Although the pond between 3 and 4 may be bigger, the pond which was added is on the corner of the dogleg on #7, replacing the bunker and willow tree. It's now a 285+ carry over the pond from the middle of the "blue" tee box (not the one which is on the right side of the cart path, which is even further back and was used by the big kids in the last tournament held there). The fwy bunker on the left, indeed most if not all of the fwy bunkers on the course, has been enlarged and deepened. Unless you're a real bomber, willing to take a huge chance, you may now be forced to lay up to 165-75 yards, short and left of the pond. And that fwy now looks very narrow from the tee.
On #4, the tee has been pushed back, way back. The tee on #5, which had been a par-5 but had already been moved (pre-RJ) making it a par 4 -- but the fwy bunkers have been moved out into a relevant position for the big kids.
As Pat notes, the real change will be the fancy sub-air system on all of the greens, which should obviate any concerns about sogginess due to a June thunderstorm or two. Last fall, a couple of days before the "preview" rounds on the back nine, we had a huge downpour, but the greens were alleged to have been firm and dry.
As for EH, Phil wouldn't you agree that it is much more remote than the Kohler complex? There's certainly tons of room for tents out there, but we're talking some long bus rides on County Road O for spectators -- I can't seem them allowing people to drive into the EH complex, unless they're going to drastically limit the crowds, which doesn't seem likely. I assume they had to do something like that at Bethpage on LI, and there was remote parking at Olympia (tho taking the train from downtown was a pleasure). None of that's an issue at Cog. Frank J has purchased tons of land around the courses that he uses for the free
parking. Corporate tents go up along the 1st hole on the #2 course, which parallels the 10th at Dubs, and I'm sure the Jemseks would shut down the other two courses as well for a U.S. Open (after all, they closed Dubs for an entire season for the renovation).
Tho I'm clearly and unabashedly prejudiced in favor of the Jemsek family for all they've done for us trunk slammers in Chicago, the pluses for bringing the Open back to Chicago, albeit Lemont, far outweigh any potential minuses.