Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2015 - 19

Erin Hills has emerged as the state's
next gem in waiting. The Irish links-
style course will play host to the 2017
U.S. Open (after passing the test of
hosting the 2011 U.S. Amateur)-
making it the fourth Wisconsin major
in 13 years. Including the two Women's
U.S. Opens and the '20 Ryder Cup,
Wisconsin will have hosted seven major
tournaments in 16 years.
" The success of PGA and USGA
championships at Kohler has proven
to the golf world that Wisconsin 'gets
it' in terms of hosting major championships, "
John Morrissett, Erin Hills'
director of competition, says.
Greeting card entrepreneur Bob
Lang developed Erin Hills with modest
goals, originally seeing it as a course
where his employees could play. But
word soon got out of the spectacular
elevation changes on the expansive layout
at Erin Hills and much loftier goals
were set.
When Lang ran into fi nancial diffi
culties in 2009, he sold the course to
Andrew Ziegler, who promptly converted
it to a walking-only course, and
soon the USGA handed it the 2017
tournament honor.
" Wisconsin has a great variety of
land, ranging from the beautiful shoreline
of Lake Michigan to the undulating
land left by glaciers in the Kettle
Moraine region [where Erin Hills lies]
to the north woods to dramatic rivers
to sand hills, " Morrissett says.
Speaking of sandy hills, it appears
Erin Hills
Sand Valley
that Wisconsin's next superstar
course may be emerging
in central Wisconsin. Chicago
businessman Mike Keiser, the
developer of Oregon's highly rated
Bandon Dunes, is currently building
two championship-caliber courses
on a 1,500-acre tract of sand, with
dunes up to 60 feet high, just south of
Wisconsin Rapids.
The fi rst course,
appropriately
named Sand Valley, will open in 2017,
with the second course-conditionally
dubbed Sand Mountain-scheduled to
open in 2018. The plan is for the Sand
Valley resort to eventually house four
major championship-style courses.
" That is defi nitely one of our goals,
to host a major championship eventually, "
Keiser says. " Primarily, we want a
PHOTO (LEFT) COURTESY OF SAND VALLEY
course that is friendly for
the average or even lousy
golfer, and with fescue
fairways, you can do that.
You can make the fairways as
generous as you like, and then let
it grow into rough when the best players
come to town. "
Sometimes when Keiser looks over
the vast expanses of dunes on his
property, which formerly was a logging
zone, he can't believe he is in
Wisconsin. " When you're driving there
it's pretty fl at, and by the time you get
there, the hills turn to sandy mountains, "
he says. " It's one of those places
you can't believe till you see it. " MG
Dan Manoyan is a retired golf writer
from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
and author of two books.
Whistling Straits
PHOTO COURTESY OF WHISTLING STRAITS
www.mngolf.org
Directory 2011
Fall 2015 MINNESOTAGOLFER
AGOLFER
31
17
PHOTO COURTESY OF ERIN HILLS
http://www.mngolf.org
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2015

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