Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 21

DESTINATION
Open for Visitors
The Irish links-style course
outside of Milwaukee plays
host to the 2017 U.S. Open and much more.
6M 89BB=G Ac75BB
ERIN
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N HIL
LLS
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A
cynic might say Erin Hills Golf Course
(erinhills.com), set in the countryside 35 miles
northwest of Milwaukee, is in the middle of
nowhere. But the opportunistic traveler who
comes to play golf or to watch golf at the 2017
U.S. Open will fi nd it is, in fact, smack in the
middle of oh, so much.
Many who walk the course will wonder about the tall spires
visible from every hole. They top the Basilica of the National
Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians, more commonly known as
Holy Hill, a neo-Romanesque church built in 1926 and owned
by Carmelite Friars. More than 500,000 visitors a year fi nd their
way to the sanctuary to pray, view the architecture or walk the
sprawling grounds.
Holy Hill is the highest point in the Kettle Moraine region
known for hills, kettles, pot-shaped valleys and other glacial
formations. Erin Hills was carved out of this dramatic landscape.
Kettle Moraine State Forest features nearly 30,000 acres
of woods, hiking trails and campgrounds.
The onetime commercial fi shing hub of Port Washington
on the shores of Lake Michigan was
named one of America's 10 best harbor
towns by Coastal Living magazine.
Recreational fi shing thrives today
but the city's history is evident in
the downtown maritime district, the
lighthouse museum atop St. Mary's
hill and the interactive Port Exploreum
of family and maritime history.
If all that leaves a visitor thirsty, Sir
James Pub, with more than
800 varieties of bottled beer
and 18 taps, boasts Wisconsin's largest beer selection, no small
claim in such a sudsy state.
The handsome former company town of Kohler is known for
its high-end golf courses but offers off-course delights as well.
The American Club, once a dorm for immigrant factory workers,
is now a fi ve-star resort, with a spa, shopping and dining.
Any fan of HGTV will want to tour the Kohler Design Center
for its many levels of displays of bathroom fi xtures, kitchens
and spas. A tall wall of toilets-dubbed the Great Wall of China-is
not to be missed.
In neighboring Sheboygan, a stroll along the boardwalk and
lakefront will reveal lighthouse views, historic fi shing shanties,
the wreck of the schooner Lottie Cooper and the James Tellen
Woodland Sculpture Garden.
The John Michael Kohler Art Center offers big-city art in a
small-town setting. Still, Sheboygan may be best known as the
home of the brat, and no visitor should leave without trying
one-or more, given they are usually served two-to-a-roll. Just
be sure it is served the Sheboygan way:
grilled over charcoal, served in a split
hard roll, and garnished with brown
mustard, dill pickle slices, ketchup and
onions.
Great food and drink, plenty to
tour and a professional major tournament
to boot-Erin Hills should be on
your list of exciting new golf travel destinations.
MG
www.mngolf.org
Fall 2016 MINNESOTAGOLFER
19
>>>
http://www.erinhills.com http://www.mngolf.org
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016

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