How important is beauty for golf course architecture?
Most of the greatest golf holes identified by this site would not look out of place as among majestic pictures of oceans, mountains, and meadows. Sure, interesting strategy makes it fun, but it is beauty that inspires.
Can a hole be considered great without beauty? Somehow, I doubt it.
No such question is necessary #10 at Chambers Bay as you will not find many golf holes prettier than this one.
There are towering mounds that frame both sides of the fairway, narrowing as if it is directing your eye towards the pin. Dramatic bunkers add accents along the way as fairway heaves and hoes as it rises towards the horizon. It took my breath away the first time I saw it, and it still stirs something inside me every time I play it.
I have never been to great courses in Ireland, but in my mind, this is exactly how those courses would be like.
However, there is danger to this beauty if you are not careful; a femme-fatale, if you will. As long as you hit fairways and green every time you play it (and it is not overly difficult to do so), all you will remember is the beauty when your round is done. But if you miss the green once, you may never forget how cruel and revengeful she is.
Tee Shot
The US Open tee shot adds significant distance to the normal tee as what is usually a relatively short par 4 turns into a (relative) beast for US Open. There is a tee box at about 450 yards, due to the putting green area behind the back tee, you can easily extend this hole to 500 yards, if desired. Even with the added distance, finding the fairway (A) should not be a problem as there is ample width between the bunkers (B&D). And you had better find the fairway off the tee as the approach shot demands pin-point accuracy. Hitting short of the bunkers left (B) and right (D) is a definite option. Long hitters should think about hitting past the bunkers, if possible, as the landing zone beyond the bunkers are wider than it looks as slope on the left and right of the fairway will feed the ball back to the middle.
The pin position dictates the angle you should take. If the pin is in the front, the right side is favorable as you can use the front left slope (G) to guide your ball back to the middle of the green. If the pin is in the back, the left side has the advantage as you won’t have to deal with the right side greenside bunker (J) as much.
The very large bunker on the right (D) messes with player’s minds, and will force more misses to the left. That is not so bad as play out of the shallower bunkers on the left (B) is much more preferable to the right side bunker which will leave you completely blind with its vast, steep face.
If you badly hook the tee shot, there is a good chance you will end up in the side slope (C). What you do next will depend entirely on the lie and most of it will not be good.
Approach ShotThis hole is all about the second shot. How you execute the approach will determine whether or not you walk away with a birdie or a double.
If you are in the large right bunker (D), you really need to think hard and carefully about what shot you can reasonably pull off. If you hit the bunker on the fly, there is a chance of a buried lie. But in most cases, the lie should be reasonable and you should have a slightly uphill lie. However, the shot is blind as all you can see the sand. Clearing the sand is not a huge issue as you most likely have a mid to short iron in your hand. The problem is where you are going to land.
If you are short from this angle, you will end up in the right greenside bunker (J), if you are lucky. If you are not, you will end up in the huge dune right of the green (K), with no lie, no angle, and no hope. If you are long, you will end up in the left greenside bunker (M), if you are lucky. If you are not, you will end up in the huge dune left of the green (I, N), with no lie, no angle, and no hope.
The recommended approach, unless you are absolutely positive that you can hit the middle of the green, is to layup just short of the green (G). There is ample room short of the green and the green is simple enough that you should have a reasonable chance of going up and down from the front. You have been warned.
Similar warning applies to the left bunker (B), even though you should have a better view of the green. From this angle, missing long is a viable option as the green opens up in the back (O) and the severe back to front slope will catch most approaches that hit the back half of the green.
From the fairways, if the pin is in the front, a low bump and run approach will maximize the benefit while minimizing the risk. There is a slope that comes down from the left front dune to the green (I). This slope will guide most running shots back towards the middle of the green. My very favorite shot to pull off at Chambers is a low running 3 wood from about 180 yards out to the green and watching it glide up to the slope and slide down to the pin.
If the pin is in the back, you should fly it to it. Even if you miss long, the back of the green is open (O) and chipping from the back is not overly difficult (especially if the pin is not tucked right next to the back edge). Most of the trouble at this green is in the front half of the green, so it is best to try to fly past it.
Around the GreenIf you are chipping from the front of the green (G), all pin position should be available to you, even without hitting a flop shot. With dunes surrounding the green, it is effectively a bowl with an opening in the front. There is a sharp back to front slope with side slope coming down from back left (N) and right (L). There is more back to front slope than it looks, so you need to give it more weight, but with lack of internal movements, this green is pretty much point and shoot.
Shots from left (J) and right (M) bunkers can be tricky as these bunkers are narrow and very deep. It is not unusual to have a lie in these bunkers where you are forced to hit away from the pin. But with slope coming back down on the opposite side of the green, the shots out of these bunkers should not be very difficult.
Chipping from the back of the green is not very difficult either. There is significant amount of fairway beyond the green and waste area beyond it is compacted and firm. Only worry is if the pin is located in the back half as slopes are running away from you and you may not be able to stop the ball quickly.
If you are hitting from the dunes (I, N, K), Godspeed.
If you are lucky, your ball will be nestled deep in the rough. You may not have much control with this shot, but at least there is a good chance of getting the ball out of the dune to somewhere on the green or a bunker. If you are not lucky, your ball will be nestled in various nooks and cranny on the steep slope, where you have no chance of getting your club on the ball without hitting through compacted sand, dirt, and gravel. Even if you get the ball to the green, with slopes running away from you, there is a very good chance that your ball will run through the green to the trouble on the opposite side of the green.
PuttingSorry, but I could not find a proper overhead view of the green…
If you hit the green, you should have a very reasonable chance at making your putt. There is no significant internal movements and other than some “faster than looks” edge movements toward the middle, what you see is pretty much what you get.
Any pin position in the front and middle are the easiest as long as you are below the pin, most of the putts will be straight.
More difficult position is around the back left bunker (M) where both back to front slope and left to right slope converges and can create some issues. Similarly, the back right pins are also difficult as the back to front slope is most severe here.