Yes! To be honest, I was shocked by how much great golf is in Wisconsin.
Do you have a favorite course in Wisconsin?
If you think Erin Hills is that great, you have to get to Kohler. Blackwolf Run and Whistling Straits are a step above Erin.
Lol, no they are not. Price is the only thing that’s stepped up at Kohler compared to Erin.
I’ve played neither. It’s hard to imagine there are significant steps above courses that have hosted major championships.
I’d wager both courses are a 9/10, and the last point is subjective. I’d love to play them both someday.
It depends on what you value in a course. But Whistling Straits is a few steps below Erin from an architectural perspective. Erin has no bad holes. Straits has a few. But Straits has pretty lake views, costs more, and paid magazines to be higher in ‘rankings.’
The design philosophy at Straits bothers me. With a lake there, Dye designed every hole to push you to play away from the lake. It makes for pretty pictures but means you never actually play a shot near the lake. There are zero holes where flirting with the lake gives an advantage. That’s just poor design. If you have a gorgeous natural feature, use it.
YariSakari said:
Just watched the NLU club championship that was there and every hole looked amazing! The wind would eat me alive though…
Yes, this course was INSANE! We were at Erin Hills filming an episode for our Documentary Series The Land As It Lies about the architecture of Erin Hills. The documentary will be released next spring before the 2025 US Women’s Open.
YariSakari said:
Just watched the NLU club championship that was there and every hole looked amazing! The wind would eat me alive though…
Yes, this course was INSANE! We were at Erin Hills filming an episode for our Documentary Series The Land As It Lies about the architecture of Erin Hills. The documentary will be released next spring before the 2025 US Women’s Open.
Can’t wait to watch the 2025 US Women’s Open!
Loved your Chambers Bay doc; looking forward to the Erin Hills one too!
wakio said: YariSakari said:
Just watched the NLU club championship that was there and every hole looked amazing! The wind would eat me alive though…
Yes, this course was INSANE! We were at Erin Hills filming an episode for our Documentary Series The Land As It Lies about the architecture of Erin Hills. The documentary will be released next spring before the 2025 US Women’s Open.
Can’t wait to watch the 2025 US Women’s Open!
Loved your Chambers Bay doc; looking forward to the Erin Hills one too!
Appreciate the support! Hoping the documentaries are educational for you and all viewers!
YariSakari said:
Just watched the NLU club championship that was there and every hole looked amazing! The wind would eat me alive though…
Yes, this course was INSANE! We were at Erin Hills filming an episode for our Documentary Series The Land As It Lies about the architecture of Erin Hills. The documentary will be released next spring before the 2025 US Women’s Open.
Can’t wait to watch the 2025 US Women’s Open!
Awesome, making note to check them both out for sure, thanks!
Sand Valley is the Midwest spot for me. 4 great courses (and plans to build more) and everyone was very accommodating and friendly. Half-priced second round is helpful if you’re willing to play 36 in a day.
Warren said:
Sand Valley is the Midwest spot for me. 4 great courses (and plans to build more) and everyone was very accommodating and friendly. Half-priced second round is helpful if you’re willing to play 36 in a day.
Sand Valley is on my bucket list! What course at Sand Valley was your favorite?
Warren said:
Sand Valley is the Midwest spot for me. 4 great courses (and plans to build more) and everyone was very accommodating and friendly. Half-priced second round is helpful if you’re willing to play 36 in a day.
Sand Valley is on my bucket list! What course at Sand Valley was your favorite?
Lido is the most challenging and best course. Blind shots galore make the quality of your caddy very important. Mammoth is the most fun. Bomb drives and hit every green, but three-putts a plenty. Sand Valley is Mammoth but with tougher greens and more strategy on approach. Sedge is a blast to play. Short easy par 4s and super challenging par 3s. Very fast pace of play but not much strategy involved all day. The sandbox is where you start 54 yards from the hole, make a six, and wonder what happened while finishing your 4th or 5th cocktail, all while walking barefoot. With lodging, food, and relative affordability (compared to Kohler), it’s easily the best golf destination in Wisconsin!
Warren said:
Sand Valley is the Midwest spot for me. 4 great courses (and plans to build more) and everyone was very accommodating and friendly. Half-priced second round is helpful if you’re willing to play 36 in a day.
Sand Valley is on my bucket list! What course at Sand Valley was your favorite?
Mammoth Dunes is my favorite there. Such a unique experience with big open fairways and greens.
Warren said:
Sand Valley is the Midwest spot for me. 4 great courses (and plans to build more) and everyone was very accommodating and friendly. Half-priced second round is helpful if you’re willing to play 36 in a day.
Sand Valley is on my bucket list! What course at Sand Valley was your favorite?
Lido - course is just a mindfuck. Also, the history if you’re into that kind of thing.
Sedge - unconventional, par 68, high-risk high-reward drivable par 4s. Most fun course, in my opinion.
Mammoth - long course but friendlier with much of the surrounding area sloping towards the green.
Sand - tough course with a lot of turtle shell greens. I putted my 15-footer off the green on the 1st hole, really setting a tone for the round. If you don’t mind getting your ass kicked, Sand would probably be higher.
I’m a local and although I haven’t golfed Erin yet, I can’t wait to take my daughter to the US Women’s Open next year. Beautiful country, and a lot of great golf in the area.
Andrediallo said:
I’m a local and although I haven’t golfed Erin yet, I can’t wait to take my daughter to the US Women’s Open next year. Beautiful country, and a lot of great golf in the area.
That will be so much fun for you and your daughter. Enjoy the experience!
EagleEye said: @wakio
I just watched the Grant Horvat/Bryan Bros video at this course. It looks very challenging and beautiful. How difficult was the course?
The Bryan Bros/Grant did a great job with the major cut match.
The course is very tough if you’re off the fairways. What isn’t depicted in the video is that they found every ball they hit into the fescue. My playing experience, even with two caddies, we lost around 5 balls total in our group that weren’t more than 15 yards into the fescue.
The course itself is great. Lots of false fronts that will run the ball off the green quickly! The greens complexes are forgiving in most scenarios, but greens like #2 are extremely difficult to hold!
EagleEye said: @wakio
I just watched the Grant Horvat/Bryan Bros video at this course. It looks very challenging and beautiful. How difficult was the course?
I played it twice last week. It is extremely difficult. We played the green/white tees (where the caddies speculated the women would play from). There are many blind shots or shots to elevated greens where you can’t see the contours of the green. False fronts abound; if you’re not precise on your distances, you’ll be off the back or rolling off the front. We played on Friday when there was a little wind, and it was even more brutal. If you’re off the fairway just a touch and in the fescue, you’re realistically playing for a bogey. I hit the ball a ways and usually make up ground on the par 5s, but these are long and virtually unreachable in 2, so you have to hit 3 good shots just to have a look at birdie. I birdied hole 1 both times I played but hardly even got a look on the other par 5s.
On 18 the last day, I piped a drive 345 yards (the wind was behind us, and I hit the ‘speed slot’ per the caddies). I still had 211 to the green, which was elevated about 25-30 feet above, with a fairway sloping right to left (into a collection area with a giant bunker) if you’re short of the green. If you’re long left, you roll off the back and are staring at a 25+ yard uphill shot to an elevated/blind green.
@wakio
Having done the stay and play at both Kohler and Erin Hills, I preferred Erin Hills. My group did a stay and play deal and stayed on property. Going out in the evening and playing the ‘kettle loop’ (5 of the front 9 from alternate tee boxes) was a highlight.
Kohler was cool, but the property we stayed at was a drive from any of the courses. Golf was great, but if the accommodations were the same, I’d redo the Erin Hills trip.
Ronald said: @wakio
Having done the stay and play at both Kohler and Erin Hills, I preferred Erin Hills. My group did a stay and play deal and stayed on property. Going out in the evening and playing the ‘kettle loop’ (5 of the front 9 from alternate tee boxes) was a highlight.
Kohler was cool, but the property we stayed at was a drive from any of the courses. Golf was great, but if the accommodations were the same, I’d redo the Erin Hills trip.
The kettle loop at Erin Hills is sweet. Combine that with the putting course at night with a cocktail. Can’t beat it for a golf trip!