Erin Hills Primer And First Hole Flyover

Golf.com's Jeff Ritter attended U.S. Open media day at Erin Hills and came away with impressions that may help those trying to wrap their head around such a little-known, little-understood venue.

He writes:

The USGA also plans to dry things out. The designers would like to see their course play firm and fast (read: brown), but there's simply too much rainfall in central Wisconsin this time of year to get things crispy. The course won't be as verdant as you see in my photos, but don't expect a repeat of Chambers' dusty landscape, either.

2. Goodbye, flat lies
. Maybe wind isn't Erin's only defense. Because the architects tried to maintain the natural terrain, there aren't many level stances out there. It's another way the course keeps players on edge. And when they finally pull the trigger, the terrain will kick the ball in unpredictable ways.

"The fairways themselves are bouncy," Davis said. "They're predominantly fescue. There's some ryegrass and some other grasses in there, but the soil or the subsoil here is a gritty, well-draining soil, so the combination of the grasses and the subsoil really do make this a bouncy course, so you're going to see balls hit and move."

Though we're just a bit more than 18 days away from U.S. Open week, why not get the analysis going with a flyover of the beautiful 560-yard first hole, courtesy of Erin Hills: