Pushing for a US Open at Cog Hill? (Article)

[Dan Moore]

In the picture is worth a 1,000 words response.









vs.










And the Come From Behind Darkhorse Is?  

[Chris Kaebisch]

not impressed with Cog....  Wait till Aug 1 of next year and get some real pics of EH

[PThomas]

great -looking pictures do not mean that a golf course is great

[K. Krahenbuhl]

I'll put my vote in for the "darkhorse"

[Chris Kaebisch]

ya too bad Cog is not going to get it

[Dan Moore]

great -looking pictures do not mean that a golf course is great

Paul,  I couldn't agree more except that how a course looks on TV is an important factor in these decisions.  Do you think after last September Cog Hill still has a chance or that it is a great course?  Personally I'd love to see the darkhorse get it as today its still the best, most balanced test of golf among those 3 courses.  However, since the decision is as much about politics and economics as architecture any one of them probably still has some chance. 

[Jim Colton]

My Dad could beat up your Dad...c'mon enough already.

Cabush, you're obviously an insider at EH, so why don't you use your gca id to enlighten us on some of the history and inner working of the course.  Like I said in another thread, EH would make a great case study for others to learn from.  I'd love to hear more about the changes to the course and how to make it a stronger course for a) the average Joe golfer and b) the USGA.

Namely, I'd love to get your opinion on the following questions.  I'm sure you can't answer all of them, but these are the questions that interest me as an casual observer.  For the record, I hope EH lives up to the potential.

1. Was Mr. Lang happy with the product that he got from HF&W?  Would he hire them today if he could do it all over again?  Is he glad that Ron Whitten was involved?

2. Do you think the course could've been better if they hadn't been tied to a no-dirt moving mantra from the outset?

3. Do you think the course could've been routed better if the Dell and the Biarritz weren't considered in the original routing?

4. Do you think the course would've been routed differently if walking only was a key consideration from the outset?

5. What key changes were encourage/required by the USGA vs. done on your own?

6. How much additional money was sunk into the course in reconstruction and lost revenue from the changes made less than 3 years after it opened?  Would Mr. Lang be the owner today if they had made all those changes the first time around?

7. If EH never gets a US Open, will the course survive and be considered a financial success?

[Jim Nugent]

ya too bad Cog is not going to get it

How do you know? 

[Jud_T]

3 problems with cog:

1. Very little accomodation from the city of Chicago.

2. They would rather not have opens at venues that regularly hold tour events (with the exception of places like Pebble)

3. other big events at area courses, namely Ryder Cup at Medinah in 2012...

The Ryder cup at Whistling Straights in 2020 has to be a knock against both sites as well...

[PThomas]

Dan - i agree that Cog is not a 'Great" golf course, but in terms of what the Open requires these days it would fit the bill...lots of parking, room for tons of spectatators...if they grew the rough there and got those greens really quick par would surely be protected, which has to happen at the Open as we all know!

I'd like to see it go back to O Fields and not have the USGA cut the rough down as they did before the last Open...and since par must be protected at The Open, remember how high the scoring was there on the weekend...and again that was with very low rough

if up to me i just couldnt award it to EH at this time as the course is still undergoing a LOT of changes...very possibly someday, but i would want to see the finished produce before doing so

[Jud_T]

Paul,

the U.S. Amateur is the test tourney to guage how an open would be at Erin Hills...

[PThomas]

Paul,

the U.S. Amateur is the test tourne to see guage how an open would be at Erin Hills...

but thats next year and the are going to announce the 2017 Open site in Feb, i understand...

and i forgot to add that Jim Colton raised a lot of very good points in his post

[Mark Smolens]

Jud, I hope you didn't really mean that the USGA was looking for accommodation from the City of Chicago    Lemont is a long way from the City of Chicage.  The problems with the USGA were with the folks who run Cook County -- and the Jemseks have had far fewer problems in their dealings than they did out South (I believe Mr. Lavin has posted numerous times on here about his personal knowledge as to the mistakes that the USGA made in that regard).

Is there anyone out there who thinks that 30k people per day can be transported in to Erin Hills in a reasonable period of time?  The course may be "25 to 30 minutes from Milwaukee," but fat chance access to that many people can be effected in anything close to that time period.

[Phil McDade]

Mark:

Is Shinnecock any better? (I recall driving around the eastern edge of Long Island one summer, roaming around SH and NGLA, and it seemed pretty narrow and congested, esp. at the height of the Hamptons season.)

Hard to say before it happens, but I think concerns about getting folks in and out of Erin Hills are a bit over-stated. Whistling Straits, which is near...a tavern...., used busses to simply bring folks in from Sheboygan, drop them off at the front gate, and shuttle them back. For those like me who opted for cars, there was plenty of parking and another shuttle system to get to the main gate. Seemed to work. I'd imagine a similar system for EHills, if they go there for the US Open.

[Mark Smolens]

My friends took the train and a shuttle to Shinnecock and had no problems.  Other friends hated the time it took to get to the Straits for the PGA, and gave their tickets away after attending on Thursday. . .