Chambers Bay GC report

[Andy Troeger]

Do you think that the pros are really going to like playing here in 2015? After playing courses like The Black, Pebble, Congressional, Merion, Winged Foot and Oakmont? Photos have just done nothing for me to think that this is a great track. Seems to me, many people are getting their rocks off because it's fescue, walking only, links style, walking only, no paths...maybe not all the architecture.

Tony Nysse
Asst. Supt.
Colonial CC
Ft. Worth, TX

Tony,
Obviously everyone has their own preferences, but I was really surprised by how much I liked Chambers when I went and played it last summer. I figured I'd like it well enough, but its easily in my top ten and ahead of many really good courses. Its worth going up to take a look.

[Scott Weersing]

Wow.  Those are some great photos.  I've got to get out that way and play CB.  I know this course gets a lot of ink.  For those who have played it, what are people's impressions of the course?

It has been a week since I played and some things still stand out.

The fairways are full of humps and slopes. There were many times where I get a good drive and I did not have a flat approach shot. I had downhill lies and uphill lies as well as the ball above my feet and below. I thought the fairways would be flat but that is not the case. So while the fairways are wide, you will have awkward lies at times. I am sure if I played the course 10 times, I would learn where the best areas are to be in the fairway.

I really like the variety of holes especially the parallel holes. 1 and 10 run next to each other but are completely different as No. 1 has tons of room while No. 10 has a narrow fairway. No. 2 and No. 11 run next to each other but you wouldn't know it as they are both unique. No. 11 has a big dune in the middle of the fairway that you hit over for the best angle to the green. No. 2 has a bunker that is 250 off the tee that you need to avoid or layup in front of. Jeff was in it both rounds.

The greens are not as big as I thought they would be. They are in the normal size category except for No. 9 and No. 18 which were enormous. I wish more of the greens sloped front to back. There might be one or two but on those holes the pin was in the front of the green.

I really liked the dunes in front of the no. 7 green. They are right where you would want to hit your lay up shot. So you have to be careful to hit around them or over them.

I wish the par 3 holes were a little longer. I wish there was a 200 yard par 3 but you would have to play the navy or teal tees to have that long of a tee shot. I would switch the 12th and 15th tees around so that both holes played longer. It would be fun to play a match there where the winner of the hole gets to choose the tees on the next hole. There is lots of variety of distances with all the different tees.

The course is not a traditional course and many people are not going to like it. It is just like Rustic Canyon. Some people don't like it and others love it.

[Jordan Wall]

Looks wonderful!  Thanks for the pictures and report.  Can't wait to get back there again.

With the new dual tee that can be used for the first and tenth holes, how long would that make ten play?

Cheers,
Jordan

[Wayne Freeman]

It's hard for me to believe that anyone could put the knock on Chambers. I played 36 holes there last spring and it was just awesome.  The views and vistas are all world and there is tremendous movement, variety, and some absolutely heroic par 4's. Yes the greens do need to mature and speed up, but if they ever come around it will remain in the top echelon of U.S. courses forever.

[Scott Weersing]

Here are some more photos of the course.



No. 9 green from the tee. I like the green but not the drop down tee shot as it is not a shot you would find on a links course. I am alright with the elevated tee on No. 15.



No. 14 green. This green may slope to the back but I really like that you can bring in your shot from the right side and have it feed into the green.




Bunker on 18 fairway. I really like the style of the bunkers.

[Mark Bourgeois]

Do you think that the pros are really going to like playing here in 2015? After playing courses like The Black, Pebble, Congressional, Merion, Winged Foot and Oakmont? Photos have just done nothing for me to think that this is a great track. Seems to me, many people are getting their rocks off because it's fescue, walking only, links style, walking only, no paths...maybe not all the architecture.

Tony Nysse
Asst. Supt.
Colonial CC
Ft. Worth, TX

Tony,
Obviously everyone has their own preferences, but I was really surprised by how much I liked Chambers when I went and played it last summer. I figured I'd like it well enough, but its easily in my top ten and ahead of many really good courses. Its worth going up to take a look.

Tony and Andy

You both raise interesting points.  Personally I did not have high hopes for the course based on photos -- comparisons to Whistling Straits didn't help, and the squared-off shapes of the landforms mark the interior of the course as plainly "anti-natural".

Having played it, though, I am a big fan.  The greens and green complexes absolutely deserve top-tier status.  They are a lot of fun to putt, chip and pitch to, and hit shots into.

A second and related aspect I found appealing are the landforms short of several greens or positioned in LZs.

So perhaps Tony you are right: the pros may not like it!

Mark

PS Here's another thread with a few pics -- the lighting and time of day nowhere near as good as Scott's:
http://golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,36229.0.html

[Derek Dirksen]

Do you think that the pros are really going to like playing here in 2015? After playing courses like The Black, Pebble, Congressional, Merion, Winged Foot and Oakmont? Photos have just done nothing for me to think that this is a great track. Seems to me, many people are getting their rocks off because it's fescue, walking only, links style, walking only, no paths...maybe not all the architecture.

Tony Nysse
Asst. Supt.
Colonial CC
Ft. Worth, TX

Does anyone really care if the "pros" don't like it.  They are going to cry about it just like they cry about every thing else!!!

[Garland Bayley]

...Photos have just done nothing for me to think that this is a great track. ...

Tony,

Your white cane is coming FedEx.

[Brent Carlson]

I hate to rain on the parade but I had a chance to scope this course yesterday and was not impressed.  It looked like a poor man's Whistling Straits; full of artificial mounds and hills.  Please tell me this course is top notch but it was definitely dissapointment at first glance. 

The fact that it was 43 degrees with 30mph winds did not help

[Robin Doodson]

Wow!

The course looks sensational. As a foreigner i am probably never likely to get to play it but i certainly look forward to watching the Open in 2015. Makes far better viewing than your bog standard (no offence) courses like Oakmont, Winged Foot, Southern Hills etc. Will stick in the memory like Whistling Straits.

It seems that you yanks are finally figuring out what golf courses are supposed to look like.

cheers

robin

[Jason McNamara]

It seems that you yanks are finally figuring out what golf courses are supposed to look like.

Robin -

You've had golf longer than we've had a country, so thanks for giving us a break.   

Jason

[Robin Doodson]

It seems that you yanks are finally figuring out what golf courses are supposed to look like.

Robin -

You've had golf longer than we've had a country, so thanks for giving us a break.   

Jason

Don't mention it.

[Sean Leary]

I hate to rain on the parade but I had a chance to scope this course yesterday and was not impressed.  It looked like a poor man's Whistling Straits; full of artificial mounds and hills.  Please tell me this course is top notch but it was definitely dissapointment at first glance. 

The fact that it was 43 degrees with 30mph winds did not help

I think it looks more articificial than Whistling Straits as well. I thought WS looked pretty natural when I was there..At least better than I expected.

[Will Smith]

Wow. Great pictures. I was there in January and it was playing nice and firm. The greens were slow but that is to be expected. I spoke with both Matt Allen (GM) and super David Wieneke and they said that far and away educating people about fescue, green contour, and the slower green speeds is probably their biggest challenge.

Pure fescue needs time to mature and it would have been nice if they could have let it establish a little more before they opened. Now with 40,000 rounds, its tough to get it up to speed.

I filmed my talks with Dave and Matt and the first portion along with photos and video of the course can be seen here:

http://punchbowlgolf.com/2009/03/chambers-bay/

[Garland Bayley]

I hate to rain on the parade but I had a chance to scope this course yesterday and was not impressed.  It looked like a poor man's Whistling Straits; full of artificial mounds and hills.  Please tell me this course is top notch but it was definitely dissapointment at first glance. 

The fact that it was 43 degrees with 30mph winds did not help

Brent,

It would be hard to keep Chambers Bay from looking artificial even if done by a great artist. It is sitting in the bottom of a former mine. Therefore, its entire east side is unmistakably and unhidably artificial. I believe that enters into you subconscious making the non-nature made mounds and hills seem more artificial than they might look at say Carne where you have crazy mounds and hills that were made by nature.

[Eric Olsen]

Both Chambers Bay and WS are constructs.  While I have not played WS since the year it first opened, CB is far superior, imho, in appearance and playability.

[Jeff Doerr]

In the next few years I believe we'll see a further maturing of the East slope as some hydro seeding is planned to get that to fill in well.

The waste areas, likewise, will continue to mature and develop into natural looking areas with some well planned manmade help.

[Will Smith]

I have posted the second of my videos on Chambers Bay. I interview Matt Allen, the GM (formerly of Bandon). There are more pictures and videos of the course. It can be seen here:

http://punchbowlgolf.com/2009/04/matt-allen-chambers-bay/