I was out at Chambers Bay with the good doctor Hereid yesterday to check out how the course is looking for the US Amateur in August. I was a bit worried as we have had very wet spring and summer so far and feared there would be much poa infestation.
The good news is fescue looks pretty strong. There are some poa around tee boxes and rough, but the course is largely fescue, especially the greens. The greens were rolling at around 8 feet and very true (I made more 10 to 15 footers at Chambers yesterday than I have ever done before). There are some trouble greens along the east side (#12 & #13) where they have been sand dressing liberally and are quite bumpy and slow, but I suspect they will have little trouble getting the greens to run around 10 to 12 (and smooth) by US Am.
The rough is very uneven. There are spots where they are very thick and heavy. There are other spots where it is very thin and spotty, and still other spots where it is thin but mixed with taller wispy strands. I am happy with this setup as it plays more true to what the course is supposed to play. If you miss the fairway to a spot that used to be fairway, I don't think US AM players will have much touble getting to the green from that spot.
They have also opened a new driving range where targets are much more visible as they slope upwards. But it now requires a shuttle from the range to the first tee, which is unfortunate.
Here are some pictures of notable changes for US Amateur.
Hole #1: This is the view from the new back tee next to the practice green. I believe it is around 540 yards from here. They will use this tee to convert the hole to a par 5 (especially into the wind).
You can see the rough grown in between #1 and #18. This rough is very thin and wispy. Most should not have any problem hitting out of here.
Hole #2: You can see how they have narrowed the fairway, favoring the right side. I think this is a mistake as it lowers the chance that players will hit into the bunker on the left which is very nasty - especially the tall rough just in front of the rough.
Hole #4: This is a brand new green. They only allow play on 3 days of the week and unfortunately, we were not there on the day when the green is in play (and the maintenance guy was not happy that we walked on the green). You can see the new back bunkers play a prominent role.
Close up of the bunkers.
The new green is significantly larger than the old one (about 1/3 bigger) and there are new pin positions in the back of the green. The front left to back right slope has been softened. This is probably a better green for a long par 5.
Hole #5: They have shrunk the fairway about a 1/3 from the right side which kinda diminishes the hole strategy of this hole (attack the fairway on the same side as the pin). But I suspect the thin rough is not gong to scare anyone at US Am.
Hole #7: Dr. Hereid bravely demonstrating, how dangerous it is to hit in to the center mound...
Hole #11: The rough line has been moved in from the left, which actually probably minimizes the hazard mound on the left which can be really nasty if you hit into it. They have cleaned up the right side and dramatically expanded the bunker.
A closeup of the new bunker on the right. As you can see, hitting it close to the green is not necessarily ideal as the green will be hidden and angle of attack is diminished.
Hole #12: The view of the hole from the new back tee. The hole is about 305 yds from back here. I still don't think anyone is going to layup since the layup target is tiny.
Hole #15: The view from the new back tee. As you can see, you will be hitting over the group at #12. The green looks pretty tiny from back here...
Hole #17: ...but not as tiny as the green looks from the new back tee at #17. Plays over 200 yards from here. There is no way anyone is going to hold the green on the right plateau from this tee. We can have a similar situation as we did in Pebble Beach.
