The top brass at the United States Golf Association do like a step into the unknown. For the second time in three years, their showpiece US Open will be staged at a course that has never held a Major championship before.

Erin Hills opened only 11 years ago. Now it is an Open venue and Martin Laird is keeping an open mind.

“I really know very little about it so we’ll see,” said the Glasgow exile with sentiments that the majority of the field will echo.

It is a decade now since Laird first dipped his toe into the Major championship waters. Given this debut was in a hellishly punishing US Open at Oakmont, it was perhaps not quite gently dipping a toe in, more thrashing away for survival in shark-infested waters. Laird, who was still competing on the second-tier of the US scene at the time, would miss the cut with rounds of 76 and 79 while Angel Cabrera won the title with a five-over aggregate. It was grim, attritional stuff.

“I remember being in awe pretty much the whole week of the scale of the tournament,” reflected Laird, whose last appearance in a US Open was in 2013 where he finished in a share of 21st. “I also happened to start my Major career at maybe the hardest golf course set up you will ever see. It was a bit of a shock to the system and illustrated just how hard Majors, especially the US Open, can be. My game has definitely come a long way since then and I am a lot more of a complete player. Back then I was a really good iron player, and that was about it. Now I feel like I don't really have one stand out strength and can compete no matter what the course or the set up is.”

Laird is relishing the opportunity to immerse himself in the Major cut-and-thrust again. His success in a sectional qualifier at the start of the week ensured a return to one of the Grand Slam events for the first time since the 2015 US PGA Championship. Of course, there was a time not so long ago when Laird was scribbling all these big dates into his diary on a regular basis.

When he was riding high on the fringes of the world’s top 20, the Masters, the US Open, the Open and the PGA were, well, par for the course.

“I have definitely missed being a part of the Majors for the last three or so years,” the Scot said. “I think I maybe did take them a little bit for granted when I was exempt into them for a stretch of a few years. I always felt lucky to be there and appreciated being part of them but I maybe forgot just how hard it is to get into them.”

Keeping a sturdy foothold on the toughest tour in the world is no mean feat either and the fact he has enjoyed a decade of unbroken competition on the PGA circuit is something that provides him with a considerable amount of satisfaction.

“When I first started could I have envisaged three wins and 10 years on tour?” he pondered. “Definitely not. I sometimes still can't believe I have played on tour for that length of time. Doing that without ever losing my full playing status is something I am really proud of. I put in a lot of work to get here and still feel extremely lucky to be able to play on the PGA Tour every week.”

The Majors are the perks of this particular day job and Laird is heading to Erin Hills in a purposeful mood. A trio of top-10 finishes on the tour this season have hinted at a resurgence following a spell when he drifted into the margins.

Having carried the saltire on the global stage with great aplomb, Laird almost became something of a forgotten man as he slid out of the top 200 in the world while his emerging compatriot Russell Knox picked up the baton on US soil.

Having started a family in that time, it was inevitable that circumstances, both personally and professionally, would change. At just 34, though, Laird is moving into those years where golfers often flourish and he remains hopeful of a profitable second coming.

“I have no doubt that I have some great years of golf ahead of me,” said Laird, who will return to his native land next month to contest the Scottish Open at Dundonald. “My priorities have obviously changed a little bit having two kids now, but my drive and determination is still as strong as ever. I really do feel like my game is more well-rounded than it has ever been and I am a lot more consistent due to that.

"My short game used to be one thing that maybe held me back a little bit and I really have improved that a lot. I feel like I am on a good track to get back up the world rankings again.

“I don't think it was just a coincidence that my form went down a little bit the last two or three years when we had our kids. I took a month completely off from playing right in the middle of the season when both babies were born and then struggled to get my game back after that. I was a lot more sleep deprived than I had ever been too. I have no regrets at all about those times, though, and now I have a great routine going with my family travelling with me most weeks. I am excited for the rest of this season.”

This will be the first US Open in 25 years that doesn't have the names Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson on the starting times. Woods’ on-going problems are well-documented while Mickelson, with six runners-up finishes in the only Major he hasn’t won, is skipping to be at his daughter’s graduation.

Who will make the grade at Erin Hills is anybody’s guess but world No 1 and defending champion Dustin Johnson remains the obvious choice as he looks to become the first player since Curtis Strange in 1989 to land back-to-back US Opens.

“I’m not sure his game really compares to many players right now just with the way he is playing,” said Laird, who is in the same management stable as Johnson. “He has unbelievable power but what a lot of people don't give him enough credit for is his feel and control. It’s a pretty good combination.”

We wait to see how Erin Hills and the US Open combine. It is set to be another tale of the unexpected.