A Public Battle Royale in America's Dairyland - 12th Holes Posted

[Josh Tarble]

The 12th at Erin Hills is one that I really wanted to discuss, so I'd be anxious to hear other opinions on it.  I for one am more inclined to agree with Jason, in that I think it's a really cool hole.  No doubt it is one that I've never seen anything even close to similar.  I would call it a snaking ribbon of a fairway and the green is set in a very cool "dell" type, blind depression.  My one thought though, is that I think it might be overly narrow for a blind tee shot and a blind second.

If I'm not mistaken, I do think you can lay up to the top of the fairway, but it's a monster hole and that potentially leaves 200+ into a blind green.  Driver will crest the hill, where the fairway takes a pretty sharp right turn, potentially leaving a straight ball off the tee in the rough and difficult to find.  Again, I think I fall more into the category of thinking this is a great hole, but a blind dogleg seems a bit strange for a course most people won't play more than a couple times?

[Jason Thurman]

I really love 12.

I think you’re right about it being a strategically challenging hole for the guy who won’t play the course more than a time or two, but I don’t have a problem with that. First of all, even if you don’t challenge the right side of the fairway, it’s still a very playable hole. It’s not like playing to Position B at the top of the ridge screws you over, even if you really smoke the drive and run it through the fairway. It just leaves a tougher approach than a drive up the right side or even cutting a bit of the mound on the right.

I also figure that probably half or more of the rounds at Erin Hills involve a caddie, so most people probably get some advice about how the hole works when they stand on the tee.

What I really love is the way that the terrain and hole fit together perfectly in spite of how unintuitive it seems. I don’t know how many architects would have thought to use that section of the property to build a roller coaster par 4 when it’s surrounded by milder terrain. It’s the kind of hole that I would expect to find on a tighter property where land constraints forced a completely unconventional hole. Think 7 at Pebble Beach as an example. It’s a great hole that almost seems like anyone would have found it because it’s so necessary to the routing as a transition hole. 12 at Erin Hills sits on just as interesting a piece of terrain, and similarly feels like a hole that no one would have built at any other site. But unlike 7 at Pebble, it’s on a gigantic property and could easily have been routed more conventionally. To take the more challenging route and pull it off so well deserves a lot of credit, because it takes a lot of guts to make a decision like that.

[Jason Thurman]

Round 13
 
Whistling Straits reprises its 8th hole in shorter form on this mid-length par 4. For the fourth consecutive time, the average player stands on the tee feeling visually intimidated but encouraged by the manageable yardage. The deceptive tee shot gives way to the most stunning approach on the course - a downhill shot to an infinity green set against the edge of Lake Michigan. Whistling Straits has some really spectacular moments, and this may be the one that outshines the rest for me.
 
Erin Hills 13th falls more in line with what I would call a "transition" hole. Playing across a wetland area, we get a par 3 with plenty of short grass surrounding a green that holds most of the hole's interest. The green falls away on both sides and also has a few swales that can send the aerial shot bounding through the green if the ball lands in the wrong spot. The bunkering concept here is nice, but I feel like the hazards are set just a bit too far from the green.
 
Lawsonia's 13th makes the short list when I think of best par 5s I've played. A fantastic tee shot over three cavernous bunkers leads to a generous fairway that presents a real conundrum on the second shot. Do you play for the short blind approach, or do you lay back for a long approach with a good look at the green? Factor in one of the most demanding green complexes on the course and you have a hole that gives every player a chance while only rewarding those who execute well. I also love the unique feeling at the green. Surrounded by pines for the only time on the course, it feels briefly like you've left into a whole different world from the rest of the course.
 
Blackwolf Run's 13th gets some praise and some flak. It's a bit of a standard Dye "water par 3" with the hole wrapping around the small lake in front of the clubhouse. To me, the hole feels a bit out of place - more like a decorated landscape in front of the clubhouse than a real part of the rest of the course. The flatness and white rock really feels jarring after that wonderfully natural and rolling stretch on the front 9. But in spite of it all, the hole itself plays well. I love that, like the previous two par 3s, it offers a risk/reward scenario on a one-shot hole. The bold player is tempted to hug the lake and risk disaster to get a little closer. Meanwhile, the weaker player has plenty of bailout room but will get no level stance for a reward. Blackwolf Run is at its best when it features swashbuckling risk/reward holes with greensites that have lots of action in the surroundings to generate short game interest. 13 fits the bill, but also feels a bit common.

Lawsonia stretches its lead a bit before its weakest stretch of holes. Can it hold on?
 
Lawsonia - 10
Whistling Straits - 9
Blackwolf Run - 7
Erin Hills - 6

Overall

Whistling Straits - 109
Erin Hills – 106
Lawsonia – 111
Blackwolf Run – 102

[Josh Tarble]

I really love Whistling Straits 13th.  It's the one hole I always look back on when thinking about Pete Dye courses.  Why has he not utilized the short par 3 concept more?  My one criticism of most Dye courses are that all par 3s are so similar...in length and style.  I can't help but think he could have realized some insane concepts for 110 - 150 yard par 3s.  Instead we get four holes with water on one side and mounding on the other, all between 180 and 210 yards.

But the 13th at WS is brilliant.  In the standard "Short" template, it's a short iron to a very difficult green, surrounded by trouble.  I love the deep bunker right that separates the green.  I believe that was the PGA Champ Sunday pin position and have to image that is a really fun pin position back on that small section.  The rest of the green is definitely one of the more contoured.



Erin Hills is not a bad par 3 by any means.  In fact I quite liked it, especially where it fell in the routing.  After hole 12, I almost started to feel claustrophobic amongst the dunes and the 13th is a nice contrast against that...with a long open view over the property and a lot of short grass around the green.  It's also a good compliment to the other 3 one-shotters.  A solid hole in the midst of one of the best stretches on the course.