U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN

For Whom the Dell Tolls: Erin Hills’ Lost Par-3 Hole

By David Shefter, USGA

| Oct 30, 2024

For Whom the Dell Tolls: Erin Hills’ Lost Par-3 Hole

As golfers make their way from the seventh tee to the fairway at Erin Hills, site of the 80th U.S. Women’s Open Presented by Ally next May, they’ll notice a small wooden structure with a bell hanging from the top.

Seemingly out of place, this piece of hardware actually represents a bit of nostalgia for this relatively nascent suburban Milwaukee, Wis., venue that first opened for public play in 2006.

Call it a proverbial tombstone sans scripture.

Rest in peace Dell Hole.

While the bell no longer can be utilized – the string that was once attached is gone – it serves as a reminder of a hole that intrigued, challenged and occasionally baffled those who played it. When former owner Robert Lang hired architects Dana Fry, Michael Hurdzan and Ron Whitten to design Erin Hills, the trio – and specifically the latter – came up with the idea of creating the Dell Hole, a short par 3 that featured a green site situated between two large hills. Inspired by the fifth hole (called the Dell) at Lahinch in the Republic of Ireland, the seventh at Erin Hills called for a blind tee shot where the only thing players could see from the teeing ground was a white rock (later called the Whitten Rock) at the top of the hill, dictating the day’s hole location.

While such quirky holes are commonplace at venues in Great Britain and Ireland, especially at historic links layouts, they are not often found in the U.S., where players prefer to actually see their targets. The Pete Dye-designed Irish Course at Whistling Straits in nearby Kohler, Wis., also features a Dell (13th hole), but it also has a multitude of bunkers. It is still in existence. Erin Hills’ Dell Hole did not have a bunker, just a wide green situated between two large hills.

“It was my hole,” said Whitten, a Kansas City-based architect/historian who served as the senior editor, architecture at Golf Digest magazine for 36 years. “As I’ve told people, I’m a writer and I’ve been edited all the time. People thought I was up in arms about [its removal]. No, I was just disappointed that they took it out.”

The seventh, which followed the slightly uphill par-3 sixth, had one linear teeing ground that allowed the hole to be played from 149 to 223 yards. Mowers shaved down the back portion of the first hill and the large mound behind the green, allowing for balls to roll towards the putting surface.

But there were two issues with the hole: it wasn’t universally loved – one writer called it a “giant taco shell,” and the designers had added a Bye Hole between the ninth green and the 10th tee. This little downhill par 3 featured a green protected by multiple bunkers and, unlike the Dell Hole, shots could easily be seen. Whitten said this was Fry’s favorite hole on the course, even though at the time it wasn’t officially on the scorecard.

When the first USGA championship, the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links, was conducted at Erin Hills in 2008, the Dell was bypassed and the Bye Hole served as the ninth hole.

By 2009, two years before Erin Hills hosted the U.S. Amateur, the Dell had its official goodbye. Bulldozers eliminated the hill and green complex, leaving behind just the wooden bell that golfers would ring to signal back to the tee that the green was clear.

Lang, who later sold Erin Hills to financier Andy Ziegler, had dreamed of having a U.S. Open at Erin Hills, and was willing to do everything necessary to make that happen. That included multiple renovations to the layout. The elimination of the Dell Hole was part of that process, along with other alterations. For instance, the par-5 10th hole that featured an enormous Biarritz green, saw the putting surface completely removed and relocated. The 10th is now a long par 4. The second, third and fourth greens were significantly altered, or in the case of the latter two holes, moved and redone. Other holes also were renovated.

Players rang a bell to signify to golfers on the tee that the green at the Dell Hole was clear. Erin Hills kept the structure as a nostalgic reminder of this unique par 3 that was permanently removed from the routing in 2009. (Erin Hills)

Players rang a bell to signify to golfers on the tee that the green at the Dell Hole was clear. Erin Hills kept the structure as a nostalgic reminder of this unique par 3 that was permanently removed from the routing in 2009. (Erin Hills)

But the only hole completely wiped clean was the Dell.

While the public often enjoyed the challenge and charm of a blind tee shot, it was thought the game’s best players would not. Mike Davis, the former USGA CEO who previously served as the U.S. Open’s chief setup guy told Sports Illustrated, “I really like this [hole], but Vijay Singh is going to hate it.”

Said Whitten: “If you are a left-brain golfer, which most professional golfers are, you want to be able to see everything and know exact yardages and all that stuff. If you are a right-brain golfer and you are kind of creative, blind shots are just part of the fun of the game.

“I’m still disappointed they didn’t keep it as a bye hole…That was a natural hole that was there. [Then] you take the hole out but leave the bell. Every time I go there, it’s like a jab in my gut.”

One goal Whitten and his two other fellow architects had when they designed Erin Hills, a Kettle Moraine formed by receding glaciers from the Ice Age, was to move as little dirt as possible. This minimalist approach produced holes that looked as if they had been there forever. The Dell was part of the rustic charm.

Those who complained about not being able to see the hole location at the Dell, Whitten reminded everyone, including then-owner Lang, that all one needed to do was look left upon approaching the sixth tee to see the flagstick in plain view.

“Unless you had short-term memory loss,” he said, “you knew where the hole was when you got to the Dell Hole tee.”

Longtime head professional Jim Lombardo told Sports Illustrated’s Gary Van Sickle that the “Dell fit in because it was quirky…People used the word quirky to describe our course, always in a fun way.”

But quirky and U.S. Open are generally words that don’t often mix well.

And with the Bye Hole already in place, the USGA had an option. Eventually, the seventh became an uphill par 5, and the ninth was officially incorporated into the routing. It fit naturally as it was part of the walk to the 10th tee and Halfway House.   

Erin Hills did get its U.S. Open in 2017 and, devoid of the gusty winds that usually serve as one of the layout’s chief defenses, Brooks Koepka registered the first of his two consecutive victories with a 16-under-par total of 272. It also helped that Erin Hills shuttered its doors from public play the entire spring leading into the championship, giving the competitors a pristine golf course. Erin Hills is similarly shutting down ahead of the U.S. Women’s Open with no outside play until the championship concludes on June 1.

But the 156 competitors won’t get to play or see the Dell Hole, only a remnant of its recent past.

“I was the only one in favor of keeping the Dell Hole, especially for a major championship because this would be really interesting,” said Whitten. “The best players in the world playing a blind hole. Nobody else thought it was very good.”

David Shefter is a senior staff writer at the USGA. Email him at dshefter@usga.org.