Dan and Howard, Tremendous photos!
In regards to pace of play at Erin Hills, here are some random thoughts:
1) Erin Hills was never meant to replicate the charms of the speediest tracks I know – Swinley, Pulborough, Southern Pines, etc. After all, it is a 1,000-1,500 yards longer than those courses. It was geared from the beginning to test the best and that stretches things out. Often times you walk past the back markers to get to the ones that you are playing. True, Ran Morrissett has longer walks from green to tee than Henrik Stenson. Is that a design flaw? I don’t think so. Erin Hills was built specifically with hosting big events in mind. I spoke extensively with Ron Whitten on this subject matter. Spacing and crowd issues were a primary consideration and those considerations trumped building an intimate course like Wild Horse.
2) There are a few destination places (Pebble, Kiawah, Kapalua) where the environment and golf holes are so compelling that I don’t get bent out of shape if it takes ~4 1/2 hours. Erin Hills falls in that category. Even it takes 4 1/2 hours, it doesn’t feel like it/you aren’t unaware of it as you are engaged throughout.
Decision time for the 8 handicap. You are 230 yards from the elevated 14th green – do you have a go? Or do you have the discipline to lay up well to the left (out of the picture) for the sake of having the best angle down the length of the green?3) The MacLehose Trail up and down the peaks of Hong Kong is a tough walk. How hard is walking ~8 miles in the Wisconsin countryside?! In the golf world, is it any more strenuous than favorites like Yale or Royal Hague? And it is not like you are walking between rows of condos as you go from green to tee either. Like Yale and Haagsche, you are in pretty land from the 1st tee through to the 18th green as Howard's aerial indicates. If you stay submersed in nature, I tend to think all is well. The 600 yard walk along the river bank between 12 and 13 at Cape Breton Highland is hardly torture.
4) I love carrying my bag and zipping around my beloved Southern Pines late in the afternoon. One reason? It is my local and I have tons of other things to do. When I go play Erin Hills, it isn’t near my house or any place else for that matter. I am going to stay there too so ... time pressure isn’t as acute. So what if it takes 4 1/2 hours? What was I going to do with those extra minutes in the countryside of Wisconsin?! I am on vacation, I am relaxed, I am in a pretty place, and I am having fun. Life is not bad.
5) Ultimately, the beauty of golf is that all the battlefields are different. You don’t have to confine yourself to one sort or the other. Erin Hills was conceived as a big boy course and it serves a purpose. Ala TPC Stadium and its state cousin Whistling Straits, you’ll get to compare your game to the famous players of the day when televised events emanate from there. Let me know when you see an event televised from Swinley
. If you don’t like playing such places on occasion, so be it – I get that point of view too and I will certainly always hold fast walking designs as the ideal. Having said that though, I enjoy the full range of all that golf has to offer.
Best,