There have been plenty of firsts this week at Erin Hills, the first-time host of the U.S. Open. But there is one first that all of us here are particularly proud of — it will be the first U.S. Open contested on a course designed by a former GCM and GCSAA staff member.
That would be Ron Whitten, who teamed with Michael Hurdzan, Ph.D. (hey, another GCSAA connection … Mike was the Old Tom Morris Award winner in 2013) and Dana Fry to design Erin Hills. Whitten is best known as the longtime architecture editor at Golf Digest, but back in 1983, after more than a decade as a practicing attorney, he did a stint — albeit a short one, just nine months — as a writer for GCM. I’ll let Ron tell the rest of the story.
“I was approached by Zahid Iqbal, who was the editor of the magazine at that time. I had published that book with Geoff Cornish called ‘The Golf Course,’ and (Iqbal) wanted me to write some articles to encourage people who might not otherwise pick up Golf Course Management magazine to pick it up.
“I had been freelancing at the time and thought it would be a great opportunity to dig in deep and get some writing experience, do some of the articles I wanted to do. So I took it. Did a story on Pete Dye. Did one on misting systems. They weren’t the technical articles, more general interest. I had fun doing it.”
“It’s funny … things have a way of working out,” Whitten says, “but I often wonder if I had taken that job as an assistant superintendent what would have happened. I’m sure it would have led to a wonderful life in golf, just not the one that I ultimately got to enjoy.”
As one might expect, Whitten says the fact that a course he had a hand in designing is playing host to one of golf’s biggest events is a source of great personal pride. “I’m not sure I dreamed as a kid of designing a course that would host a U.S. Open, but I wanted to design courses and I’ve had that opportunity.”
But he says he’s even more pleased about what this U.S. Open has meant to his colleagues in this endeavor, Hurdzan and Fry.
“What’s important to me is that I’m sharing this spotlight with Dana Fry and Mike Hurdzan, two of the very best in the business,” Whitten says. “They’re getting their due, and it’s been a long time coming, in my opinion. And I’m glad that they have a national stage. I’m just honored to share that stage with them.”
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