"Davis called Erin Hills 'Shinnecock Hills on steroids.'"

With the U.S. Amateur at Erin Hills upon us, Ryan Herrington talks to Mike Davis who (A) is guaranteeing we won't see a repeat of last year's mess at Chambers Bay where firm-and-fast was taken too far, and (B) ensures we'll see course setup variety like we've never seen before come match play.

The reconstructed 10th hole, a par 5 when the course was first opened in 2006 but convert to a long par 4 within the last year, will have a fairway that's 90 yards wide, claims Davis because of two different ways to play the hole. "I'm curious what the amateurs will do," Davis said. If everybody chooses one of the two options, then maybe it doesn't make sense to make the fairway that wide. I'm just curious who something like that will end up playing.

Same with the par-4 15th, a drivable par 4 but one where the tee placement will make all the difference. "If it requires a driver to go for the green, I don't think a PGA Tour player will do it," Davis said. "The odds of making it aren't good enough for the potential problems of not making it. So part of me wants to watch these amateurs to see if we need to make it a 3-wood shot or can driver work."

"I can go on and on," Davis said, and you realize he's not exaggerating. "But you know, I don't have any preconceived notions. I'm just going to let things play out."

Sean Martin recounts the Chambers Bay setup and compares it to Erin Hills. He quotes Davis as saying Erin Hills won't be needing another renovation (good God, haven't been there been enough already?).

While the course can change drastically from day to day, Davis expects relatively few changes to be made between now and the U.S. Open, outside of some changes to fairway mowing lines and contours, and an attempt to eradicate Poa annua from the fairways. Chambers Bay will begin to undergo architectural changes later this year after some flaws were exposed by the firm, fast conditions at last year’s Amateur.

“I don’t expect to see things here that surprise us, like the first green at Chambers,” Davis said.
“I think that, unlike Chambers, where we played an Amateur knowing that certain things were going to get changed, here, most of the changes have already occurred. I don’t expect to see anything huge here.

“This place is pretty close. It’s just little nitpicking.”

Martin goes on to detail the extensive changes planned for Chambers Bay this fall. Wow...this going to untested venues thing is hard work.

Back to the 2011 Am: Here are the round 1 tee times.