Wisconsin golf tour: Erin Hills/Lawsonia/Blackwolf/Whistling (URLs fixed!)

[Joe Bausch]

Recently I had the pleasure of visiting Wisconsin for some golf.  It was my first time there and I couldn't help but think of John Winger's line from Stripes: 

"C'mon, it's Czechoslovakia. We zip in, we pick 'em up, we zip right out again. We're not going to Moscow. It's Czechoslovakia. It's like going into Wisconsin."

I zipped in for 6 rounds over five days last week, and enjoyed the sights, sounds, and smells of the area.   

My first round was at Erin Hills.  I flew into the Milwaukee airport in the morning and made the 1.5 h or so drive to the course.  My tee time was at 2 PM, so I had time for lunch (very solid food offerings) in the beautifully decorated, early American style, clubhouse.  Afterwards a young employee gave me a full tour of the facilities, which included seeing the lovely accommodations on the 2nd floor of the clubhouse, and some of the nearby cottages on a hill.

The clubhouse:



The new cottages:



A view from the cottages of the putting green and the beginning of the first hole:



There are solid practice facilities as well.  While warming up there was something I've never seen in person before in the sky, a circumhorizontal arc:



Many changes have occurred at EH in preparation for the upcoming US Am this year (and I assume also for the 2017 US Open).  I don't have in my collection any "before" photos.

Here is the routing of EH.  The yellow dots represent where the tips are located, which stretches out to 7820 yards.  I played from the green tees at 6712 yards, and the diagram below tries to show where those tees are located.



#1.  A dogleg-left par 5.  Here is the description of the hole from the EH web page:

Begin the Erin Hills experience by playing down left center for a beneficial kick off one of the natural fairway moguls. When going for green in two, aim for the bunkers short and right of green. Otherwise, your second shot is uphill played over the right-hand fairway bunker using an extra club into a generous upper fairway. From there, you can play a true links approach, letting the ball bounce towards the small green.



View from the middle tee box:



From the right part of the fairway landing area:



From the middle of the fairway 100 yards out:



From just over the green:



#2.  A short par 4 with a blind tee shot.  Apparently this green was enlarged by 40% recently, and it is still small compared to the rest of the greens.  From the EH web site on the hole:

In order to view the flag, your tee shot must be hit at least 200 yards down the left side of fairway. From there, it's just a pitch shot over a ridge to a tiny green, just 2,600 square feet, formed from a natural knob. For the bold, carry your tee shot over the fairway bunkers for a chance at an eagle putt.



View from the tee, where a draw off the left edge of the bunkers, or even farther left, works:



Plenty of room left in the fairway:



If you bail out with a shorter club and miss it a bit right, you'll have a blind second shot:



View of the green from just over the previous bunkers:



From the hill left of the green looking back to the fairway:



This green is very much an upside-down saucer:



#3.  A long par 4.  Here is the web page description:

From left-hand tees, it's carry-what-you-dare over the corner of the tamarack wetlands by aiming at the bunker on the far right hillside. From right-hand tees, favor right center of fairway, as terrain will kick shots down to fairway bunkers left. The green has distinct levels, low on the right, high on the front left, higher still on the back left. The safe approach is short or right.



We chose to play it from the tips, which looked most interesting.



The hole plays pretty straight from the middle tees:



A very interesting shaped bunker left of the fairway:



View back down the fairway from the beginning of the green:



A large, very interesting green, as this view from the hill over the green shows:



I'll present the course 3 holes at a time and hope some solid discussion ensues in between updates!

[Alex Miller]

Joe,

thanks in advance for the upcoming photos. Also thanks for including the yardage book images.

How was the course playing while you were there? Windy? Conditions?

Which par 5s is the USGA most likely to convert to par 4s in your estimation? 1, 18?

How driveable is the 2nd hole and does the fairway extend far enough right on the hillside to bounce the ball on?

[Joe Bausch]

How was the course playing while you were there? Windy? Conditions?

Has been wetter there, we were told, so it wasn't quite firm, but not bad.  Wind was maybe 5-15 MPH for most of the day, then gusted later as a storm was approaching.  Which brought in lots of clouds late right when I thought the last 3 holes would be ideal lighting conditions.  

Which par 5s is the USGA most likely to convert to par 4s in your estimation? 1, 18?

Lots of beef on some of the par 4's already, two playing right around 500.  So I'm not sure they'll change any of the four current three-shotters.

How driveable is the 2nd hole and does the fairway extend far enough right on the hillside to bounce the ball on?

It is about 340 yards to the front of the green from the furthest tee.  But the last part over the hill has the fw line mowed out a bit to allow a fast run.  Perhaps now that the green is bigger top players will give it a go.  But with green being propped up, the chances are slim to hit the green, IMO, and will they want a second shot from the shaved area sitting well below the green?  I would think many might prefer hitting to a distance off the tee left for a comfortable short shot in.

[Jim Colton]

Hopefully Dan Moore can chime-in with some of the before pics of previous iterations of EH. #1 used to have an alternative right fairway up-top. #2's green was enlarged.

#3 was one of my favorite holes. It didn't have the fairway bunkers on the left before, and I'm not sure they are even necessary now.

[Jud_T]

The first hole looks much better without the big tree, but aside from accommodating more rounds, there's no way the second green can be an improvement over the original...

[Adam Clayman]

Hopefully Dan Moore can chime-in with some of the before pics of previous iterations of EH. #1 used to have an alternative right fairway up-top. #2's green was enlarged.

#3 was one of my favorite holes. It didn't have the fairway bunkers on the left before, and I'm not sure they are even necessary now.

From the pictures it appears that a heroic carry over that left bunker yields no reward. Would that be accurate?

Almost forgot

Joe, You have raised the bar with your presentation. Just great. Thanks

[Mike Wagner]

Adam,

There is no carrying the left bunker from the back tee - even if your name is Bubba Watson.  It's certainly in play from the blue and green tees.  From those tees it just needs to be avoided. 

Jud,

The 2nd green was a dramatic improvement.  It's 40% bigger and STILL dicey.

[Joe Bausch]

It is early in the morning so I have time to get three more holes posted before getting ready for class. 

#4.  Par 4.  Here is the description of the hole:

Fairway slopes downhill left and plays fast. The green is well bunkered and narrow. Club selection is paramount with short being gobbled by bunkers and long falling off quickly into waste area. One of the most demanding approaches at Erin Hills.



View from the middle tee box:



From the right part of the fairway:



From short and left of the elevated green:



From the back left part of the green:



This view from right of the green shows a very tough pin location on this day:



View back to the green on the trip to the next tee:



#5.  Par 4.  Here is the description of the hole:

Now you see it, now you don't. Part of the green is visible from every tee, but not from many portions of fairway. A tee shot that ends up left of the center fairway bunker will ensure a view of the green for approach. If you are right off the tee into the kettle hole, aim your next shot over top left edge of bunker for correct line to green.



View from the middle tee box:



From 100 yards out:



From short of the green:



From a mound over the green:



#6.  Uphill par 3 to a skyline green.  Hole description from the EH web page:

The saddle-shaped green may seem clearly defined from the tee, but you're only seeing a third of it. The remainder of green is over the horizon, sloping to the rear. The prevailing wind may push shots long and left, but there are no hazards in that area.



Middle tees view:



From short of the green:



The only real trouble around the green is right, which includes this big depression:



View from right of the green on the way to the next tee:



Three more later!

[Tim Martin]

The bunkering in some spots have a MacKenzie quality reminiscent of Cypress Point and Pasatiempo.

[George Freeman]

The first hole looks much better without the big tree, but aside from accommodating more rounds, there's no way the second green can be an improvement over the original...

Jud - I never saw the original, but the current iteration is pretty darn small, even with a wedge in hand!  If the old one was really 40% smaller, I can't imagine it was very playable.

How come you don't think a bigger version can improve on the original?

[George Freeman]

How driveable is the 2nd hole and does the fairway extend far enough right on the hillside to bounce the ball on?

I think a lot of pros will have a go for the green at #2.  If you have the length to carry the bunkers straight ahead off the tee, the entire backside of the hill is shaved to fairway height.  If hit hard enough and in the right wind conditions, bombers will be able to get their balls on or near the 2nd green.  I would think with the skill those guys have around the greens, they won't mind a 10-20 yard pitch to that small green.

It should make for some great theatre!

[RJ_Daley]

George that may be true, if they keep the backside of the hill shaved or at least mowed to HOC of <2" and firm.  But, that green still looks like a turtle's back and a ball bounding up around there will be pure luck if it stays on the green, and as you say, they can futz around with a 20 yard chip to the turtle's back for their second... or third... or fourth.   Since I haven't played the newer green, I can't say for sure, but it still seems like you may see some odd chip and run offs the other side-back and forths.  I wonder how many pin placements they have on that little bugger. 

I also look at Joe's photos and wonder where and how the USGA will mow the rough, intermediate and width of FW.   There is a lot of room out there in width for the general public.  And yet, it seems to me that the lateral bunkers are so far wide as it is, that if the USGA does its typical narrowing of the FW, those bunkers may be well deep into the rough off the FW cut line.  All speculation from the photos, since I didn't play there for 2 o 3 years now. 

Joe, how leg weary were you after your round?

[Joe Bausch]

Joe, how leg weary were you after your round?

I was plenty tired.  But I also walk a bit more than normal to get some different angles during a photo gathering round.  But my guess is that for those people that regularly walk golf courses, EH on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being for mountain goats) would get maybe 6 or 7.

[Howard Riefs]

Wonderful presentation of photos on the changes to EH.  Plus, nice to see that EH finally produced a yardage book, which would have been super helpful when I played the course without a caddie (mistake) two years ago. 

Without a yardage book or hole maps on the scorecard or tee box, the approach on hole #2 was even more of a blind shot than it is now.  I still remember asking my playing partner on the tee: "So, do you think the green is over on the right beyond the buker?" 

[Jud_T]

The first hole looks much better without the big tree, but aside from accommodating more rounds, there's no way the second green can be an improvement over the original...

Jud - I never saw the original, but the current iteration is pretty darn small, even with a wedge in hand!  If the old one was really 40% smaller, I can't imagine it was very playable.

How come you don't think a bigger version can improve on the original?

George,

I suppose it's possible that it's an improvement and I haven't been there since the last two iterations of changes, but I loved that original green and it was quite playable.   For reference, it was much more playable than Bandon Trails #14 IMHO.

[Terry Lavin]

Joe,

I'll echo what Adam said and compliment you on this presentation.  This is the new gold standard for course reviews on the site.

As for the golf course, I rather enjoyed it when I played it last fall on a spectacular late October day.  I found very little to fault, save a minor plaint that the course looks like a links but plays more like an American, aerial attack course.  I felt that it would be a spectacular site for the US Amateur (which I hope to catch for a day) and that it would be a memorable host for the US Open.  If there were major problems, as had been noted, they must have been ameliorated by the most recent major tweaking, because I think the place is pretty special.  I'd rather play it than Whistling Straits, that's for sure.  It's in an entirely natural kettle moraine setting which is pretty much the opposite of the entirely artificial work at Straits.  I also think that the bunkering at Erin Hills is not as out of control as it is at Straits.  Both are great and it would be a fun trip to play both on consecutive days, but I think that Erin Hills just may be regarded as a superior test of golf once the Open has been contested there.

[Jud_T]

I'd rather play it than Whistling Straits, that's for sure.  It's in an entirely natural kettle moraine setting which is pretty much the opposite of the entirely artificial work at Straits. 

Terry,

This is how I've felt since the first time I played it.  Looking forward to seeing the latest iteration this fall...

[RJ_Daley]

Of course I'd have to agree that the very fact of the more natural setting upon the land in a more minimally imposing construction manner is much more pleasant and desirable at EH than WS.  The notion of umpteenine thousand bunkers of which 80% are not even in play at the Straits is just so over-the-top.  I haven't played either since either's design changes, like WS's Gremlin's ear hole and a different approach on 18, or the major changes at EH.  But the character of EH just appeals to one's aesthetic sense of place more, IMHO.  I want to love the course, but I just get the feeling there are a few too many negatives in the design like still too much blindness, leading into blind rough, and severity of a comfortable walking environment, and quirkiness slightly beyond quaint IMO of #2, to get all that charged up about it.  I do have to factor in that some of what I thought was over-the-top is now gone, like the old 10th route and presentation of that par 5 hole.  So, it really isn't fair to be negative until I might get to play it or attend an event there of the new version, at least. 

But, if you only narrow your consideration of the design aspects to the real and most probable areas of play on both EH and WS, my guess is that tournament players may have to say that WS still has the design edge.  But then we really don't know what the elite players will actually do from the tournament extreme tees at EH, yet. 

I bet EH remains a subject of continued debate with a wide variety of impressions for a long time.  So, that makes for a fun golf design discussion.

[Jud_T]

RJ,

What's the issue with #2?  Once you've played the hole once it's a great drive and pitch short 4 and one of the more fun holes on the course...

[RJ_Daley]

Jud, how did you play the hole?  I think Hendren and I played it at about 340.  As I remember it... I hit decent tee shot straight away over blind corner of first left side hill to just slightly on upslope on backside of FW and bounded up into the junk on the blind slope.  I seem to remember Mike hit his more agressively off tee well left of me, in FW and I think he had a look at the green.  I do think the bunkering was a bit less on that slope with more native then.  I went to top and picked a line, hit an 8I out of junk to go over hill not really knowing where the heck it went, found it just short of right side bunker below the turtle back green.  I probably pitched when I should have putted the next onto the turtleback, rolled over and off.  I think I pitched back on, holding the far fringe again by shear luck without rolling off and own the turtle back again.  Can't remember if I two or three putted from there, made 6 or 7.  Of course, not saying my game bears any relationship to a competitive player.  But, as a casual player which I think most who will play there are, it was a wee bit too quirky for my tastes.  Particulary when that much quirk comes on second hole of the course, where you are still wanting to just get a rythm going.  That was my take on it for what it is worth.  Again, the photo of new iteration really doesn't look like the hole is much different.  I wonder if the green is still on the same orientation as it was.  It seems to be, just a wee larger turtleback.  Maybe the competitors at the Am will love it...

[Jud_T]

I played it a few times, probably from 320, which allows a good drive a bit more of a landing area and an angle in.  And at least with the old green, you needed a short club in hand to have a chance of holding that green.  I also found that a good chip/putt from off the green was able to hold, unlike at Bandon Trails...

[Ivan Lipko]

Looks like an extremely nice golf course, keep the photos coming, please!

[Phil McDade]

I think #2 might be the most polarizing hole at Erin Hills; I personally (walked, not played -- yet...) thought it really interesting and fun, a better hole in terms of representing what EH is about than the opener. But other GCA contributers who have played it have suggested it's close to over-the-top goofy. I agree with those that the hard draw over the bunker-filled glacial mound to the right, with the corresponding speed slot on the backside resulting in a shot that ends up near the green, will be seen during the US Am (certainly -- those guys hit it a ton and aren't playing for money ) and the US Open (probably). As good as folks are chipping these days, that doesn't strike me as all that more difficult than a puckered half-wedge from 60 yards, which is the shot into that green from going over the left-side mound.

RJ -- I think your point about fairway widths may be the crucial one in setting up EH to be "US Open-tough." I saw last year on the my walkthrough of the course several instances of quite wide rough, which of course impedes balls from going into some of those fearsome bunkers and the also penal hay. I'd like to see really wide fairways, even incorporating some of those bunkers, with a very narrow strip of rough before one encounters the hay. But that set-up, to be effective, seems to depend on quite fast and firm conditions, and I think that's going to be a toss of the die as much as anything. I just don't know that the course in-house can generate F&F conditions with some significant help from the powers above. That course in many parts "sits low" and doesn't drain well in parts, and that could problematic if the course is hit w/ significant rains. Interestingly, in terms of timing, I think the US Am (late summer) has a better chance at those conditions than the US Open (early summer).

[George Freeman]

I like #2 quite a bit; probably in my top 5 favorite holes on the course.  From the correct tees and a trailing wind, players with only decent length can contemplate trying to carry the bunkers and have their ball feed down the hill towards the green.  I also like that the more uncomfortable you can get with the tee ball (i.e. the further left you can make yourself hit the ball, which is more blind), the more likely your result will be: a more forgiving landing zone and a better, unobstructed angle.  

The green is small, but on a hole where most anyone can get to under 100 yards with a decent tee shot (many will be able to easily get closer than that), I'm OK with it.  Last time I played I found myself in the uncomfortable 30-40 yard range, and found that hitting a low pitch directly into the bank short of the green was a great option.  

My only semi gripe with the hole his how perfectly rounded the first hill is (on the left, which needs to be carried to get a good view of the green).  If it is natural, I retract these comments, but it looks like the hill was shaved down to make the shot over easier, however it is just way too perfectly domed.

[Joe Bausch]

#7.  Par 5.  The hole description:

Take a wider stance, as this hole typically plays into prevailing winds. Aim your tee shot over the bell formerly used on the Dell hole. There are few level lies for your second shot, which is all about positioning for approach. The elevated hilltop green, which is a high plateau left, flowing down to a lower section right, is one of the most dramatic on the course.



View from the middle tee box:



From the driver landing area:



From near the centerline bunkers just short of the elevated green:



From the front left part of the green:



From a mound over the green:



#8.  Dogleg left par 4.  The hole description:

There is little to be gained by trying to cut the corner of this dogleg left, for the hillside beyond the horizon is deep rough. Length off tee is key. If you can't carry to top of hill, the smart option is to lay up on your second shot, allowing terrain to roll ball down into a valley, setting up a short uphill approach to the dune-top green.



From the middle tees:



From the beginning of the dogleg:



From just short of the bunkers near the green:



Looking back down the fw from the front of the green:



From over the green:



#9.  Downhill par 3.  The hole description is below, which I think is pretty good info and advice:

This hole demands precision. The crescent green looks much bigger than it plays, for a deep swale in right center of the putting surface will sweep shots off into bunkers on right, while prevailing winds can push shots into bunkers left. Forget the pin position and aim for left center of green.



From the green tee box (18 green in the background):



From short and left of the green:



From right of the green (10th fw in the background):



From behind the green:



View of the green from the 10th teeing area (18th fw in the background):