Chambers Bay

Chambers Bay is a public golf course in the northwest United States, located in University Place, Washington, on the Puget Sound southwest of Tacoma. The British links-style course is owned by Pierce County and opened for play on June 23, 2007.[5] It hosted the U.S. Amateur in 2010 and the U.S. Open in 2015.[1][6]

Chambers Bay

Chambers Bay Golf Course
Club information
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Coordinates	47.20°N 122.57°W / 47.20; -122.57
Location	University Place, Washington, U.S.
Established	June 23, 2007 13 years ago
Type	Public
Owned by	Pierce County
Operated by	KemperSports
Total holes	18
Tournaments hosted	U.S. Amateur (2010), U.S. Open (2015)
Greens	Poa annua (transitioning since 2017), formerly fine fescue [1][2][3]
Website	chambersbaygolf.com
Designed by	Robert Trent Jones Jr.
Par	72
Length	7,585 yards (6,936 m)
Course rating	78.1[4] (Teal)
Slope rating	146[4] (Teal)

Design

Chambers Bay was designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr.[5][7] The 250-acre (100 ha) course is the centerpiece of a 930-acre (380 ha) county park. Pierce County bought the land for $33 million in 1992; the property was formerly a sand-and-gravel quarry, popular with off-road four-wheelers and dirt-bikers.[5]

Construction

During construction, 1.4 million cubic yards (1.1 million m³) of dirt and sand (over 100,000 truckloads) were removed, cleaned off site, and returned to sculpt the course.[8][9] At the time, it was still permitted as a working mine, which meant fewer restrictions for the course architects.[5][10]

Layout

Five sets of tees are available, ranging from 5,250 to 7,585 yards (4,800 to 6,935 m), and as a municipal course, Pierce County residents receive discounted rates. The course is for walkers only, caddies are available but are optional. Motorized carts are permitted only for those with medical conditions or disabilities, and a caddie must be hired as the driver.

The greens do not have fringes - it is a transparent transition from fairway to green.

Card of the course

Chambers Bay

Tee	Rating/Slope	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Out	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	In	Total
Navy	75.6 / 139	559	395	167	530	465	418	482	557	227	3800	398	457	281	485	496	139	396	172	541	3365	7165
Sand	72.4 / 135	501	365	145	480	441	369	449	523	202	3475	360	425	262	453	407	116	359	142	514	3038	6513
White	M:70.2/127 L:76.2/137	465	337	130	424	423	315	435	488	168	3185	330	402	246	437	383	103	323	119	487	2830	6015
Handicap	Men's	3	13	17	5	9	11	7	1	15		10	8	14	2	6	18	12	16	4
Par		5	4	3	5	4	4	4	5	3	37	4	4	4	4	4	3	4	3	5	35	72
Handicap	Women's	3	11	17	7	9	13	5	1	15		8	4	14	6	10	16	12	18	2
Blue	71.5 / 128	436	301	111	347	323	283	415	441	132	2789	311	378	219	348	309	91	279	92	462	2489	5278

Championship Tees[11]

Hole	Name	Yards	Par		Hole	Name	Yards	Par
1	Puget Sound	598/496	5/4		10	High Dunes	436	4
2	Foxy	399	4		11	Shadows	537	4
3	Blown Out	198	3		12	The Narrows	311	4
4	Hazard's Ascent	495	4		13	Eagle Eye	534	4
5	Free Fall	488	4		14	Cape Fear	546	4
6	Deception Point	495	4		15	Lone Fir	246/167	3
7	Humpback	508	4		16	Beached	423	4
8	High Road Low Road	614	5		17	Derailed	218	3
9	Olympus	224/217	3		18	Tahoma	604/525	5/4
Out		4,019/3,910	36/35		In		3,855/3,697	35/34
Championship tees: Rating=78.1,  Slope=146					Total		7,874/7,607	70

Navy Tees

Hole	Name	Yards	Par		Hole	Name	Yards	Par
1	Puget Sound	559	5		10	High Dunes	398	4
2	Foxy	395	4		11	Shadows	457	4
3	Blown Out	167	3		12	The Narrows	281	4
4	Hazard's Ascent	530	5		13	Eagle Eye	485	4
5	Free Fall	465	4		14	Cape Fear	496	4
6	Deception Point	418	4		15	Lone Fir	139	3
7	Humpback	482	4		16	Beached	396	4
8	High Road Low Road	557	5		17	Derailed	172	3
9	Olympus	227	3		18	Tahoma	541	5
Out		3,800	37		In		3,365	35
Navy tees: Rating=75.6,  Slope=139[4]					Total		7,165	72

Source:[12][13]

Chambers Bay has just one tree, a Douglas fir behind the 15th green.[14]

Operation

The course is operated by Kemper Sports Management of Northbrook, Illinois, which also operates Bandon Dunes on the southern Oregon coast.[5]

The course is part of the Chambers Creek Properties which includes numerous non-golf recreational opportunities including a three-mile loop (5 km) walking trail, part of which travels through the west side of the golf course.[5]

In 2016, a resort was proposed by a private developer, including an 80-room hotel, event and meeting space, and a Tom Douglas restaurant.[15]

After the 2015 U.S Open was played at Chambers Bay, the local economy realized an estimated revenue increase of approximately $150 million, primarily sourced from gains within the tourist and service industries. Although Pierce County taxpayers were solely responsible for security costs and course preparation for the US Open, other adjoining counties also benefitted economically.[16]

Events

Chambers Bay was the site of the U.S. Amateur in 2010 and hosted the U.S. Open in 2015; these events were awarded by the United States Golf Association (USGA) in early 2008.[6][17] Chambers Bay was set as a par-71 at 7,742 yards (7,079 m) for the U.S. Amateur in 2010,[18] the longest course in USGA history.[19] The record only lasted until the following year when Erin Hills surpassed it by 18 yards.[19]

Eleven months prior to the event, the USGA announced in July 2014 that all final round tickets and weekly ticket passes for the 2015 U.S. Open were sold out.[20] The tournament was eventually won by Jordan Spieth.[21] Chambers Bay Golf Course will host the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship in 2021.[22] Established in 2015, the "Four-Ball" as it is known, is the newest USGA championship and replaces the now-retired U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship which was established in 1922.

Criticism

During the 2015 U.S. Open, Chambers Bay was subject to criticism for its bumpy greens, unfair course design, and poor accessibility for spectators.[23][24] Nine-time major champion Gary Player called it "the worst golf course I might've ever seen in the 63 years as a professional golfer," and Henrik Stenson said that the greens were like "putting on broccoli."[25]

In 2017, the fine fescue greens were allowed to transition to poa annua, the dominant species.[2][3][26][27] In the weeks leading up to the 2015 U.S. Open, warm and dry weather forced extra watering of the greens, which allowed the invasive poa to thrive.[1][27][28]

References

1. Shipnuck, Alan (June 10, 2016). "Chambers Bay, one year later: Lessons learned from its 2015 debut on the big stage". GOLF. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
2. Herrington, Ryan (July 9, 2017). "Chambers Bay to change greens from fine fescue to Poa annua". Golf World. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
3. "Welcome/Status report". Chambers Bay. (blog). August 25, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
4. "Course rating and slope database, Chambers Bay". USGA. Archived from the original on April 16, 2013. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
5. Smith, Craig (June 23, 2007). "Chambers Bay golf course opens today". Seattle Times. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
6. "Chambers Bay will host U.S. Open". Seattle Times. February 8, 2008. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
7. "Ask the Architect, Robert Trent Jones II". March 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-03-29. Retrieved April 20, 2008.
8. Newnham, Blaine (April 12, 2007). "Chambers Bay is a bit of Scotland near Tacoma". Seattle Times. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
9. Hanson, Scott (April 19, 2014). "How 3 visionaries brought the U.S. Open to Chambers Bay". Seattle Times. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
10. Kelley, Steve (February 17, 2008). "Bruce Charlton felt the sand and saw a U.S. Open". Seattle Times. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
11. Chambers Bay Yardage Guide with US Open Tees Sold at Club 4/4/2015
12. "Course Routing". Chambers Bay. Archived from the original on 2013-06-10. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
13. "Scorecard". Chambers Bay. Archived from the original on 2013-06-10. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
14. Booth, Tim (May 1, 2008). "Chambers Bay's "Lone Fir" hacked". Seattle Times. Associated Press. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
15. Eldridge, Keith (October 17, 2016). "Puyallup company chosen to build resort at Chambers Bay Golf Course". KOMO. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
16. "Paying the bill for U.S. Open at Chambers Bay". The Seattle Times. 2015-07-01. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
17. "USGA Awards 2015 U.S. Open, 2010 U.S. Amateur to Chambers Bay in Washington State and 2011 U.S. Amateur to Erin Hills Golf Club in Wisconsin" (PDF). USGA. February 7, 2008. Retrieved April 20, 2008.
18. "It's Uhlein's time". USGA. August 29, 2010. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
19. "U.S. Am courses give USGA advance look". Golfweek. August 22, 2011.
20. "USGA announces its Sunday round at 2015 U.S. Open is all sold out". Seattle Times. July 18, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
21. Auclair, T.J. (June 20, 2015). "Spieth wins 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay". PGA of America. Associated Press. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
22. http://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/articles/2017/12/bandon-dunes-to-host-2019-u-s--amateur-four-ball--chambers-bay-i.html
23. DiMeglio, Steve (June 20, 2015). "Players: U.S. Open deserves better than setup at Chambers Bay". USA Today.
24. Cannizzaro, Mark (June 23, 2015). "US Open will return to Chambers Bay, whether players like it or not". New York Post.
25. Campbell, Paul (June 22, 2015). "Was the 'unplayable' Chambers Bay golf course fit to host the US Open?". The Guardian.
26. "Chambers Bay greens get a facelift". Seattle Times. Associated Press. July 9, 2017. p. C8.
27. "Chambers Bay greens get facelift in hopes of wooing US Open". USA Today. Associated Press. July 8, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
28. Gray, Will (July 9, 2017). "Chambers Bay overhauls greens, eyes Open return". Golf Channel. Retrieved January 2, 2018.

External links

• Official website
• Chambers Bay photos