Story so far...
- Hole 1: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60368.0.html
- Hole 2: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60398.0.html
- Hole 3: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60398.0.html
- Hole 4: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60569.0.html
- Hole 5: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60634.0.html
- Hole 6: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60681.0.html
- Hole 7: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60731.0.html
- Hole 8: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60771.0.html
- Hole 9: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60802.0.html
- Hole 10: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60844.0.html
- Hole 11: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60875.0.html
- Hole 12: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60927.0.html
- Hole 13: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60952.0.html
- Hole 14: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60993.0.html
- Hole 15: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,61026.0.html
- Hole 16: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,61061.0.html
- Hole 17: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,61107.0.html
- Hole 18: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,61151.0.html
US Open Changes- Playing as a par 4 instead of a par 5 as it is for normal play. I will discuss more on this change in the body of this thread.
- New green – this is one of the most extensive changes taken since the course opened. However, this is change was not made due for US Open purposes. The previous green had a narrow opening and was shaped in such way that the majority of traffic was routed through the front of the green. This caused heavy traffic in that area and created chronic maintenance issues. The new green is wider and has more room in the back that encourages more even wear. I fully endorse this change and you can argue that this change made this a better hole.
DramaWhat makes a golf course “dramatic”? There are several obvious candidates; A majestic view of the ocean is inspiring to the soul and is ingrained in golf from its very origin, and a well-designed risk/reward strategy where the margin between joy and despair is razor thin can flutter hearts of golfers. However, I would argue no golf course architecture manufactures more drama than change in elevation.
Sailing along on a calm sea where you can see as far as the horizon allows lacks mystery and intrigue to engage your emotions. But a rough sea with heaving waves 20 feet tall, behind which hidden danger lies with every crash of the wake can generate emotions far beyond what your body may be capable of digesting.
Obviously, no golf course poses danger to the golfer beneath the shadows. However, our basic animal instincts take over when the rise and fall of the landscape hides things from our view and our brains wonder whether or not our surroundings are truly safe.
I am not suggesting that golf holes need 100 feet rise or fall to generate drama, but elevation change, to hide significant features from our view, and conversely, enough elevation to let you see all apparent dangers in front of you dials up drama quotient for almost any activity.
Tee Shot
The 4th Hole at Chamber Bay has enough drama to entertain you all day if you did nothing but play this hole. From the tee, the hole rises 50 feet+ to the slopes lining the east side of the course. The fairways heave and ho with sharp movements that are almost too severe. As if the fairway is not dramatic enough, the right side of the hole is lined by acres and acres of sand from tee to green that plays as treacherous as it looks.
The number one priority off the tee is to find a fairway. The hole will be playing close to 500 and the effective yardage is even longer than that since it is uphill all the way to the green. If you miss to the bunker on the right (A) or worse, rough to the left (D), you have almost no chance to reach the green in two.
While the landing area (C and B) is very wide, the effective width will be narrower as the fairway is bisected by a ridge that separates the high side from the low side almost all the way to the green. In the landing area the ridge is about 10 to 15 feet tall and any fade landing in the lower right half of the fairway (B) may roll across the fairway into the sand. You want to aim for the high landing zone (C) which should give you a great angle to the green.
LayupThis is a half par hole and where you layup if you miss the fairway is going to be very important as going at the green from 200+ yards where it is almost all carry is not going to be recommended.
If the lie is terrible from the rough (D) or sand (A), your best bet will be to get the ball to the low valley (E) just short of the neck. Any ball hit short of the neck will find its way down the ridge to this area, leaving you with a simple (but blind) 100 yard or so wedge to the pin, as long as you don’t find a divot, which there will be plenty.
If the lie is decent, most players will try to layup somewhere in the neck area (F, G) short of the green. This is a good place to layup as the back slope is steep and will prevent balls from going up in to the dunes and the rough. From here, you will have an open access to the green with variety of options for your chip shot to the green.
Approach
From the fairways, this is a pretty straightforward hole. If you are playing from the left side of the fairway, the ideal shot is a long iron/hybrid fade that will ride the high ridge in the front left of the green towards the pin. There is plenty of fairway short of the green that will allow you to bump and run the shot if you desire.
From the right side, the lie will be a bit more of a crap shoot as there is a lot of humps and hollows in this area. But there is a very good chance that you end up with a nice uphill lie to launch your ball to the green. And launch you will as, there is nothing but trouble between you and the green and it is a severe uphill shot that may require up to 2 extra clubs to carry.
Around The Green 
If you go at the green and come up short, you are most likely to end up in the series of bunkers that protect the front side of the green (L). As long as you have a good lie (which is not given as a long approach have been known to plug in the face), this should be a relatively simple bunker shot as the green is severely tilted towards the bunker. The only problem is that the bunker is deep and you will be hitting a blind shot to mult-tiered green that requires deft touch.
If hitting a chip shot from the neck area, you have many more choices as you can fly it or bump it. In fact, if the pin is in the back right bowl (K), you may want to hit a long bump and run shot that rides the slope on the right (H) and roll it gently back towards the hole.
Most players will have no problem avoiding the back bunkers (M, N, O) as they are placed high above the green in the slope. However, if you do find yourself in these bunkers, your will be a very difficult chore of trying to leave the ball anywhere on the green as the green slopes sharply away from you. This is not where you want to see your ball end up.
Green
Please note that due to the green changes, the old green drawings are a bit out of date. I have added the expanded area roughly around the existing drawing and defined the ridge that bisects the front half of the green. This is very rough and I will try to get something better in the future.
The green is separated by four different areas. The most accessible pin position is in the front right bowl (J, 4). This will be where many shots will end up as it is the lowest area of the green. If you are putting to here from above (I, H), it will be very difficult to keep the ball on the green. I will not be surprised to see some putts roll off the green into the front bunker.
Putting in the back half of the green (I, H) will be tough as there will be very few straight uphill putts. There is severe left to right slope caused by the dunes in the back. A pin position close to the ridge (2, 3) will be even trickier as there is a slight back slope (towards the back of the green) from the middle ridge.
A pin in the right peninsula (K) will be most entertaining as it I defended by ridges and bunkers that completely surrounds it on all sides. Putting from the “Middle Bowl” (I) to here will be like a carnival ride as you can go high on the slope back of the H area back towards the lower bowl. This will be a very intimidating pin position for players.