Chambers Bay Hole 10

[Anthony Gray]

  

 Par 4    398 now but rumored to be moved back for the US Open.  HDCP 12

  Very aesthetic. The green has sneaky movement. Difficult recoveries around the green.

  On a side note I walked this hole with 3 brothers and their italian friend from Pittsburgh. It was the tenth hole and noone was bleeding. The bond of golf is strong. Also the hole looks great from the tee. It is exciting to see the challenge is in front of you. Also a great place reunite with an old friend.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Anthony

[Tom Yost]

Which direction is the prevailing wind ??

[Richard Choi]

Yes, let get some of Matt's questions out of the way

The prevailing wind is from the water which is pretty much straight in. The bunker on the right is about 200 to 250 to reach (depending on tee). The bunker on the left is about 10 to 20 yards deeper.

What really gives this hole its character (other than the massive dunes on either side), is the entrance to the green. There is a severe side slope that can be played short left of the green. There is a nasty bunker deep left side of the green to catch poor shots.

Because of this sideboard, you really need to keep the ball on the right side of the fairway when the pin is in the front. It gives you much more margin for error. If the pin is in the back, you really need to be on the left side of the fairway so that you can see the pin and have a better approach angle.

One of the prettiest holes you will ever see and one of the most enjoyable as well.

[Scott Szabo]

Anthony,

Couple of questions for you:

When do you work?  Or do you?

Where do you get those clothes?  You must be the Ian Poulter of GCA!

Seriously, thanks for sharing the pictures with the group.

Scott

[Martin Toal]

The course looks like an old irish links, but the clothes give the game away.

[Anthony Gray]

  Thanks fellas. Somebody lied to me and said stripes make you look thinner.

  Rich summed up the hole well. I would like to add that the left greenside bunker cannot be seen from the fairway. The up and down from there is very difficult because the green slopes away, severly in some places. A great hole for tournament drama.

  Anthony

[Garland Bayley]

Anthony is the test platform for John Daly's outfits. If you can see Anthony coming a mile away, then John is sure to wear it.

Pretty Richard?

Like entering a mine shaft?

Now #9, that's pretty!

[Tom Yost]

[Mike Hendren]

While not a bottle hole in the traditional sense, there is strategy involved as ideally one would like to leave the approach as short as possible given the narrow green site.  That entails challenging the flanking bunkers where the fairway narrows.  To boot, the sand at Chambers is as difficult to play out of as any course I've played.  On the other hand, fairway width is abundant if one chooses to lay back, but the uphill second shot plays really long from there.  Also the back left greenside bunker gathers golf balls as the nearby green surface funnels balls in that direction.  I also like the way that bunker is off-set from the fronting bunker that wraps around the right of the green.  To boot, the hole is indeed drop dead gorgeous.

Mike

[Jim Adkisson]

One of my favs at CB...with pin in front right near the lower right bunker, you can play off the left sideboard...only way to get one close...a fun shot to call out and then pull off.

At the GCA preview, they explained that where the green is now sited was a single large dune all the way across...some of the best sand on site that they excavated to use elsewhere on the course...the green site looks very naturally sited for being completely manufactured.

[Brent Carlson]

I find this hole tougher than it appears.  I'm always in the dunes.  It helps if this is your 10th hole of the day and not your first.

[Rob Rigg]

The tenth is a fun hole - the best play is probably long iron or hybrid off the tee and then a mid-iron approach - but if you rip a wood up the gut and keep it straight you can be pitching it up to the green which is really tricky.

I think the visual on the approach is tough to digest - there is a lot of movement with dunes and it is tough to tell how much room there is up on the green which is actually quite deep.

One of my fav holes at CB - and scores are all over the map.

I believe Rich knocked this one a couple feet from the pin

[Tom Yost]

Not sure if the photos convey the uphill nature of this hole.  Any guess on the elevation change tee to green?

The approach is a club/club +1/2 uphill and probably 2 clubs to the back - I figured this out after two plays, both falling short in the skinny fronting bunker.


With the pin back you can get a skyline silhouette from the left side of the fairway -

[Mike Hendren]

Is it not uncommon for the course to start players on the 10th - a tough introduction.  Then again, the 1st doesn't exactly ease one into the round either.  I will reiterate what I told Tim Bert at lunch this week:  Arguably, Chambers Bay has the best set of par fours of any modern course I've played.

MIke