"We've got some work to do:" Eager anticipation at Erin Hills, with less than one year until 2017 U.S. Open

“We`ve got some work to do:” Eager anticipation at Erin Hills, with less than one year until 2017 U.S. Open

"We`ve got some work to do:" Eager anticipation at Erin Hills, with less than one year until 2017 U.S. Open

HARTFORD -- In 2017, the golf world will once again converge on Wisconsin. Erin Hills Golf Course will host the 117th U.S. Open, and it is already in the spotlight, with less than a year to go until the tournament.

When the final putt fell at Oakmont on Father's Day, Erin Hills Golf Course was on the clock.

Erin Hills Golf Course

Eric Steimer

"I can speak on behalf of everyone at Erin Hills. They want this to be the very best championship that we've ever hosted, that the USGA has ever hosted," Eric Steimer, USGA championship manager said.

Steimer spent about a month at Oakmont, the site of the 2016 U.S. Open.

"We still have a lot of plans that need finalized. For us, probably the most frequent question we get asked in our office is 'where am I parking? How am I getting to the championship?' It's kind of a complicated question," Steimer said.

At Erin Hills, there are only 300 parking spaces, but officials are expecting more than 20,000 cars to head to the event every day.

Erin Hills Golf Course

"So the math doesn't quite add up on that," Steimer said.

That means a lot of coordinating with different agencies to come up with a parking plan.

"Whether it's the DOT, the State Patrol, Washington County Sheriff's Office, which is the lead law enforcement agency, the Town of Erin, Washington County -- all these groups are going to come together in a room and figure out what that best plan is. Not what's most efficient to the USGA, not what's most efficient to this championship, but really to the community as well," Steimer said.

2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills Golf Course

And there is so much more to do before Father's Day weekend 2017.

"Anything from ticket sales to solidifying our volunteer base, getting our volunteers scheduled, trained, we've got some work to do, a lot of plans to finalize," Steimer said.

Ticket sales began on June 13th. The volunteer process started way back in July of 2015.

Erin Hills Golf Course

"By August 17th, nearly five weeks into the recruitment process, we had over 5,000 individuals that applied to volunteer. And even more surprising, 65% of that contingency is from the state of Wisconsin. So it's been absolutely tremendous, the local support that we received from the state of Wisconsin and even our friends a little bit south of us in Illinois, Indiana and branched out towards Iowa," Steimer said.

Unlike Oakmont, which has hosted the championship a record nine times, this will be a first for Erin Hills.

Erin Hills Golf Course

"Out here, we don't necessarily have that blueprint. So it's a lot of throwing darts at the wall and really seeing what sticks. It's really exciting for us in the sense that it's a chance for us to be creative. And ultimately we get to engage all these local agencies, all the local communities, the local region -- really give them a chance to see what this championship is all about," Steimer said.

Another different is Erin Hills is a public course -- only the sixth in U.S. Open history and that's significant to USGA Historian Michael Trostel.

"I think that's certainly an added benefit when players and fans who are watching it see the course and they can actually go out and play it themselves," Trostel said.

"If you're a golfer, this is your opportunity to say 'I can play a US Open golf course. I can see what the professionals are playing.' And certainly they've felt the impact of that thus far here at Erin Hills. The tee sheets are quickly filling up," Steimer said.

Once the golf season ends in October, the next golfers to tee it up will be those who make the field.

"I think that's huge. Any time that a golf course hosts a national championship, that really automatically elevates it in stature. It becomes part of the great list of courses that are in the United States," Trostel said.

Erin Hills Golf Course

CLICK HERE for tickets to the U.S. Open at Erin Hills.