"Objectively, Erin Hills is a nine-plus golf course now."

Thanks to reader John for this story on the fascinating Erin Hills-U.S. Open situation. Gary D’Amato makes clear that it's looking good for the 2017 spot, even though he explains how the course is undergoing a design overhaul and from what I can tell, is not being pursued by any other major organization for a championship. I can't quite understand why the USGA would commit to it seven years out (assuming D'Amato and Golfweek's prediction proves correct), but they did the same with Chambers Bay. However, one could easily see the PGA of America or PGA Tour having been hot on Chambers' case due to its location.

Erin Hills is massive in scale. That's a nice way of saying it's not great for spectating. And there's the remote location. And there's the remote location's state, Wisconsin which would seem to be amply taken care of with the PGA going to Whistling Straits for its championship in 2010, 2015 and the 2020 Ryder Cup.

Still, the architecture should help it overcome those factors, but as we learn in the story and in some critics eyes, it is being worked on to make the course Open-palatable. Sadly some of the quirk is coming out in the form of the blind Dell hole, perhaps the best reason for going there!

Also interesting: the possibility of an Open is normally a prospect that usually turns club presidents and course owners into mutes (well except Mr. Celebrity Apprentice). But in this case it's not stopping owner Bob Lang from singing Erin's praises.

Some people hear the word "renovation" and imagine the entire course has been gutted. In the case of Erin Hills, the changes for the most part were minor. Lang refers to them as "enhancements."

"The course itself is exactly the same," he said. "It has the same routing and the same natural look. We simply improved on what the glaciers did. All courses evolve, including Augusta National.

"Objectively, Erin Hills is a nine-plus golf course now."