Photo Tour - Chambers Bay - US Open Edition - 8th Hole

[Garland Bayley]

... a ball in the slope where your next shot is a total crap shoot,...

The problem is that even for the most agile it is a difficult climb, there is no stance, and it is that way for the entire 600 some yards of the hole. Compare that to the 6th at St. Enodoc where for even the most agile it is a difficult climb, there is no stance, and it only occupies one missed shot on the hole instead of all three.

Furthermore, you have no wide berth to avoid the slope at Chambers, whereas at St. Enodoc you can actually maneuver around the slope, if you wish to spend the strokes.

As was written above, it is simply a connector hole.

And, it is the weakest connector hole that I know of.

[Scott Szabo]

"If you hit a straight drive, the ball will kick sharply to the right into the rough (D). Unless you can hit a draw, I do not believe you will be able to hold this fairway with your tee shot."

Rich,

Is this a hole that a high-handicap amateur with a big slice could play?

[Richard Choi]

Scott, under normal conditions, this hole is eminently playable (Garland excluded). My 12 year daughter had a par on this hole and I have seen another player get around this hole at +3, on just third time playing golf.

From the normal tees, this hole is dead straight and there is ample rough area on the right that will catch bad slices. The rough here is quite benign normally so finding your ball and playing it is no big deal.

The second shot is a bit trickier as there is no plateau beyond fairway to catch your slice, but you should be aiming WAY left of the fairway as even if you end up hitting it straight, your ball on the left should be playable.

[Garland Bayley]

Scott, under normal conditions, this hole is eminently playable (Garland excluded). I've had everything from a 4 to an 11 on the hole. Richard forgets that my tee ball naturally turns left, so according to him the hole sets up perfectly for me.

[Joe Perches]

I've had everything from a 4 to an 11 on the hole.

That seems to match your normal score distribution.

[Garland Bayley]

I've had everything from a 4 to an 11 on the hole.

That seems to match your normal score distribution.

Actually, I lied. I have taken 4, 5, 6, 7, 11 on the hole. The 11 was going to be my 8, but I had my ball plug in gur in the worst possible spot (a spot Richard advised avoiding) so that the free drop and following shot took me farther away into more trouble.

[Matthew Essig]

Another Sunday passes by, another hole in the local affiliate's video tour.

http://q13fox.com/2015/04/05/u-s-open-hole-by-hole-preview-hole-8-chambers-bay-golf-links/

And the Gil Hanse tour:

http://www.foxsports.com/golf/usga/video?vid=453479491600

[Ben Sims]

You've just, hopefully, gotten through the Bermuda Quadrangle of pain on 4 (remember it's a par 4 for the Open)-5-6-7 with a minimum of fuss. A par 5 awaits! In actuality, I think it's the hardest driving hole on the golf course. Anything left of the left fairway edge will result in ambiguous results. Anything right of right center has a great chance of finding rough as well (or bounding off a cliff). The big hitters will be left with a conundrum, try to turn a right to left shot back against the sideslope or just layup to 100 and take the wedge. Most will choose the latter. I've yet to witness a green in two on this hole. I could be wrong.

The hole is made by the green. It's a three tiered affair with a very distinct back plateau. The middle and front pins are tough due to the lack of help that green provides. On the front and middle (to a lesser extent) it seems that the green repels poorly weighted shots. The back tier rewards anything in the general ballpark due to a large backboard and sideboard. Pin placement will result in a 0.75 shot change throughout the field in my opinion.

This hole is typically hated by first and even fifth timers. Over a couple dozen rounds, I've learned to look forward to 8. It has the ability to bite you just like most holes at Chambers. But it's not as violent and angry with its punishments as the previous holes have been. It's subtle and charming after awhile, once you learn to love a runway benched into the side of a hill.