, No. 13 wasn’t part of the original routing. It was created as a “connector hole” after the architects decided to turn No. 14 from a relatively mundane par-4 into a strong par-5 by backing up the tees to a wetland.
THE HOLE STORY: The two small ponds between the tee and green are among the few reminders that Erin Hills was built on a cattle farm. Landowner Earl Millikin dug them for his prized Charolais herd, once one of the largest in the country.
Early on, No. 14 was a straightforward 380-yard par-4 routed through a one-time cornfield. During the early stages of construction, after a Landscapes Unlimited crew had cleared brush and trees, the architects discovered a natural shelf halfway up a hill. It was practically begging for a green.
They decided to move the tees back and turn the 14th hole into a double-dogleg par-5 with a risk-reward option. Big hitters can have a go at the green with their second shots but must clear a “sea of fescue” running the entire length of the hole on the right and a huge bunker in front of the green.
The safe play is up the left side, leaving a wedge into the green, which is two-tiered and slopes severely from left to right. A steep hill behind the green provides a backstop that sometimes deflects long approach shots back onto the putting surface.
THE HOLE STORY: The 14th hole, along with Nos. 15 and 16 in the northwest corner of the course, were built on land Lang bought before he closed on the Millikin property. If he hadn’t had the foresight to buy a pair of 40-acre parcels, Erin Hills would have a dramatically different routing.
Along with No. 2, this hole will play as a drivable par-4 for at least one championship round, and perhaps more.
During the 2011 U.S. Amateur, the USGA set the tees at 253 yards for the championship match between Kelly Kraft and Patrick Cantlay.
Cantlay chose to lay up with an 8-iron off the tee but pulled his shot slightly and his ball found a fairway bunker. He went on to make a bogey. Kraft made a par to square the match and then won the 16th with a par en route to a 2-up victory.
When viewed from the back tees, high on the hill behind the 14th green, this hole might be the prettiest on the course. The fairway, built in what once was a meadow, is flanked by a fescue-covered hill on the left and the Ashippun River on the right.
Fearsome bunkers protect the green, built atop a “volcano” dune. The putting surface originally featured a pronounced spine; it was softened to prevent golfers from putting off the green.
THE HOLE STORY: Jim Reinhart, a former USGA executive committee member and minority partner in Erin Hills, waxes poetic about building a cottage far off the right side of the 15th fairway, where foursomes could relax in isolation at night and relive their day on the links. Ziegler humors his friend. “I think it’s a great idea until you start to think of the construction and the logistics, getting power, water and sewer out there,” he said with a laugh.
When the architects decided to build the 15th hole as golfers see it today, they needed a “connector” hole to bridge the long walk to what would become the 17th tee. This par-3 fit perfectly.
The green occupies a natural kettle and is narrow, two-tiered and 39 yards deep. A number of irregularly shaped, ragged-edged bunkers surround the putting surface and it is 50-50 whether the golfer will get a decent lie in them. A fescue-covered hill looms on the left.
THE HOLE STORY: During his 2008-’09 renovation, Lang built new, elevated tees and added most of the bunkers. Later, another tee was added left of the existing tee boxes as an option for Davis during the U.S. Open. This tee creates a dramatically different angle and a semi-blind shot, but is not used for public play.
The 17th hole is a long, straightforward par-4 and the green is one of just two on the course not guarded by a bunker. Misses to the right or long, however, funnel down into a collection area, which wraps around most of the putting surface.
The right side of the fairway, below and parallel to a 50-foot ridge, was elevated three to four feet to help solve a drainage problem. This was one of few areas on the course that held water to the extent that it needed drain pipe.
The approach shot should favor the left half of the green.
THE HOLE STORY: A huge esker once blocked the view of the green from the left and center portions of the fairway, creating a blind approach shot. The ridge was cut back in 2008.
It’s hard to believe the architects originally intended for this hole to be No. 9. What were they thinking? The long, snaking par-5, with the Lodge in the background and Holy Hill looming in the distance, is awe-inspiring.
Lang convinced the architects to flip the nines so that this became No. 18. Davis has called it one of the best finishing holes in championship golf.
That wasn’t Lang’s only contribution to the hole; he also added most of the bunkers.
“Bob added almost all of the bunkering, with some direction from Dana,” Reineking said, referring to architect Dana Fry. “Some of the bunkers were there but they were all either changed or modified. We have since removed a couple of them, but there are still more than 20 bunkers on that hole.”
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 400 yards during the 2017 U.S. Open.
Big hitters will be tempted to go for the green, but it’s a challenging risk-reward shot. Balls that finish short of left wind up in deep fescue or in troublesome bunkers in front of the plateau green.
Golfers who play safe to the right must avoid a centered fairway bunker. The third shot will be just a wedge for most players in the U.S. Open field, but it must cover a precise yardage – long enough to carry a gentle upslope in front of the green but not too long, because the putting surface slopes to the rear and anything long will roll down a steep embankment.
THE HOLE STORY: In many ways, the hole symbolizes how far Erin Hills has come in terms of conditioning since Ziegler bought the course. “It’s encouraging to walk up 18 and see how really excellent that fairway is,” he said. “It basically was dirt and poa annua when we bought this place.” Now, it is a lush fescue carpet.