Photo Tour - Chambers Bay - US Open Edition - 9th Hole

[Garland Bayley]

17 always has had a back tee that plays level. It certainly was there when GCA played the preview round before the course opened.
I guess Brent just can't hit it that far.

No it did not. The new tee was added for Amateur. It added about 40 yards to the hole.

Sorry Richard, but you weren't there when GCA previewed the course. I don't know what the yardage is listed for your added tee, but the original tee was 202 yards and was a bit beyond the 16th green.

[Richard Choi]

That tee was not open till just before US Am. The hole stretches to about 200 yards for the tees on the top. The hole stretches to 230 just next to the 16th green.

[Garland Bayley]

Garland,

I just wish there was more strategy beyond what is at the green on 12.

For instance, most likely if you laid up you are going to have a blind shot to the green.  It would be more enticing to lay up and leave a full wedge if there was a spot where the pin and green would not be blind.  However, due to the very bowl shaped nature of the holes corridors, any ball in the fairway will to likely roll the middle.  From the middle of the fairway the second shot is blind.  You can be 120 out, or 75 out, but either way most of the green is going to be obscured, and the ball will still be somewhere near the middle of the fairway.

I think that if a lay-up shot was more enticing off the tee, the hole could be a great hole.  As it is, I think it is a quirky hole with a great green and green surrounds.  Some may disagree but that is what I thought of the hole.  And, quirky isn't necesarilly bad either.  The hole was good, but I'm just bummed it wasn't great, because the green is so good that that hole could truly have been a great, great short par-4.


If I look at the rest of the course critically, my only other downside is that all the par-3's are downhill, unless you play 17 from 220 and even then the hole looked slightly downhill.  Now I like all the par-3's, and though they are all downhill they are all very different and have their own character, but it seemed to me, that with so many uphill holes, there really could have been a stellar uphill par-3.
The rest of the course, though, is just so great.  The diversity of the par-4s is amazing, and from what I've played its definitely one of the top courses par-4 wise that I have ever played.  The par-5's were pretty solid too, and again they were all different.  What is funny to note, however, is that there was not a single par-5 that was downhill.  I guess the second shot on 13 is downhill, but I bet from tee to green the hole is flat.  Just a note, not a critique, because I loved all the par-5s and thought they were all very good and diverse.

Check out the date of Jordan's post. He says it was 220, back then, so my memory could have transposed a couple of digits.

[Richard Choi]

The tee was not open for play till just before US Am. I don't care if the original design had it. It was not available until after the course opened.

[Garland Bayley]

The tee was not open for play till just before US Am. I don't care if the original design had it. It was not available until after the course opened.

Well we played before the course was open, and it was available then. Guess they must have closed it when they opened the course.

[Brent Carlson]

Can you imagine 17 at 230 yards from the lower tee with the pin on the right?  That is an insane hole with an infentesimal chance of holding the upper tier.  With the tee down low you almost have to put the pin on the left or center.

[David Davis]

This is a hole I've really struggled with at CB. I've been just short, bunkered, and twice bounced over the back from pretty hard bounces on the green but clearly I had too much club. I think I've hit a different club every time. I found the hole pretty long for a drop shot par 3 and even felt the target area seemed small. (sure this is largely perception on my part as the greens are anything but small). Somehow I just perceive this as a tough green to hit and hold in the right spot, look forward to playing it again.

How do you normally play this hole Rich?

[Richard Choi]

I will be discussing that in detail in about 7 weeks...

[Scott Weersing]

Do we have a photo that shows the view from the lower tee yet?

[Sean Leary]

That lower 17 tee was expanded significantly and lengthened for the US am. But there was a narrow, shorter tee there before that I never saw used..

[Carl Nichols]

There is no telling what it will do as there could be all four seasons in just a single day.

I've only played Chambers Bay once (in April 2010), but this is close to what it felt like to me.  It started cool and a little drizzly but with little wind; cleared up completely, warmed up, and got breezy and beautiful for about 10 holes; then a squall came through and it was windy and really raining for about two holes; and then we finished with it cloudy and almost cold. 

[Matthew Essig]

Want to see what it looks like from the lower tee on 9???...... The local affiliate's video tour has us all covered! This is a good one!

http://q13fox.com/2015/04/12/u-s-open-hole-by-hole-preview-hole-9-chambers-bay-golf-links/

And the Gil Hanse tour:

http://www.foxsports.com/golf/usga/video?vid=453480515599

[Matthew Essig]

Now having seen what the new lower tee looks like, I am looking forward to seeing how the hole plays. If I was a spectator, 9 would definitely be a hole I would watch for awhile.