Key Milwaukee

August 2013

An A-Z visitors guide to Milwaukee Wisconsin. Sponsored by Key Magazine Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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KEY GOLF Think you're a good golfer? Head for the (Erin) hills By JERRY SLASKE KEY Milwaukee golf editor SO YOU THINK YOU'RE a good golfer? Try playing Erin Hills in Erin (about 35 miles northwest of downtown Milwaukee), site of the 2017 US Open. And then humbly report back to your buddies at the local club. All real golfers love a challenge, love to see how they could do at those places where the touring pros play. This is one of those courses that not only will test your mettle, but your bravado as well. However, if you're used to less than four-hour rounds, recalibrate. Don't even concern yourself with the "while we're young" USGA pitch designed to speed up play. With a caddie (Erin Hills is a walking only course; no carts to tote your beer) and even of you never have to search for your ball in the tall, dense fescue, count on at least five hours to play. Not only is Erin Hills long – it can be stretched to more than 8,000 yards; for the Open it probably will play at about 7,800 yards – but the distances from green to tee are long and the elevation changes are considerable. And if you stray off the generous fairways by eight paces on either side (my count), add another 30-45 minutes and, well, a number of balls. I'm told that by the time the Open rolls around the fescue will be thinned out so that a golf ball can be found and perhaps even advanced. In fact, when I played Erin Hills during a US Open media event in which conditions were made to be Openesque, there was a troop of workers culling the fescue. But right now, assuming you can find your ball in that stuff, the only play is a wedge 90 degrees to the fairway. 54 A good thing about all of this beautifully pristine landscape (650 acres vs. 110 acres at Merion, site of this year's Open) is that it will be able to accommodate as many fans as the USGA will allow. Currently, officials are counting on at least 45,000 fans each day, but it probably will be more. One local pro, who after playing Erin Hills recently, guessed that the winner of the 2017 US Open will shoot 8-10 under because of the "wide fairways and generally flat greens." If that's accurate, I can't imagine how difficult courses like Olympic, Merion, Pinehurst #2, Winged Foot, and Oakmont must be where the winning scores in the most recent US Opens at those sites were +1, +1, E, +5, and +5 respectively. So check your honor scores at the door because Erin Hills is one humbling experience even at just over 6,400 yards, the distance the media played it. The green fee is $200 (more with a caddie) for this dose of golf reality. And after playing it, plan to get your tickets for 2017 to see how real pros play a US Open course. Visit www.erinhills.com for details about the course, including an excellent slide show. For a bit less difficult and exhausting test of golf, but one that is just as memorable, try nearby (less than 10 miles away) Washington County (262-6706616, www.golfwcgc.com), or as I now like to call it, Erin Hills, Jr. It has a similar look and feel as Erin Hills with lots of fescue, rolling terrain, nary a

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