"The changes certainly will help."

Brad Klein returns to Erin Hills--the course he originally dubbed "Errant Hills" and a comment that Golf Digest's Ron Whitten countered was payback for a lousy Wintonbury Hills review--and doesn't sound any more enthusiastic about what he sees in the fall reworking that the course hopes will usher in a U.S. Open bid.

And Open there makes complete sense when you can bypass a proven cash cow and weather wonder like Torrey Pines in 2017 and head straight to the middle of no where in Wisconsin! Don't worry scribblers, there's a Marriott just 45 minutes away...more points and you'll love the highway billboards.

Klein writes:

But for a golf course that touts a links sensibility, there’s actually little integration at Erin Hills between approach shots and contours into and around greens. Every recovery shot from around and behind putting surfaces is a lobbed shot, not a bump and run. And there are so many holes where the natural slopes leading into the green deflect the ball away from the putting surface rather than allowing you to feed the ball in. The contours might all be entirely natural, but they defy thoughtful shotmaking and end up requiring an aerial brand of golf in which everything is simply flown to the target. As for the bunkers, there’s nothing natural about any of their shapes; they are scraped out in such contrived, undersized pockets that they make you feel as if you’ve been lowered into jagged tea cups.

The changes certainly will help. A postage-stamp style, domed green on the short par-4 second hole will be expanded by 50 percent. The wild Biarritz green on the long par-5 10th hole will be flattened front and back so that it will be far more pin-able and playable. A ridge in the 15th green also will be modified. Awkward deflection slopes on the first and 17th fairways will be softened, making both far more receptive.

Comments

[Seitz]

The 15th green had to be the first priority. Right side pin placements were just brutal. I didn't mind two, because it's definitely different, but I know people who absolutely despised it. The 10th green was a little goofy, too.

I can think of three holes on the front where I hit the ball over the green and played bump and runs to the hole - 2, 3, and 7. Seven won't be used, and three was a little nontraditional, in that I was on a slope, hitting it downhill and just letting it release, but it certainly wasn't a lob shot. There are lots of holes where I probably wouldn't play a lob from over the green. IT be fair, I can't think of many (any?) approaches where I would bounce the ball up.

[Four-putt]

The decision on the next north central U.S. Open site will be delayed until the USGA completes its full assessment of the new Cog Hill No.4 course post-restoration. Remember, whether you like 'em or not, Rees Jones does have the USGA's ear and Mike Davis spent some time at Cog during the construction.

Aside from the golf part, Cog Hill beats Erin Hills hands down in amenities and vital infrastructure necessary for a National Open. More corporate hospitality dollars in a metro area like Chicago, and let's be honest here -- ain't that what the USGA is all about?

[dan]

I liked the 2nd when played as a driveable par 4.

The other changes will help.

[cmoore]

The article erroneously cites the sixth at Lahinch as the Dell hole. The fifth is the Dell hole.

[frank D]

"Aesthetic judgments aside, there’s something alluring about Erin Hills. As a place for a special round of golf, it’s still a joy. And as a showcase for the world’s best players in a U.S. Open, they’ll be tested and the public will love it." B Klein


geoff,

while i am no fan of klein and was admittedly ready to contribute my vitrol - i gotta say geoff it's YOU that seems to be causing trouble here ! based on the above closing paragraph what i read when taken IN CONTEXT wasn't the negative tone you suggest by YOUR snippets.

seriously, take that from someone who is no klein fan.

BTW i am awaiting delivery of three of your books via UPS from barnes and noble - so be prepared for futher abuse !

frankD