Drop Shot Par 3
It is one of those golf architecture subjects where the general golfing public disagree sharply with those who share their opinions on this site.
It is easy to see why Joe the Golfer enjoys playing a drop shot par 3. A significant change in elevation means you have an excellent view of the ground around you from the tee. Many of the most admired drop shot par 3’s have gorgeous views of the ocean, mountains, or valleys (and frequently photographed). The tee shots are easier since the elevation change carries the ball further. Even if you don’t make the best contact, there is a good chance that you can advance the ball significantly.
The reason why most erudite posters around here do not favor drop shot par 3’s (as usual) is they lack strategy. Playing a drop shot par 3’s is like throwing a dart. With receptive greens (true for most courses), these par 3’s are very two dimensional. All you have to do is find out where the pin is and try to hit the pin since the ball will stick where they land. Just like throwing a dart at a bulls eye, there is no thinking involved.
In my opinion, #9 at Chambers is a rare drop shot par 3 that is not only beautiful enough to inspire Joe the Golfer, but possesses enough strategic depth to be enjoyed by beard pullers.
The first point is obvious enough from the pictures. Add sea, dotted with islands, with intricately shaped bunker surrounding the green, and it is hard not to come up with a drop dead gorgeous hole.
But the beauty is not skin deep. While it is true that point-and-shoot is in play, especially for the front pin locations, for more difficult pin locations, aiming at the pin is not the advised play. Even under normal, everyday conditions (firmer than usual greens), there are places that will reject any shot towards it. The only way you can get your ball close to the pin is to use the contours of the sideboards and green to coax the ball towards the pin. This is something that is very unusual for a green with this much elevation change. I certainly have not experience another like it in my travels.
US Open ChangesThere has been some minor reshaping of the edges to better hold balls on the green, but they are not really important.
There is a change on this hole that is my favorite change planned for US Open – a brand new tee.
You can see from the overhead view, there are two completely different tee grounds. The first (White Tee) is the normal tee ground high above the green on the southeast corner of the property. From here you have a 80 (!!!) feet drop to the green. The second tee (Yellow Tee) is located in the practice green area next to the turn house. This tee is about 10 feet below the green, making this the only uphill par 3 on the course.
This is a completely different hole from these tees and I think that is fabulous. I just wish they would open the lower tee for every day play (which they have not done – but I have played the hole from down there…).
High Tee Shot
From the high tee ground, you have a wonderful view of the green against a gorgeous background of Puget Sound. Watching a majestic tee shot fly high above the sound (and take forever to fall, and take even longer to traverse down the side slope and across the green) is very inspiring. From aesthetics point of view, this hole is nothing but pleasure.
From a strategic point of view, this should scare players plenty.
The front pin (4) is benign enough. Most players will be hitting a mid-iron and if you can land your ball on the flat part of the front green (A), your ball should stay in this section and should leave you with a very makeable birdie try. Under normal conditions, landing on the front side slope (B) is great fun as ball will bounce gently towards the pin and roll across the green short of the bunkers on the right (E). Many a hole in ones have been made here this way. Under US Open conditions, the same shot will be watched in horror as it will bounce violently across the green straight into the bunker (E) where it may end up in downslope near the edges. There is no bailout on this hole for US Open.
Things get worse as you move further back. There is a nasty little flat spot (pin position #1) where everything slopes away. It is almost impossible to get your ball anywhere near this spot. If you land just short, it will be redirected right and if you land just long, it will end up in the back bunker (G) or rough (D).
A pin spot just left (#2) is no cakewalk as you need to bounce the ball short of the ridge in the middle of the green and roll it up towards the sideboard (C) on the left. This is going to be very difficult as the distance and shot shape control will have to be exact.
The pin on the right (#3) will be easier in comparison, but you will still need to hit away from the pin to the left and take advantage of the left to right slope to get the ball close to the pin. Anything directly at it will either go over the green or end up in the side bunker (F).
This tee shot is going to cause a lot of problems for players.
Low Tee Shot
This tee shot is completely opposite from the high tee shot. The view is intimidating as all you see in front of you is a wall of sand. You have absolutely no view of the green. Everything you see screams “Don’t miss short!”.
However, strategically this is a much friendlier proposition. As long as you carry the bunker in front (E, F), there is very little trouble as the sideboard behind the green (B, C) will gently cradle balls that skip across the green (you don’t want to land here, though). Almost all pin (other than #1) position is accessible to you. There will be plenty of birdies made from this tee shot.
Around the Green
Most of the (left and right) misses will end up in the bunker right of the green (E). As long as you have a decent lie, this is not a very hard shot to execute as you have some safety in the sideboards. Most misses here should still have a good chance at making a par.
If you miss long, however, any number is in play. The back half of the green runs front to back and there is nothing to stop your ball going down the hill (D) far below the green with terrible rocky lie. From here, just trying to keep the ball on the green is going to be a challenge let alone trying to hit it close to the pin as everything is running away from you. You may have to play towards the front fairway just to have a reasonable shot coming back.
Putting
There are three main features that dominate putting on this green. First is the ridge that bisects the green into front and back. The ridge is about a foot in elevation (decreases as it goes across the green to right). If you are not on the same side of the pin with this ridge, making a birdie is not a realistic prospect. The second is the general left to right tilt of the green. Putting across this tilt is difficult as the ball breaks more than it may first appear. This is especially true for #1 and #2 pin positions. If you are putting from the front part of the green to these pin positions (most likely), there may be up to 3 or 4 feet of left to right break. Birdies will be very, very rare.
The third complication is the hump in the middle of the back part of the green. Any putt that goes across it will be difficult as it will reroute your putt left or right significantly. If you are going up hill on this hump, you need to make sure you have enough pace to clear it. If you are going down on this hump, you really will not have much choice but try to just keep the putt on the green.
I believe depending on the pin position and tee, there will be days where many birdies will be made here. But other days… there will be pain.