My 5 Favorite Holes at Erin Hills

I have long considered Erin Hills to be my number one course in the state of Wisconsin, and following this season’s late-September visit will do anything but relent.

Erin Hills has it all.

A memorable golf experience that takes players across beautifully rugged, natural terrain carved by glaciers millennia before in the Kettle Moraine of Southeast Wisconsin, the course at Erin Hills is as dramatic as any in the state of Wisconsin, and it’s this drama and brilliant golf course architecture that I’ve come to love.

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A Storied Championship History… & Future

Designed by Dr. Michael Hurdzan, Dana Fry and Ron Whitten and debuted in 2006, the course has become a darling of the golf world and a staple for golf travelers from across the country and the world. In just 18 years, it’s hosted a US Open, US Amateur, US Mid-Amateur, US Women’s Amateur Pub Links and will be the site of 2025’s US Women’s Open.

They’re also now on the clock for the 2027 US Amateur Four-Ball, 2030 US Women’s Amateur Four-Ball, 2033 US Women’s Amateur, 2035 US Amateur and 2039 US Junior Amateur.

The big question, of course, is: will the US Open ever come back to this heralded venue?

My answer: I hope so.

We have been incredibly fortunate over the past couple decades to witness some incredible national championships on Wisconsin soil (Whistling Straits, Blackwolf Run, SentryWorld, Blue Mound (co-hosting with Erin Hills), University Ridge and soon to be TPC Wisconsin), and to me the pinnacle of them all is the US Open.

As I’ve mentioned on recent podcasts with Milwaukee Uncut and Golfer’s Anonymous, I believe Erin Hills is as great and challenging of a tournament site as any in the country, and the week that was experienced there in 2017 was unlike any I’ve ever seen.

At several years of media days leading up to the US Open, USGA leaders talked about how much of a challenge they would make it. Players would need distance (it was the longest course ever played for a major championship to that point), accuracy, discipline and incredible short games.

With the tournament quickly approaching they balked, succumbing to pressure to make the course more forgiving. What happened then was an unfortunate series of events as early rain softened the course, the winds (100% uncharacteristically for the area) never blew and with soft greens and wider playing corridors the field took it to its knees.

An underdog at the time, Brooks Koepka has proven over time to be a worthy US Open Champion, of course, but the play in 2017 at Erin Hills was not representative of any future play I’d expect there.

As has been shown at all tournaments here since, Erin Hills is a relentless golf course. I can’t even imagine the challenge it would present for players – even the best in the world – from 7,700-plus yards with firm and fast conditions, ever-present winds and the pressure of a major championship on the line.

The US Open is America’s championship, and it should be held across America. I love that it visits Pinehurst often and thought this season’s tournament there was as compelling as any I’ve seen.

The USGA has long looked for a great championship site in the Midwest and I believe Erin Hills should be it. Don’t move the championship between rota sites on the east and west coasts – move it around the country and keep properties like Erin Hills a part of it.

I also believe The Lido at Sand Valley could be one of those great tournament sites, and 2025’s Wisconsin Amateur there will I believe tell us a lot about its ability to challenge the best and keep the lead near par.

But, I digress.

Mornings at ERin Hills: A Cathartic Experience

If you can’t tell by now, I love Erin Hills. There’s no time I love it more than in the morning, walking from the parking lot past the caddie shack, up the hill and past the village, the putting green and starter’s house to breach the course’s interior. It all opens up from there as wispy, golden fescue sways in the breezes and the sun’s early light comes from beyond Holy Hill, casting shadows across the course’s many ups and downs.

This has always been a cathartic experience for me, walking one of the state and country’s most popular properties by myself, capturing long, breathtaking views the best I can.

A lot of times, though, the best holes to photograph are not the best to play. That is not the case at Erin Hills where my favorite holes to play are also some of my favorites to shoot.

My Top 5 Holes at ERin Hills

In order of five to one, my five favorite holes on my favorite Wisconsin golf course include:

#5: Hole 18 (handicap: 6)
Yardages: Black-663, Blue-637, Green-622, White-557, Gold-506

It still blows my mind that Justin Thomas was able to hit this green in two at the 2017 US Open, especially when playing from 667 yards and finishing uphill to an elevated green that is all carry. I mean, how? Really.

The 18th is a beast of a par five that can be played several ways: smart and with discipline as a three-shot hole, or with reckless abandon.

I’ve tried both approaches on this hole over the years, and it’s always the safe way that works best.

Not that it’s ever safe. You still need to hit a good drive in the fairway, then lay up to or well right of the midline bunker in the approach area and then hit a solid wedge in.

All kinds of trouble lurks for players attempting the more reckless approach, especially in the way of deep fescue and deep, craggy bunkers. Risk/reward? Check.

#4: Hole 12 (handicap: 10)
Yardages: Black-464, Blue-434, Green-396, White-382, Gold-307

Why is it on bucket list golf properties like Erin Hills, Whistling Straits, Sand Valley and others the majority of holes feature elevated greens but the ones we often remember most fondly are anything but?

Part of it pertains to variety, but I think the biggest thing is that holes that finish downhill promote creativity.

Picture the 13th at Whistling Straits, played along Lake Michigan with a greens complex that abuts the cliff and rolls hard that direction. Nothing in front but sloped turf that can be used to carom shots onward.

Similarly at Erin Hills, the 12th allows players to get creative with their shots by way of a [sometimes blind] downhill approach that’s below the fairway and uses kicker slopes on each side (but especially the left) to allow grace on slight misses.

#3: Hole 15 (handicap: 12)
Yardages: Black-370, Blue-359, Green-350, White-299, Gold-252

If you play the wrong tees at Erin Hills then chances are you will miss out on the excitement the 15th was intended to provide.

A short par four typically under 350 yards, the 15th tees off from the property’s highest point and plays to a valley below prior to a dramatic rise to an elevated target set against the course’s northwest border.

From the green tees, most often set up around 320 yards, this is a drivable hole and the opportunity to get home under par is tantalizing. I can’t say I’ve ever succeeded at it yet, but I’ve seen it done.

#2: Hole 2 (handicap: 13)
Yardages: Black-361, Blue-358, Green-336, White-318, Gold-223

To me, the second is the most underrated hole at Erin Hills.

I love short, creative hole layouts, and this is one of the best.

Coming off the first green, players cross a small bridge through native grasses to the second tees and are told to try hitting their caddie. Caddies (the best ever, of course, is Julius – get him requested early unless I’ll be playing there that day) will stand on the left hillside, wayward of players’ expectation when looking out at the fairway.

Hit it over their head and you’ll be left with a short wedge in and a view to your target. Miss your cue off the tee, though, and chances are you’ll be hacking the next shot out of the fescue, or playing over the hillside to a completely blind green that’s probably the toughest to hit on the course.

The approach is the most challenging aspect of the second hole. This is the smallest green on the course, and is perched over run-offs on all sides including to sand on the right. Approach shots on two need to be precise for any chance at birdie.

#1: Hole 9 (handicap: 17)
Yardages: Black-163, Blue-160, Green-147, White-142, Gold-138)

“America’s shortest par five,” the ninth at Erin Hills is gloriously designed for a high-iron tee shot that, if missing the green or hitting it in the wrong location, can lead to high numbers in a hurry.

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Previously the course’s bye hole, the ninth was Erin Hills’ optional 19th played to settle post-round bets and ties. In preparations for tournament play, however, the USGA recommended the course move it to its everyday routing to remove its original par three “Dell hole” that was a long, downhill and blind par three.

There is no better match play hole I have ever seen than the ninth. Even hitting the green isn’t always safe as anything to the middle or right side is likely to repel off that direction, oftentimes into finger-like greenside bunkers that are hellish to get out of.

I love a lot of holes at Erin Hills, but to me this is the one, and that it is such a joy to photograph only elevates it.

The Honorable mentions

While there is not a weak hole at Erin Hills, the ones I mention above are truly world-class and would likely be stalwarts on any links-style golf course in the world.

Others that were in the running included:

Hole 8 (handicap: 5)
Yardages: Black-492, Blue-441, Green-415, White-363, Gold-239

Hole 14 (handicap: 2)
Yardages: Black-613, Blue-594, Green-507, White-473, Gold-438

Hole 16 (handicap: 16)
Yardages: Black-190, Blue-180, Green-165, White-145, Gold-131)

It’s Your Turn to Decide!

For More Erin Hills Content…

Craving more Erin Hills content? Check out past course and media day articles, as well as my photo galleries and featured content in my most recent Photo Shoot Gallery of the course, all linked from this page: