Anyone else excited about the US Open this year? I went to college in WI and worked at Erin Hills the first year it was open (they opened for a month or two the previous fall as a test run). I don't know how much they've changed in the past 10 years, but man is this course going to be nasty.
It was designed specifically to host a US open. That year I was there Mike Davis and the other guys from the USGA were out there numerous times. Only course that's ever been awarded a USGA event before a seed of grass was planted, it's just the perfect layout for a big time tournament.
If you're wondering how difficult the course will be here's what I know
1) Greens: Nasty. We stress tested them when i was there and after two weeks of double cutting and rolling them every day they were showing 0 signs of stress. We had to quit the test because they were running at 13+ on the stimpmeter and with their undulation they were unfair for regular golfers.
2) Length: LONG. Again, not sure how much has changed in 10 years, but when I was there it tipped out at a little over 8200 yards. More than half of the par 4's can play at over 500 yards. We cut those boxes, but never put the tee markers in because the only guy that was ever out there playing from those tees was Steve Stricker (when he was ranked #1 in the world)
3) Weather: It gets pretty windy out there regularly.
4) Rough: fescue and it's going to be long.
Summary - These guys are going to be dealing with hitting tee shots on 500+ yard par 4's, into 20 mph winds. If they miss the fairway they aren't getting to the green, and when they do get there the greens are going to be nasty. I'd be really surprised if the winner isn't over par.
Can't wait to watch this one!
It was designed specifically to host a US open. That year I was there Mike Davis and the other guys from the USGA were out there numerous times. Only course that's ever been awarded a USGA event before a seed of grass was planted, it's just the perfect layout for a big time tournament.
If you're wondering how difficult the course will be here's what I know
1) Greens: Nasty. We stress tested them when i was there and after two weeks of double cutting and rolling them every day they were showing 0 signs of stress. We had to quit the test because they were running at 13+ on the stimpmeter and with their undulation they were unfair for regular golfers.
2) Length: LONG. Again, not sure how much has changed in 10 years, but when I was there it tipped out at a little over 8200 yards. More than half of the par 4's can play at over 500 yards. We cut those boxes, but never put the tee markers in because the only guy that was ever out there playing from those tees was Steve Stricker (when he was ranked #1 in the world)
3) Weather: It gets pretty windy out there regularly.
4) Rough: fescue and it's going to be long.
Summary - These guys are going to be dealing with hitting tee shots on 500+ yard par 4's, into 20 mph winds. If they miss the fairway they aren't getting to the green, and when they do get there the greens are going to be nasty. I'd be really surprised if the winner isn't over par.
Can't wait to watch this one!
