Erin Hills

The verdict

Erin Hills is the rare new American course that earned a US Open inside a decade of opening, and a round here makes the reasoning obvious. The kettle moraine left behind by the glaciers gave Hurdzan, Fry and Whitten a vast, heaving canvas, and they built a links on it with the lightest possible touch, letting the land set the holes. The fescue moves in the wind, the greens are huge and full of contour, and there is not a tree in play, just space, sky and the ground game.

For the travelling golfer it is a pilgrimage round, a chance to walk a current major venue with a caddie reading the ground for you. It pairs naturally with Wisconsin's other destination golf, above all the courses at Kohler an easy drive east, to make one of the great American golf weeks in a state few visitors think of first.

The holes worth the trip

Erin Hills asks for length and nerve in equal measure. Stretched to nearly 7,945 yards it was one of the longest courses ever to stage a US Open, yet the width off the tee is generous, so the challenge is less about finding fairway than about controlling your angle into greens that fall away and feed in every direction. The wind is the defining variable, and a calm morning can play a world apart from a breezy afternoon.

The closing stretch is the part the visitor remembers. The par 5 eighteenth, a true three shot hole that decided the 2017 US Open, runs uphill to a green set against the clubhouse, a fitting end to a walk that never repeats itself. Throughout, the bunkering is ragged and natural, the fescue framing every hole, and the absence of trees leaves you exposed to the elements in the best links tradition.

A caddie is close to essential here, both for the lines off blind tees and for reading greens that can baffle on a first visit. Take one, walk every yard, and let the scale of the place sink in.

Where to stay nearby

Erin Hills has its own lodging, a clutch of cottages and a ranch style lodge on the property, and staying on site is the surest way to a good tee time and an unhurried two round visit. Mornings here, with mist over the fescue and the course to yourself, are the reason to stay put.

For a wider Wisconsin golf week, Milwaukee is the gateway city and the courses at Kohler, including the famous lakeside layouts, sit around 90 minutes northeast, making a natural pairing. Base at Erin Hills for the links and add Kohler for a destination trip that rivals any in the country.

Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts at Erin Hills and around Milwaukee and Kohler.