Erin Hills - 18th Hole

Erin Hills and The 2017 US Open Travel Guide

Travel Tips and Insider Information

By Brian Weis

Erin Hills, located in the heart of Wisconsin's Kettle Moraine is the site of the 2017 US Open. After the USGA awarded the major, Erin Hills has been the buzz of the Badger State. If you are planning on attending the event or playing the course, here are some tips from a guy who lives a driver, nine iron away.

Getting There

The hardest part of your travels will be spotting the small wooden sign marking the entrance. The course and club house are tucked a mile off County Road O in the rolling terrain known as The Holy Hill area. So keen eyes will be needed the last stretch of your journey. Do not feel bad if you drive past it. On my first trek to the course, I drove past it 3 times. I was told the minimalistic entrance replicates the great courses in Ireland. Grand entrances and pearly gates are not needed when the golf course is that good.

For jet-setters, the largest and most convenient path is Milwaukee's General Mitchell International Airport (MKE). Your 45 minute drive will pass through the outskirts of Metro Milwaukee along Highway 894 and north on Highway 41.

Depending on your itinerary, travelers can entertain flying into Illinois' O'Hare International (ORD) or Madison's Dane County Regional Airport (MSN).

Ticket Sales

Tickets will go on sale after the 2016 US Open.

2017 US Open Volunteer Opportunities

The US Open will be in need of 5000+ volunteers. Information to volunteer will be available in late 2015.

Where To Stay

On site lodging is available for golfers and groups. The lodge offers bed and breakfast style rooms above the Irish pub. In addition, four cottages (each with 4 bedrooms) can accommodate up to 16 guys.

For those attending the US Open, those accommodations will not be available for the general public. For those looking for the closest hotel rooms should try hotels in Hartford, West Bend or Occonomowoc. If you want to be close to the venue you better book early. If you are booking your travels late, check for rooms in Milwaukee and a 60 mile radius from golf course including Madison, Fond du Lac, Waukesha, and Green Bay.

Rental Housing Available

Rental housing is now being posted online on craigslist and other vacation home rental websites. The leading site for event home rentals is www.eventhomes.com.

If you are looking to advertise your home for rent for the 2017 US Open. Please post on www.eventhomes.com. There is a free option or if you upgrade us promo code: golftrips for 30% off.

Traffic/Getting There

There are only a few rural roads that lead to the venue. The most popular/busiest routes will be Holy Hill Road/Highway 167 coming from the Northeast and Highway 83/164 from the South. I would encourage everyone to study a map for Northern and Western routes. While there are no major highways to Erin Hills, there is no rush hour or heavy traffic to contend with.

Please refer to the championship website in June 2017 to see where spectator parking will be and the recommended routes to those lots.

Terrain

The course is expansive rolling hills with long walls from green to tee. I strongly encourage wearing comfortable golf shoes.

Weather

June in Wisconsin is unpredictable and spectators should plan for all weather conditions. The temperatures can swing from mid 50's to the low 80's.

Visible/Kodak Moments

While Erin Hills features 18 signature holes, you will want to grab your camera or smartphone on the 18th tee box. The iconic clubhouse and historic Holy Hill Bascilla on the hill top in the distance backdrops the long par-5.

Playing The Course

Erin hills is a walking only course and not for the faint of heart. The walk is enjoyable but at times hilly. Caddies are strongly encouraged. Your walking buddy will not only read your putts and spot errant shot in the long fescue but he/she will lighten your load along the seven mile walk.

Revised: 09/23/2014 - Article Viewed 36,649 Times

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.