Erin Hills is Ready for the 117th U.S. Open

(Hartford, WI) – As the 117th U.S. Open Championship at Erin Hills draws nearer, golf course architects Dr. Michael Hurdzan, Dana Fry and Ron Whitten take great pride in their work and are eager to see how the game’s best players will approach it. Next year will mark the first time that the game’s grandest stage comes to Wisconsin, and the 10-year-old course is ready.

Fry, along with business partner Jason Straka, both worked on the design and construction of Erin Hills. They reflect on the minimalist approach that was taken to reveal, rather than build, the course occupying a special property that was shaped by glaciers 10,000 years ago.

“The property is the star. We went to great lengths to develop a routing that showcased the many natural attributes of the property without disturbing it,” said Fry. “It is a tremendous honor to have a course that you designed host the U.S. Open.”

In addition to designing that rare course that is both minimalist and capable of hosting a major championship, Hurdzan, Fry and Whitten also took pains to ensure that the course is a steward of the environment. Of the 120 acres on maintained turf, only the tees and greens are bentgrass, with the balance being fescues, which require less water and fewer other resources.

As an example of the commitment that Erin Hills has to making the 2017 championship a memorable one and to ensure the course is in the best possible condition for the U.S. Open, it is closing the course three weeks earlier than usual in October 2016 and will not re-open for general play until after the U.S. Open.

In addition to being named to host three USGA championships (2017 U.S. Open, 2011 U.S. Amateur, 2008 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links), Erin Hills has earned accolades from other sources, including Golf Digest’s ranking of it as the 42nd greatest course in the U.S. and the eighth-best public course in the country.

For more information, see www.frystraka.com.