Hello all...
I was recently organizing some old photos and came across pics from a summer golf trip to Seattle. I was there in June of '08 while I was a mere lurker. It was late June and the weather was glorious (as you'll see in the pics which are from 3 consecutive days). The course lineup consisted of Chambers Bay, TPC Snoqualmie Ridge, Trilogy at Redmond Ridge (no pics), and White Horse Golf Club.
First up is Chambers Bay. CB has been discussed in depth here so I'm not going to go into thorough hole descriptions; just some tidbits that I found interesting. When we played, the course was fairly young and some areas were still growing in. Also, I believe some of the holes have been modified and more definitive primary rough has been grown. I felt the width was one of the most appealing aspects of CB, but I'm sure the USGA wanted more definition and tighter fairways for its championships.
The following two photos are views from the parking area near the Pro Shop. I have never witnessed a similar scene at a golf course. The entire course is visible from this perch and it seems to be miles below...
The par 4 2nd hole from the fairway
Tee shot at the par 3 3rd
The tee shot at the uphill par 5 4th
The 5th was one of my favorite holes. One of the widest drives you'll ever see, and the strategy is dictated entirely by the little front bunker and the pin position. Unfortunately, they've brought in the rough on the right side (I believe) which restricts the line of charm to the right hand pin position.
The mound in the fairway on the approach to the long par 4 7th
The drop shot par 3 9th
Another of my favorite holes at CB. A driveable par 4 with a roller coaster green. The main criticism of the hole is the layup area is too narrow which limits the decision making. I think that criticism has some merit but I still found the hole interesting and more importantly, fun.
Another long view across the course
The cape style par 4 14th. The long par 4 plays downhill and in this photo there was a center line bunker to influence your tee shot decisions. However, the current hole diagram on their website doesn't show the bunker. For those of you in the know, is the bunker still there?
The beautiful downhill par 3 15th.
A look back at the par 4 16th that runs parallel to the tracks and the beach
I'll add photos from the other courses in following posts...