Erin Hills Lands 2011 U.S. Amateur tourney

The "Hills" Are Alive...

"Surreal" was the word that owner Bob Lang used to describe his initial reaction to the USGA's announcement last Friday that the 2011 U.S. Amateur Championship would be contested at Erin Hills. Just four months from the first championship to be hosted there, the USGA made the announcement at it's annual meeting in Houston.

Erin Hills will be the site of the 2008 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links (June 16-21), a tournament which was scheduled before Erin Hills opened.

Once considered a major championship, the Amateur Championship has been won by golf luminaries such as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. It has been held since 1895 but has never been contested in Wisconsin.

The Amateur is often scheduled at sites which are future candidates for the U.S. Open and Erin Hills is a very serious (and likely) candidate for the Open in 2017. The course which was mentioned with Erin Hills as Open nominees, Chambers Bay, in Tacoma, WA, was awarded the 2015 U.S. Open.

Mequon resident Jim Reinhart, who has had a long association with the USGA and Wisconsin golf, had this to say about the naming of Erin Hills as the 2011 Amateur designee; "I think the USGA was looking for the perfect venue in the Midwest. What Bob did at Erin Hills, it fit everything the USGA was looking for; the size of the property (652 acres) , the design of the course, the location in the heart of the Midwest."

Bill Godfrey, Mequon resident and 33 year teacher and golf coach at Cedarburg High School had this to say about Erin Hills; "In my thirty plus years of coaching varsity golf I have played and visited the finest courses in the area and state. Nothing compares to Erin Hills for beauty, variety and challenge. It's truly one of a kind; an absolute gem."

Decisions of this magnitude are not made blithely. Mike Davis, who is the USGA senior director of rules and competitions, has made numerous visits to Erin Hills during the past several years; usually accompanied by Mike Butz, who is the site and logistics expert. Much of their time at Erin Hills is spent walking the golf course and in meetings but when their work is done, they can be found on the first tee. They are passionate about what Erin Hills offers in terms of a tournament site and also as a golfing experience.