The par-3 ninth hole at Erin Hills may be as short as 135 yards during the United States Open, which begins Thursday. For the world’s best golfers, making par from that distance would usually be as challenging as an uncontested layup for an N.B.A. player.
The diminutive ninth hole, in fact, was not part of the original 18-hole golf course when Erin Hills opened in 2006 in Erin, Wis., about 35 miles northwest of Milwaukee. At the time, it was designed to be a quirky extra hole, or a bonus hole, and was often called a “bye” hole that could perhaps be used to settle recreational golf matches tied after 18 holes.