As I prepared to attend the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills as a credentialed media member, I couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.

This would be the first competitive golf event I’ve attended in a media capacity, and all sorts of dire scenarios played out in my head. Would a mistimed shutter snap swing the balance of the leaderboard and get me tossed from the property? Would I look like an obvious amateur photographer with my simple Canon D3200 and no fancy equipment? Where would I even go when I arrived on site?

Fortunately, I had plenty of golf course photography experience to draw from, which as I found out, translated quite well to a tournament setting. Plus, Troy’s article on shooting a tournament was perfectly-timed, and I read it intently the night before, soaking in all of his useful tips.

I trekked to Erin Hills on a perfect, sunny Sunday morning, excited to take in the action and capture the best moments I could. The leaderboard was crowded with familiar names, having survived three days of punches thrown by a monster of a golf course.

Rendezvousing with Troy, we followed the most high-profile group of Nelly Korda and Mao Saigo for the first few holes, as spectators hurried around us to get a glimpse of the preeminent sensation of women’s golf.

I was impressed with Korda’s graceful, powerful swing, finding nearly every fairway and attacking the golf course with aggression. Her power is undeniable as she outdrove Saigo by 30-40 yards with consistency, finding ideal angles into Erin Hills’ well-protected greens. Korda would leverage that power to close the gap on Maja Stark’s lead throughout the day, briefly cutting the deficit to one before Stark regained control in the closing stretch.

I followed Korda’s group for most of the front nine, making a few detours along the way to catch the action from a few other groups. This included the popular Charley Hull, who attracted a well-sized crowd as she stalked the fairways confidently.

As a spectator, I am always awestruck by the otherworldly ball-striking ability of the pros. This Sunday was no exception, with players pounding their tee shots down the middle of Erin Hills’ relatively wide fairways, followed by crisp, high approach shots into the heavily-guarded greens complexes. Women’s golf is stacked with elite athletes, following a similar trend across competitive golf as a whole, and I found this tournament to be an equally compelling viewing experience to that of a men’s major.

Overall, it was a great experience to witness the event as a photographer. The sprawling, tumbling property offers superb vantage points to shoot from, and it was easy to navigate through the crowds to access these prime spots.

The Media Center, located near the caddie barn by the first tee and just a short walk from the media parking lot, was a useful homebase to store equipment and take short breaks from the sun.

This was an extremely well-run event by the USGA in every aspect, which brings me to my next point – Erin Hills is an elite tournament venue that’s ideally suited for major championship golf.

Erin Hills Shows Off as an Elite Championship Host

Most of us middling amateurs rightly consider Erin Hills to be a brutally taxing monster with its length, elevation changes and punishing green sites combining to yield one of the stiffest tests of golf anywhere.

What the best golfers in the game did in 2017, though, suggested the complete opposite. In unusually calm, soft conditions, the pros laid waste to Erin Hills that week, making it look like a run-of-the-mill tour stop (in particular, Brooks Koepka’s insane -16 performance to run away with the title). Suddenly, the narrative shifted – Erin Hills simply wasn’t up to snuff for a U.S. Open.

How did this happen? Weren’t we all expecting to see a bloodbath at this near-8,000 yard beast, similar to what we just witnessed at Oakmont?

Alas, the course that week unusually lacked its only defenses against golf’s elite – wind and firmness. Length and elevation change alone won’t keep scores high – put these guys on any course under the same conditions and a similar result will develop.

In this year’s U.S. Women’s Open, however, we got a glimpse of how tough Erin Hills can be in drier, breezy conditions. On Sunday, the course had fire, similar to what I’ve experienced in my own rounds here. The greens were insanely difficult to hold and slightly mishit shots were running down slopes into diabolical spots. Maja Stark simply had to hover near even par to cruise to victory, and her winning score of -7 showed that Erin Hills can stand up to the golf elite and present exactly the type of test we expect from USGA Championships.

It’s a true shame that Erin Hills isn’t in the regular rotation for men’s U.S. Opens, but I hope this year’s U.S. Women’s Open will help put it back on track to host another national championship in the future.

Closing Thoughts

I thoroughly enjoyed my first tournament as a media photographer, and while my first passion is reviewing and photographing courses, I certainly look forward to covering more competitive golf events in the future. The level of play was highly impressive, and it was special to see the world’s best women players close-up at my all-time favorite golf course.

Did you attend the U.S. Women’s Open? What were some of your favorite moments of the weekend?

U.S. Women’s Open Website