A(nother?) Chambers Bay photo essay

[Rob Rigg]

Mike Wagner, Peter Herreid and I had a chance to get in 36 at Chambers Bay on Monday. It was epic to say the least. What a wonderful golf course.

Mike is pro and was a pleasure to play along side and watch, while Peter knew how to navigate every hole and was kind enough to provide me with a lot of sage sherpa-esque advice, which I tried to follow.

I tried to copy the review and pics from the walking golfer site but the photos were too large.

If you want to see the pics and hole by hole description please click the link below and I will try to figure out what I did wrong - sorry about that.

There is an interesting bit of info from RTJ II about the benefits of designing a walking golf course in there if you are interested - otherwise just scroll down to the hole by hole.

http://www.thewalkinggolfer.com/Chambers_Bay.html

[Mike Wagner]

Rob,

Great essay!  It was one of those days that reminds us why we live in the NW (even if it's only a few days a year)...

Lots of you have played it, but for those who haven't - here's the deal:

It is a MUST PLAY......period!

[PCCraig]

Well done Rob.

The best photo from your essay is the SUPER cool hole with the old bridge structure and train tracks. Very cool.

[Dave Bourgeois]

Great Job!!

I have an meeting in Seattle the week of the 11th and plan on playing Fri the 15th.  If any locals want to go let me know.

[Wayne Freeman]

Rob-  really enjoyed your work here.  I had the great pleasure of playing Chambers last June ( we were told that it was only the second day of sunshine in the last 6 months!).  We called ahead to try to reserve the best caddies and were rewarded with guys who had worked on the tour.  They made our 36 hole day absolutely incredible and we were awed by the majesty, variety, heroic nature of the course, and just all the fun.  Yes, the lack of reasonable green speed put a slight damper on things but it couldn't take away from the pure joy of our time there.  I think that C.B. is a very significant new addition to the country's great tracks and well worth the visit.

[W.H. Cosgrove]

I played Chambers on Sunday, which was probably my 15th round since the course opened. 

After much discussion of the greens and green speeds, the putting surfaces finally seem to be coming around.  One of our group was county employee and he admitted that growing the fescue in this environment had been more of a challenge than they had expected, mostly due to slightly lower temperatures than, for instance, Bandon. 

The Chambers crew has taken to covering several of the more difficult greens and they have made adjustments to their mowing practices.  Interestingly the greens seem to have more grass, they actually seem to roll better(quicker) and much of the 'bumping and skittering' has been eliminated.  Spring growth has been quite kind to this now maturing gem.

I still didn't make any putts but then......well......that's a personal problem. 

[Garland Bayley]

Rob,

Hit quote on this post to see how to size the pictures smaller for posting here.

[Matthew Runde]

Rob, that's a very helpful essay for somebody who hasn't played the course.  Thanks for posting it.

The course, itself, looks gorgeous, what with all of the interesting formations and undulations.  I like the fact that, often, hills and bunkers appear to exist directly between the approach and the green.  I love the strategic options that provides, and I wish it were more prevalent in modern courses.

[Rob Rigg]

Thanks Garland - I'll remember that for next time!

[Richard Choi]

I like the fact that, often, hills and bunkers appear to exist directly between the approach and the green.  I love the strategic options that provides, and I wish it were more prevalent in modern courses.

Actually, that is not correct. While there are some tee shots where you need to carry over sand, almost all par 4's and par 5's have options where you can use a ground attack (it is actually preferred in many holes). There are some mounds to make it interesting, but I wouldn't call them "hills". One of the great thing about Chambers Bay is that it is really friendly to high handicap players as long as they stay out of bunkers (which is definitely manageable).

[Matthew Runde]

Thanks for clarifying that, Richard.  I did see in some photos that the green had a "runnable" entrance.

[Rob Rigg]

The other great thing about Chambers Bay is how it will continue to improve with age - the greens are looking really good right now, and although the speed is slow I would commend the super and his crew for building a great foundation for the future (after two very tough winters).

The course will hopefully retain its "raw" look for a long time, but it will probably temper with age as the grasses on the dunes grow in and the grey that pervades the course will become live mostly in the waste areas and bunkers.

I have played few courses with such a great collection of holes, especially the Par 4s.

Well worth the visit.

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