Erin Hills Golf Course

Erin Hills was an overall fantastic golf experience. The hour plus car ride from Kohler area was well worth it. Site of the 2017 US Open, naturally that attracted my name to the tee sheet. The grounds are spectacular, the clubhouse and facilities are a 10. The course is beautiful and situated on a fabulous property with natural rolling hills and fescue. While I think Mike Davis' comparison to Shinnecock (keep in mind I have not played Shinnecock) is a huge stretch for this golf course, I still enjoyed it. Highly recommend taking a caddy, it's a very long and hilly walk and unless you want to be tired on the back nine, pony up the extra money. If in the area again, I would go back but not before playing The Straits or Irish at Whistling Staits or River Course at Blackwolf Run (I was in town for the 2015 PGA).

Played 2 consecutive days with group of friends and stayed on-site. Fairly pricey, but it's a destination course that you need to play if you are in the Great Lakes.

Give yourself plenty of time and experience the entire day - from the driving range where you meet your caddy to the 19th hole that serves up some pretty good food and drink. Oh yeah, the golf course is pretty darn good, too.

Course properly rewards good shots and penalizes not-so-good ones. Nothing tricked up to the course. It's all right there in front of you.

LISTEN to your caddy. He will not steer you wrong.

Erin Hills was conceived as a "poor man's Whistling Straits," but the result turned out to be so brilliant, the USGA immediately pegged it for a championship course: 2011 US Amateur was here, and 2017 US Open will be here. Rates went up in response to that, so it's now beyond many golfers' budgets. A few blind shots in the original layout were altered at USGA request, but substantial land was moved only on 3 holes. It's a natural, free-flowing, course with acres and acres of natural fescue and only 8 trees. Simply gorgeous rolling landscape, esp. in mid-late summer when the fescue turns sort of purple. Huge greens that perfectly true and easy to read -- especially with your caddie's help. Fescue has been thinned a bit from past years: can usually find balls, but hitting them out is a whole different story. Such a solid, lovely course that won't give up many great scores, but won't beat you up too badly, either -- if you pick the right tees and if the wind isn't howling. If the wind is up, though, can turn into a monster. Lodge is charming, clubhouse food is spectacular (try the duck sliders!). Just a special, special place.

I am a PGA Professional and took some of my key staff and four members to golf Erin Hills. From the moment we drove in until the time we left the experience was outstanding. Course was an excellent test of golf, caddies were great, and to top it off had a great meal after the round. We stayed on site and had a great time and a very good night sleep as well.

After playing this course, I'm most anxious to see the best in the world tee it up here in 2017 for the U.S. Open. It'll be interesting to see how far back they set the tees, which will probably depend somewhat on weather. We played it after a storm rolled through in very windy conditions. Keeping it in fairway is almost impossible, which means scoring is impossible. Despite the difficulty, this is one of the most beautiful and unique golf courses in America. It's links off the tee, but traditional into the greens for the most part, making it a most interesting hybrid. The views on the horizon never stop, there are elevated tees everywhere, and you'll never get bored. The ninth, though not overly long, is one of the most difficult par 3s you'll ever play, and the 18th, even as a three-shotter will be a tough par even for the pros.

A must play. Very difficult course. Fairways are fairly generous, but missing the fairway is penal...even pros will lose golf balls with the high fescue rough.

Definite bucket list course. Pace of play was a little brutal given difficulty of course.

Erin Hills is a very special place for me: I grew up on neighboring property long before the course was ever imagined at the "still standing" Erin motel and restaurant. As an adolescent, I spent many long days riding dirt bikes in gorgeous rolling hills on what is now Erin hills...lots of great memories riding with friends seeing Holy Hill in the back drop. My golf day started by have breakfast with my best childhood friend at my childhood home: the Erin motel and Restaurant, which is a must visit little country cafe where they treat you like family. We next drove to the course, passing my old school (Erin elementary school) near the entrance to the massive property of Erin Hills. We were treated like we belonged from the first moment on property which included settling into the first class locker room, warming up on the beautiful practice area and being treated at the the first tee. The golf? ... It was inspiring! It seemed like we had this walking only property all to ourselves and the 4.75 hr pace was perfect! As a 10 index, I played possibly the round of my life and shot a 84, staying out of the daunting fescue roughshod all day (almost). Using one of the excellent caddies is highly recommended as there are a few shots where a sight line is critical, and reading the lightning fast greens is a challenge. A Post round shower, followed by beers and wings at the Irish pub over looking he expansive property seared in the memories of the day making it the greatest golf day of my life. Play Erin hills for golf the way it is meant to be played!

I played here with fellow GC announcer Scott Walker a few years back while we were in the Milwaukee covering the old Greater Milwaukee Open (or whatever it was called at the time).

Driving out into rural Wisconsin from Milwaukee makes you wonder how in the world there's a golf course out here that is receiving such rave reviews, and then you see it and you experience a bit of a Field of Dreams moment. The clubhouse was small and very much looked like it once belonged on a farm, however, once inside, it was extremely nice.

The course looked massive on the drive in, as well as on the score card, and it was only the second Hurdzan/Fry design I'd ever played. I really didn't know what to expect. My lasting impression is that it just might be the golf course of the future. It was designed in a way that will defend it against technological advances for generations to come simply based on distance from the back tees. But more impressively, it wasn't a giant emerald green pasture of finely manicured watered turf. Rather, it looked more like a pasture than a world class golf course. The reason for that is that all the grass on the course absent the putting surfaces, was native grass. It looked much more like it belonged in Scotland than Wisconsin, and it played as golf seems to have been intended when it was invented...firm and fast. And those native grasses were a shear delight from which to play. Even though the color was multidimensional, it played just like any other firm course.

The design is masterful in my opinion as it provided plenty of room to play tee to green, but after close scrutiny, it required tee shots to be hit to certain areas in order to have a slight chance to get it close to the pin on the somewhat extreme greens. Funny part was, the greens don't look extreme, but the subtleties made them that way in hindsight.

Erin HIlls is a course that I think I could play everyday and not tire of it.