A U.S. Open venue built on 652 acres of glacial terrain with no trees, no carts, and no apologies for the walk.
Erin Hills sits 75 miles south of Kohler in Hartford, Wisconsin, on 652 acres of glacially sculpted terrain that has no parallel in the Midwest. The course occupies a landscape of rolling drumlins, kettles, and eskers formed during the last ice age, and the designers built a golf course that uses these natural formations as its architecture. There are no trees on the course.
The course opened in 2006, hosted the 2017 U.S. Open where Brooks Koepka won at 16 under par, and the 2025 U.S. Women's Open. At 7,731 yards from the tips with a championship setup stretching to 7,945, it creates conditions that challenge professionals at every level.
This is a walking-only facility, and the decision is not negotiable. Caddies are available and recommended. Green fees of $375 to $455 place Erin Hills in the upper tier of Midwest public golf, and on-site lodging is available.
For golfers building a trip centred on Kohler, Erin Hills is the essential side excursion. Two U.S. Open venues within a 75-mile radius is a concentration of championship golf that the Midwest does not otherwise offer.
The gentler sibling at Blackwolf Run, where glacially shaped meadows replace the river valley drama without sacrificing design intelligence.
Pete Dye's original Kohler design, carved through a glacial river valley where the Sheboygan River does most of the talking.
Robert Trent Jones Jr.'s 1982 original, reborn in 2014 with the most photographed par 3 in Wisconsin at its centre.
Pete Dye's inland links at half the Straits green fee, with fescue-covered dunes and not a single tree in sight.
Two miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, three PGA Championships, one Ryder Cup, and a walking-only policy that insists you experience all of it on foot.
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you book through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This does not influence our editorial recommendations.