Changes for US Open#7 Green to Tee Before
#7 has gone through the most extensive changes in preparations for US Open. The fairway width has been halved. The double fairway mounds that used to reside in the middle of the fairway just short of the green complex are now located in the left rough. The false front has been reshaped to lessen the slope and to increase the size of the collection area where approaches short of the green are gathered.
#7 Before
The green is entirely new. #7 green used to be one of the wildest greens at Chambers Bay with four separate bowls within a single green. It had a very severe back to front tilt that caused more than a few approach shots that landed on the green to roll all the way back off the green to the front collection area. The green needed some modification to prevent this from happening, but the folks in charge determined the green was too quirky and redesigned it.
The new green is now an enormous pushed up green (on top of a plateau) with false fronts surrounding the three sides. There is some residue of the previous green’s wild movements, but it is fairly tame in its current iteration.
I understand the desire to rebuild this green. The strategy used to be that, based on which side the pin is located (left or right bowls), you wanted to place the drive on the same side of the fairway so that you had a better chance of hitting the correct bowl. However, trying to hit one of the 4 bowls, on a blind green, 200 yards away, with a 2 club uphill distance penalty, where any ball short of the green would be kicked away 50 yards, was one quirk too many for most golfers. With the drastically narrowed fairway, the strategy described above was DOA, negating a lot of the interest anyway, so, I understand why they made this change.
It still does not stop me from mourning the death of one of the most unique holes I have ever played.
Tee ShotUntil this point, a player who cannot shape their drives would not have had too much difficulty in hitting the fairways off the tee. However, with #7 and #8, those who cannot shape their drive both ways will have a devilish time trying to keep their tee shots on the short grass.
The fairway turns sharply from left to right about 100 yards from the tee. There are bunkers and waste areas that line the entire right side of the hole from tee to green (D, E, F, G). You must first decide how much to bite off with your first drive as any drive short of the fairway will end up in a deep bunker with soft faces that will swallow balls alive (D and E). There are two “landing pads” designed into the landing zone. To carry the ball to the landing pad A, your drive must carry 250 yards (uphill). To carry the ball to the landing pad B, your drive must carry 280 yards (uphill). Most player will probably play it safe and aim for the landing pad A. While the large bunkers may intimidate you to take a safer route, playing it too safe means that you are adding 20 to 30 yards to the approach shot that is already around 200 yards long with a 2 club uphill penalty.
With the original fairway cut line, shaping the tee shot was not required as the fairway was wide enough to hold most drives hit across the dogleg. That is no longer the case with the US Open boundaries. With the firm fairway, it will be almost impossible to hold the fairway without a fade. Almost all straight and draw tee shot that bounce in the middle of the fairway will keep rolling through the fairway into the left rough (I). This rough is thick and healthy, which will make the prospect of hitting the green in regulation a total crap shoot.
There is another advantage to hitting a fade here. If you overcook your fade and hit a slice to the right bunkers (F, G), it is not the end of the world. First, missing to the right means you have taken a more direct line to the pin and your second shot will not be as long as it will be if you missed to the left. Second, the bunkers on the right, as long as you don’t hit it on a straight line, will leave you with a fairly level lie with enough opening to the green that you should be able to hit a mid-iron/hybrid out of the bunker. If you are going to miss, I think the miss to the right is definitely preferable.
Approach ShotFrom the fairways, the only thing you need to worry about is to hit enough club to carry the false front. Hitting long or missing to the side is MUCH more preferable to missing short. Anything missing short will roll all the way back towards the mounds. While the recent changes have lessened the rollback and spread the balls out a little, there is a very good chance that you will end up in a divot in these collection areas. This is should be avoided at all cost.
Typically, I club up 2 clubs to adjust for the sharp elevation change from the fairway to the green. You may be able to get away with a single club adjustment, but it really is not worth the risk. The green is HUGE and there is a lot of room (and slope) in the back to catch long approaches. If you miss this green short, you only have yourself to blame.
From the left rough, what you do will be based on what kind of lie you have. If your lie is okay and you can get your hybrid or long iron on it, it will be fine (re. HUGE GREEN!). The lack of spin may even help you make sure you carry the green.
If your lie is dicey, you will need to choose carefully. Leaving it just short of the green and having it come back down the slope (M), while not ideal, is not the worst thing that can happen to you. If the ball squirts right and ends up in a bunker (L), you will have a very awkward uphill bunker shot of 50 to 70 yards to the blind green. This really needs to be avoided, but as long as you don’t end up far left past the bunkers in the side hills, you should be okay.
The worst thing that can happen to you is hitting the ball into the two mounds now located in the left rough (J, K). If you are unfortunate enough to end up here, you need to protect yourself from a double bogey or worse. The mounds are very steep and it is covered with very heavy vegetation. You will be lucky to just get your club on the ball. There is a good chance that you cannot even advance this ball to the green. If you are in the left rough and your lie is not ideal, you need to make sure you avoid these mounds located between you and the green.
Many players will be surprised by how playable this hole is when your tee shot misses to the right. There are a series of bunkers, and if you miss short just short of the bunker, you may have a buried lie and you will need to hit an explosion shot back to the fairway. However, if your ball rolls back to the bottom or better yet, you missed long to the right in to the smaller secondary bunkers (G), you will have a relatively shorter shot (<200) from a very level sand lie. You can hit this shot with confidence since there is not much between you and the green and all pin position should be accessible to you.
Around the GreenI am guessing we will see more lobs around this green than any other green at Chambers.
If you miss the green short (M), you are looking at a blind shot to the green (located about 15 feet above you) about 50 to 70 yards depending on the pin position. While you can certainly hit a bump and run into the very steep false front, most pros will be more comfortable, distance control-wise, hitting a lob shot. The only complication will come from whether or not you are hitting from a divot. By the time the weekend rolls around, the collection area should be peppered with divots.
Low bump and run will be more preferable if you miss the green to the left or right (N, O) The green is pushed up from surrounding areas on three sides. There is about 3 feet elevation change from the surrounds to the green which probably rules out using a putter.
PuttingI worried about this green as it is all new and situated right next to the steep wall separating the course from the local neighborhood above where it does not get any sun until late in the morning. It has had many problems with conditioning over the years (even with the previous version of the green). Fortunately, it seems that will not be an issue with the very favorable growing condition we had over the winter.
The green is sloped back to front, more severely than it looks. It is not as bad as it is with the #6 green, but this slope may be more deceptive.
As I have mentioned before, there is a ghostly echo of the four bowls that made up the previous green with a very subtle ridge that runs back to front and a more pronounced ridge that runs left to right.
A long putt from back to front is to be avoided as the false front is very intimidating and most putts will be hit well short of its target. The putts in the front half of the green, especially within each “bowl” areas are fairly level and makeable. I believe there will be more birdies here than people would expect from such a long and tough hole. However, any pin in the back half of the green will have to deal with a very prominent ridge (Q) in the middle that will make any putt longer than a gimmie length an adventurous one.
