It's tough to play a course with so many lost balls - slow play, etc.  I respect Paul's outlook given the difficulty, but I'm curious where the consensus will land on this one.

Your Black Sheep & Bandon numbers match mine.
I'd have to think any USGA event under those conditions would be 5.5 hours+

Jeez, you holed out from 150 at Erin Hills your first time out, Shiv???

That's fantastic!!!
 

Bravo, that's a tremendous story

i thought the fairways seemed a bit narrow...remember, this is a public course so not everyone will be a low handicapper, so with the wind that will blow there you might get some really long rounds...

some very good holes out there

I was a bit worried about the greens being a bit boring after the first few holes but their contours did get more interesting

for those who care about it conditions were a bit scruffy but that canbe fixed

Quote from: Paul T on October 10, 2006, 08:04:35 AM

i thought the fairways seemed a bit narrow...remember, this is a public course so not everyone will be a low handicapper, so with the wind that will blow there you might get some really long rounds...

News Flash...Not everyone at private courses are low handicappers..

gee John thanks for telling me that...I had no idea

well I made the mistake of dignifying your first stupid post John but I shall not reply to any more of your mean-spriited, moronic posts

you really need to get a life

But luckily, there was a grounds-crew gal up at the top of the hill, and she said "I think that went in!".  I don't think she'd ever seen a shot holed before.  She was pretty excited.  What a hoot.

Oh, but that leaves so much to the imagination...

Noel,

I don't think it will...I think people need big expansive watery views for that kind of money.  I was going to start a thread asking if another inland course exists in a red state that charges those types of fees until I did some research and found out the Wisconsin is not a red state.

If the Lawsonia management ever got in touch with the marketing folks at Reynolds Plantation they could make a TON of cash and be a destination of choice in the area.

Erin Hills opened WAY too early and hopefully that will not hurt their long term future. It has some great potential given tweeking of the bunkering and a couple of greensites. It is built on a massive scale and has all the width in the world to let you play.

Phil - please allow us the blue that was earned.  Hell, Florida is probably more blue then Wisconsin but the courts and the state administration had just enough red paint to coat the state.  

Shivas-

I can't understand people who think Erin Hills is narrow.. There was plenty of width and we played it in 15-20mph winds..  That said, I thought #2 and #12, the short par 4s are the best holes.  There is a lot to like with the terrain but I thought of one odd thing, I really didnt get a lot of odd lies in the fairways (hanging etc). . That just hit me in thinking of the course.  When you play the Kingsley Club's front 9 which is over similar type kettle dome terrain, you have very different lies to deal with.  Also the bunkering seemed rudimentary in spots and Geoff and I played it too short at 6500 yards to have any of the fairway bunkering come into play.  I was not a big fan of the par 3s, the Dell hole is cute but the rest were not inspiring to me.  I also liked the Biarritz green but coming at the end of a heroic par 5 if you carry the kettle hole on the right, I found it odd the swale is blind.  Biarritz greens should not be blind.. That makes two features that are blind on the hole--very quirky no doubt but that would make sense on a members course and not a pay for play.  I think Erin Hills is going to cause a big schism in the minds of people, the terrain is indeed inspirational, some of the holes in my estimation a lot of fun but there seemed to me to be a some oddities that need addressing as I mention above..Case in point, --the 1st hole is an abortion, the 2nd shot there does not work as you allude to.. I do think the price tag may bother some and it will have problems.  Even if the USGA goes there, I don't know if the course will attract enough play to succeed--just my guess.  The Bull at Pinehurst is $155 near Kohler-- not exactly cheap.  I know people who go to Blackwolf/Whistling have $$$ but in my mind all of this is outrageous when you have Lawsonia within shouting distance and can play all the golf you want in the dead of summer for something like $120 for a day ticket.  In the shoulder seasons, Lawsonia is even more of a bargain.

We hardly ever talk on this site about Mike DeVries' Kingsley Club which is what Erin Hills could have been--At least the front 9 of the KC..  To me the Kinsgley Club is still the most unheralded course in the US other than Eastward Ho!.. Somehow Mike made a course work over that terrain with all of the playability and fun of NGLA..  I think some might find gimmicky nature in Erin Hills and others think it a homage to Irish Golf.. Time will tell, but the course needs some maturation and some work.  Hopefully, it will be a success, I'm just not sure yet.

On # 10 you also have the option of playing up on top of the ridge, just over those bunkers, with your second.  This will afford you with an angle that is looking into the large middle swale, but makes a shot to the front tier really difficult.  This area of fairway is quite small, but doable.  When I miss hit the drive on this hole, I ussually end up laying my second shot up there, and it has worked well for me.  

Noel, I am curious to hear which, bunkers you thought looked out of place?  A few of them will need some fine tuning, no doubt.

Also I am suprised that the par 3's have gotten little regard.  
#6 has a neat false front and then the rest of the green runs to the back.  How many par 3 greens do you see with fall away, false front green?
#7 can be played in a number of different ways, and probably has more variety then the original dell.
#13 has an interesting green with the swale running through the middle of the green.  Once the turf becomes faster this green will have a pinehurst effect on three sides, where balls will roll well off the green.
#16 has a neat two tiered green that is partially hidden behind a large moraine, not something you see to often in the US.
I think all 4 of the par threes play very different, just my opinion.

Just curious, but what do you guys think could have been done to improve the golf course?   What elements do you like and what do you not like?  

Brendan

Just curious, but what do you guys think could have been done to improve the golf course?   What elements do you like and what do you not like?  

Brendan

Brendan -

Played the course monday for the second time and had a lot of fun learning it.

One part of the course that should be addressed is the areas in between holes ...the so called fescue. A majority of it is reed canary grass. This nasty looking invasive (#1 on the Wisconsin DNR list) left unchecked will soon take over leaving a dense mat you can't walk in much less find or play a ball.

If the wispy fescue look is what is desired  it will take some serious  management to make it happen.

One area I know fescue was planted was to left of the tee shot landing zone on hole 14. I think the area was graded for water retention and seeded.

A Player (Wayne) in our group pulled his tee shot ..but found it and was able to advance it with a 9 iron. This shot would be lost in most other areas of the course.

Essentially most (eventually all) of the "fescue" areas will play like lateral water.

Noel

you said:
>I can't understand people who think Erin Hills is narrow..


Please read my long description above.

The corridors at EH, as they exist today, are too narrow.