Review: Chamber's Bay Golf Course, WA
ForuGetting Ready for 2015
The USGA awarded the 2015 US Open to the very young Chambers Bays. Some might feel that this was a bit premature, but after my recent round, I think it will be an outstanding test for the best golfers in the world. By then it will be more than mature enough to take on the pros. Robert Trent Jones II crafted a spectacular links style course out of the rugged remains of a gravel quarry.
You couldn’t ask for a much better setting. After a short drive out of Tacoma, WA, you find your way to the temporary club house perched on the hillside above the course. From that point, you can see every hole on the course. It really is quite a sight, I’m not sure I’ve ever been to another course, ever, with such a view and layout. You currently need to take a shuttle from the clubhouse to the practice area and starter. The massive practice complex offers a huge putting green which is vital to playing well, the great double chipping green is really helpful for getting a feel and then the moderately large driving range.
Play started on 10 the day I was there. So I will do my best to keep the holes in the right order. We’ll start with my second nine which actually started on hole 1. It offers a huge landing zone. The 18, 1 and 10 are all running next to each other. There is a drop off between 18 and 1 and a huge mound between 1 and 10. Hole number 2 offers a moderately blind landing zone, which is one of the few on the entire course. Most holes are all visible right in front of you. Hole number 3 is a great par 3 with not a whole lot of room to bail. Hole number 4 is still under construction, the USGA demanded that the green be redesigned, which by the look of things and what was explained to me seems necessary. It was a pretty severe looking terrain that has now been softened. Hole number 5 is a huge fairway with plenty of room. The unique aspect of this hole is the kidney shaped green with a bunker front and center. Hole number 6 is tight coming into the green. It has high mounding on the right, drop off on the left to a nasty bunker complex to catch errant shots. Hole number 7 is a big bold par four dog leg right up the hill. While the green is huge, it is semi blind with a huge false front. You have to get up to the top on this one. Hole number 8 is straight away par 5, but a slicers nightmare. You can’t go right, since it drops off to the driving range. Hole number 9 has some nasty pin placements. The teeing area is way above the green. The big hill on the left side of the green kicks everything right, even down to the bunker, (which has CB raked into the sand)
After making the turn by the restrooms and practice area, off to hole number 10 (our first hole). This one is cut between the mountains of sand. It is a nice 400 yard par 4 that starts wide and narrows as you near the green. Hole number 11 offers kind of a split fairway with a bunker in the middle. Both sides offer a downhill roll out for tee shots which is vital for this monster of a par 4. Hole number 12 is a really sweet little par 4. The green is drivable and is one of the largest greens on the course. It is just plain huge. So just because you drive the green, doesn’t mean your going to exit with a birdie, even a par. Holes 13 and 14, while looking at the scorecard are close in length, yet one is a par 5 and the other is a par 4. That is because 13 is mostly uphill and has a nasty bunker complex as you near the green and 14 is all downhill from one of the best vistas of the entire course. It is a big hike to the top of the hill, but an angled fairway needs a pretty good poke to avoid the quarry pit running the left side of the fairway and the fairway bunker. Crossing a few paths leads you to one of greatest looking par 3 holes in golf. It is not intimidating or demanding, just classic with the single pine tree in the background. Hole number 16 is a tough par 5 running next to the tracks along the Puget Sound. The right side is dangerous with bunkering the entire length of the hole. Hole 17 is a nice par 3 that plays slightly downhill. We had a great experience of sticking a bunch of shots in close, but in the process my buddy broke the head of his 9-iron. Hole 18 is a moderate length par 5. Remnants of the gravel quarry remain along the right side of this hole. The hole offers a generous landing zone off the tee, but pinches in on the approach to the green. But since the green sits down a little in a bowl, if you get it up there, you should stay around the green.
The grounds crew is getting things moving a little faster. The greens were very nice rolling smoothly at 9.5 on the stimp. The fairways are picking up speed too. The claims about this being a links style course looks like they are moving in the right direction. Many holes played like a links course, while a few weren’t firm or fast enough yet. But from what I could tell, they are well on their way and should get there in time for the 2010 US Amateur tournament.
If you live in the Seattle area this is a must play. If you live outside the Pacific Northwest, a trip to Chambers Bay should be on your list of things to do. You don’t always get the chance to play where the pros play, so here is your opportunity and as the condition improve daily, you will not be disappointed. It should make an awesome site for the 2015 US Open with all the spectacular viewing points.
For more information: www.chambersbaygolf.com
The USGA awarded the 2015 US Open to the very young Chambers Bays. Some might feel that this was a bit premature, but after my recent round, I think it will be an outstanding test for the best golfers in the world. By then it will be more than mature enough to take on the pros. Robert Trent Jones II crafted a spectacular links style course out of the rugged remains of a gravel quarry.
You couldn’t ask for a much better setting. After a short drive out of Tacoma, WA, you find your way to the temporary club house perched on the hillside above the course. From that point, you can see every hole on the course. It really is quite a sight, I’m not sure I’ve ever been to another course, ever, with such a view and layout. You currently need to take a shuttle from the clubhouse to the practice area and starter. The massive practice complex offers a huge putting green which is vital to playing well, the great double chipping green is really helpful for getting a feel and then the moderately large driving range.
Play started on 10 the day I was there. So I will do my best to keep the holes in the right order. We’ll start with my second nine which actually started on hole 1. It offers a huge landing zone. The 18, 1 and 10 are all running next to each other. There is a drop off between 18 and 1 and a huge mound between 1 and 10. Hole number 2 offers a moderately blind landing zone, which is one of the few on the entire course. Most holes are all visible right in front of you. Hole number 3 is a great par 3 with not a whole lot of room to bail. Hole number 4 is still under construction, the USGA demanded that the green be redesigned, which by the look of things and what was explained to me seems necessary. It was a pretty severe looking terrain that has now been softened. Hole number 5 is a huge fairway with plenty of room. The unique aspect of this hole is the kidney shaped green with a bunker front and center. Hole number 6 is tight coming into the green. It has high mounding on the right, drop off on the left to a nasty bunker complex to catch errant shots. Hole number 7 is a big bold par four dog leg right up the hill. While the green is huge, it is semi blind with a huge false front. You have to get up to the top on this one. Hole number 8 is straight away par 5, but a slicers nightmare. You can’t go right, since it drops off to the driving range. Hole number 9 has some nasty pin placements. The teeing area is way above the green. The big hill on the left side of the green kicks everything right, even down to the bunker, (which has CB raked into the sand)
After making the turn by the restrooms and practice area, off to hole number 10 (our first hole). This one is cut between the mountains of sand. It is a nice 400 yard par 4 that starts wide and narrows as you near the green. Hole number 11 offers kind of a split fairway with a bunker in the middle. Both sides offer a downhill roll out for tee shots which is vital for this monster of a par 4. Hole number 12 is a really sweet little par 4. The green is drivable and is one of the largest greens on the course. It is just plain huge. So just because you drive the green, doesn’t mean your going to exit with a birdie, even a par. Holes 13 and 14, while looking at the scorecard are close in length, yet one is a par 5 and the other is a par 4. That is because 13 is mostly uphill and has a nasty bunker complex as you near the green and 14 is all downhill from one of the best vistas of the entire course. It is a big hike to the top of the hill, but an angled fairway needs a pretty good poke to avoid the quarry pit running the left side of the fairway and the fairway bunker. Crossing a few paths leads you to one of greatest looking par 3 holes in golf. It is not intimidating or demanding, just classic with the single pine tree in the background. Hole number 16 is a tough par 5 running next to the tracks along the Puget Sound. The right side is dangerous with bunkering the entire length of the hole. Hole 17 is a nice par 3 that plays slightly downhill. We had a great experience of sticking a bunch of shots in close, but in the process my buddy broke the head of his 9-iron. Hole 18 is a moderate length par 5. Remnants of the gravel quarry remain along the right side of this hole. The hole offers a generous landing zone off the tee, but pinches in on the approach to the green. But since the green sits down a little in a bowl, if you get it up there, you should stay around the green.
The grounds crew is getting things moving a little faster. The greens were very nice rolling smoothly at 9.5 on the stimp. The fairways are picking up speed too. The claims about this being a links style course looks like they are moving in the right direction. Many holes played like a links course, while a few weren’t firm or fast enough yet. But from what I could tell, they are well on their way and should get there in time for the 2010 US Amateur tournament.
If you live in the Seattle area this is a must play. If you live outside the Pacific Northwest, a trip to Chambers Bay should be on your list of things to do. You don’t always get the chance to play where the pros play, so here is your opportunity and as the condition improve daily, you will not be disappointed. It should make an awesome site for the 2015 US Open with all the spectacular viewing points.
For more information: www.chambersbaygolf.com
