- Hole 1: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60368.0.html
- Hole 2: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60398.0.html
- Hole 3: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60398.0.html
- Hole 4: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60569.0.html
- Hole 5: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60634.0.html
- Hole 6: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60681.0.html
- Hole 7: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60731.0.html
- Hole 8: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60771.0.html
- Hole 9: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60802.0.html
- Hole 10: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60844.0.html
- Hole 11: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60875.0.html
- Hole 12: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60927.0.html
- Hole 13: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60952.0.html
- Hole 14: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60993.0.html
- Hole 15: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,61026.0.html
- Hole 16: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,61061.0.html
- Hole 17: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,61107.0.html
- Hole 18: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,61151.0.html
Right off the bat, this will be unlike any other US Open. Mike Davis has announced that #1 and #18, which run parallel to each other, will be played as par 4/5 combos for US Open. If there is a strong western wind (from Puget Sound), #1 will play as a par 5 (head wind) and #18 will play as a par 4 (tail wind). In all other situations, #1 will play as a par 4 and #18 will play as a par 5 as originally designed.
No one really knows the exact yardage this hole will play to as one of the strongest feature for Chambers Bay is that yardages are almost meaningless as every hole can be set up to play any desired length. #1 can play as short as 400 yards to as long as 650 yards.
My guess is that they will tee off somewhere around 500 yards if playing as a par 4 and somewhere around 600 yards if playing as a par 5.
Please refer to the overhead view below as I will be referring to the specific hole features labeled below.
Tee ShotIf the first hole is playing as a par 5, this may be the easiest opening drive in US Open history. As long as you can drive 250 yards (into wind), there is virtually no way that you can miss the fairway as the landing area (A) is as wide as a football field and the fairway bunker is not in play unless you can drive over 350 yards. You want to favor the left side for a better angle to the green. However, it is not worth the gamble of hitting into the tall fescue on the left. The aim should be straight towards the far side fairway bunker (B) in the middle of the fairway.
There are far more important things to worry about during your round than this drive.
Tee shot is far trickier when it is playing as a par 4. If you hope to reach the green in two, you must reach the plateau (C) which is about 270 to 300 yards away. Anything shorter will not have enough momentum to climb the slope up the ridge to the plateau and you will have a completely blind (and severely uphill) second shot (and probably no chance to reach the green in two). Hitting a drive long enough to reach the plateau means that the fairway bunker (B – it is an actual FAIRWAY bunker as the fairway is mowed closely all the way to the bunker from tee) is now very much in play. But you may prefer the bunker compare to the complete crapshoot that waits for you in the left rough (D). The top part of this rough closest to the fairway is not so bad to play out of, but if you pull it a bit more, it will end up in the lower part of the slope which has some of the densest rough at Chambers Bay. This is one of the very few places at Chambers Bay where you can lose your ball. Just getting the ball back to the fairway will be a challenge from this rough.
Approach/Second Shot
If you are in the middle of the lower bowl (A), there is not much to the second shot other than trying to hit it long enough to go past the end of the rough on the left (200 yards +). As it is with almost every hole, the gigantic dune on the right (E) is to be avoided at all costs. The dunes are very steep and grounds are very uneven. Getting a playable lie after hitting into the dune is an unlikely proposition.
If you are in the fairway bunker your only goal should be to get it somewhere near the left side near the green (G). The steep slope coming down from the dunes on the right and the steep face of the bunker will preclude you from hitting it towards the pin. If you get too greedy, there is a significant chance that your next shot will be a buried shot from the face of the bunker.
If you are lucky enough to hit from the plateau (C), the excellent view and level lie will temp you to fly your long approach (200+ yards) close to the pin. The fact that only 4 players hit the green in regulation during the first day of US Amateur should remind you that you need to pay much more attention to the shot at hand.
The reason why so few hit the green in regulation during US Amateur was that grounds were rock hard. This caused not only any approach shot that landed on the green to end up bouncing through the green to the lower back area 10 feet below the green, but any ball that landed short of the green that was kicked forward (H, as designed) so hard that they ran through the green as well. While I do not believe the fairways will be as firm as it played during US Amateur for US Open, I believe Chambers Bay made a wise decision to soften the hump (H) short right of the green so that the kick forward will not be so violent (one of the very few changes that I agree with).
The right to left slope of the hole dictates everything here. If the pin is in the front half, the approach shot MUST land in the right side of the fairway about 20 yards short of the green, preferably with a high, soft fade. The correct approach shot will feed down gently to the green. Anything that land on the front half of the green will roll to the back half of the green and anything that land in the back half of the green will end up 20 feet below 20 yards behind the green (J). Anything short left (really anything left of the center of green) will also end up down on the fairway shared with #18, 20 feet below the green (G).
Plays Around the Green
The flop shot, the short shot di rigueur for most US Open, is going to be on the endangered watch as there is almost no rough to speak of around the green. Sure, you will be hitting a flop shot from the bottom of the fairway if you miss to the left of the green (G), but you will be doing that because the green is 20 feet above you, not because that is the only shot you can hit out of that lie. The lies around the green will be tight and ground will be rock hard. It will take some cojones to try to pull off flop shots on delicate approaches. I suspect a putter (and hybrids) will be a very popular choice from off the green. This is especially true since Chambers Bay is fescue from tee to green and rolling speed will be pretty consistent from fairway through the green.
If the pin is in the front, it is almost preferable to miss to the left of the green. Even though the pin will be 20 feet above you, there is enough room on the right side of the green to feed the ball back down if you hit it a bit long. If the pin is in the back, you really want to leave it on the fairway to the right where you can see the pin and will have more inviting shot towards the back.
The back right greenside bunker (I) can be nasty based on the lie as it is narrow and deep. However, if the lie is decent, it is a preferable place to miss to as most pins will be readily accessible. Most pro’s would prefer this bunker shot compared to hitting a blind shot.
The only bunker that you MUST avoid is the front right bunker above the hump (J). There will be some approach shots that will end up here as you need to skirt this bunker to access the front pins. If you are in this bunker, you are looking at bogey at best and double or triple at worst as you will have a downhill lie bunker shot with everything running away from you. Leaving this shot anywhere on the green would be a terrific effort.
Many players will end up in the back left after hitting their approach shot through the green. For a back pin, this shot is not the most difficult as you have plenty of fairway to work with. Just make sure that you don’t hit it short as the ball will come back right back to your feet.
Putting
I have noted what I believe are the most likely spots for pins in the diagram above (1-4).
The valley that bisects the green is the dominant feature. Any indifferently hit putt across this valley will end up off the green (hopefully on the plateau just below the green instead of the fairway all the way down). To have any hopes of getting a birdie (or even an easy par), you must hit the right half of the green where the pin is. The front pins (1 & 2) will cause the biggest problems when playing the hole as a par 4 since keeping a mid to long iron in the front half will be extremely difficult. The front part also has the most right to left (and front to back) slope which will cause problems with putts. Putts above the hole will be treacherous. As long as the you navigate the valley correctly, the back pins (3 & 4) will be much easier to deal with as the green is relatively flat in the back.