Great Scot
Robert Trent Jones Jr. Scuplts
World Class Linksland Masterpiece
The lone tree at Chambers Bay looms over the 15th green.
When all the golf course designs had been submitted for the proposed Chambers Bay course in early 2004, Bruce Charlton, partner in the famed Robert Trent Jones design company, wanted to leave one final impression on the Pierce County decision makers.
He handed out bag tags that read: Chambers Bay — Site of the 2020 U.S. Open
"We told them, 'This is just to let you guys know, here's where we think we can take it,'" Charlton recalled.
It's not certain if that pushed them over the top, but the RTJ architects won the design bid and next month their remarkable three-year transformation project officially will be unveiled. The Jones designers, given an abandoned and degraded gravel mining pit, turned it into a sparkling links-style layout on the edge of the Puget Sound. Chambers Bay Golf Course is this region's most wildly anticipated opening in memory. And among those taking a keen interest are executives from the United States Golf Association (USGA), which decides on the locations for future U.S. Opens.
The 610-acre site, used for gravel operations for more than 100 years, was purchased by the county in 1995 for $33 million. There had been various proposed uses for the land but Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg wanted to hold it in the public trust. He didn't want to sub-divide it and he had an unshakable myopic vision for a world-class golf course. He pushed hard for a links course, open to the public, not country club exclusivity.
"We had the ability to do something unparalleled," said Charlton, whose company was selected from 56 other proposals. "We really took a close, hard look at what Pierce County was saying. The county executive asked us, 'Why can't this be the Pacific Northwest's Pebble Beach?' That was music to our ears."
Robert Trent Jones, Jr., who took over the company from his father in 1974 and has designed more than 230 courses around the world, said when he first set foot on the property he imagined himself as the course architect version of Michelangelo at the Carrara marble pits.
Oh, what he could shape this land into.
"Ladenburg was the pope here and we hoped he chose us," Jones said. "After the design review, we were chosen I think because we had the most passion."
It was a massive undertaking. The course design carved up more than 250 acres of the property, which was overrun with pesky blackberry bushes, scotch broom and swampy sediment ponds. But it had two elements essential to golf course building — tons of sand and a ready supply of water, both from a huge aquafir under the site and reclaimed water from the sewage-treatment plant south of the property.
The sand, a byproduct of the mining operations, was in giant piles. Much of the $23 million spent on the project went to moving 1.4 million cubic yards of sand, cleaning and screening it, then replacing it along the entire layout, 12 inches deep.
Ladenburg has been credited by virtually everyone as the visionary who set the standard high for the course. He wanted it be a lasting and nationally known symbol for the Tacoma area.
"This had never been done before in Washington state," Ladenburg said. "So when I announced this, people said, 'What?' because it's different than what we were used to. There was a lot of controversy. But down the road this will be an identifier for this region. People will forget (the controversy) and have a sense of pride over it. It turned out better than I thought it could, and I had high hopes."
What is a "links" course? A links course is defined as the area or "link" between a large body of water and farmlands, just like the original links courses in Scotland and Ireland. It is generally near an estuary and has sandy soil with thin grass. There are few, if any, water hazards and trees, but a multitude of bunkers.
His hopes are high enough that his ultimate dream of hosting a U.S. Open — which has never been contested in the Northwest — one day will be realized at Chambers Bay.
"I think it could be a permanent PGA Tour stop," Ladenburg said. "The USGA has been on site several times and they'll be back next month. So I'm very encouraged."
A links course is defined as the area, or 'link,' between a large body of water and farm lands, just like the original links courses in Scotland and Ireland. It is generally near an estuary and has sandy soil with thin grass. There are few, if any, water hazards but a multitude of bunkers. There also are not many trees — Chambers has just one behind the 15th green. It's a wide-open, undulating terrain in which the golfer can take many routes to the hole.
"We borrowed principles from the great links courses of the past," Jones said.
Chambers Bay comes closer to a links style than Pebble Beach. It's more like the popular Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes courses on the southern Oregon coast. The Puget Sound laps right next to Chambers, separated only by a train track that runs along the western edge. The elevation starts at about 15 feet above sea level to nearly 250 feet as the entire layout tilts toward the water.
The course can play long, up to 7,500 yards from the tips, but there will be five tee locations so anyone can feel comfortable. The sandy, gyrated terrain drains well for a "firm and fast" feel. The thin and wispy fescue grass on the dunes — still growing in — allows you to find your errant shot and hit through it without much restraint. But it's a challenge to play, with a back tees course rating of 76.9 and slope rating of 135. That's higher than the past six U.S. Opens.
Among its unique aspects is that riding carts are not allowed. This is a walking-only course, other than a rare handicap exception. That was a major debate — carts vs. walking — between the designers and Pierce County overseers. The designers argued that they couldn't do things they needed to do if cart paths were involved in the process. It wasn't logistically possible or aesthetically acceptable. They were persuasive and the result is a more natural, eye-pleasing and richly engineered design.
"By walking, you get a real feel for the true aspects of links golf," says General Manager Joe Wisocki.
Pull carts are available or, for the best experience of all, you can hire a caddy. Wisocki said the course has developed a caddy program that he hopes can blossom into a scholarship program for the youngsters.
It's a challenge, with a back tees course rating of 76.9 and a slope rating of 135. That's higher than the past six U.S.Opens.
The 250-acre site is unusually large for a golf course. In fact, both Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes would just about fit inside the Chambers Bay footprint. Some of that space is necessary for the style of course and some will be needed should it be selected for a major event. TV trucks, corporate tents, grandstands, merchandise stands and parking take up an enormous amount of space. Chambers Bay has the space and the Tacoma/Seattle area has the rooms, restaurants and transportation to facilitate an event.
"We saw a couple aerial photos beforehand that got our hearts racing a little bit," said Jay Blasi, one of the RTJ course designers. "But when we first set foot on the property we were like kids in a candy store, running up the dunes and high five-ing."
Charlton said they were constantly thinking "outside of the box" for the project. They wanted to have echoes of some of the great European courses such as the Old Course at St. Andrews and Royal Dornoch in Scotland and Ballybunion or Royal County Down in Ireland, yet still have its own identity and character.
Your first impression, as you look down from a high point along the Grandview trail that parallels the eastern border, is that it's conspicuously devoid of trees. You see ribbons of green fairways among soft-shouldered dunes. For anyone who loves golf, it gets the blood churning.
Three of the holes near the starter's hut are roughy parallel, No. 1, No. 18 — which share a fairway — and No. 10. Huge sandy dunes which frame the holes appear to be in a quite natural setting. But these holes, particularly No. 1 and No. 10, had to be shaped out of a 60-foot dune wall that ran across the length of all three holes. The fairways have been lowered 45 feet to allow the golfers to drive through.
You also will notice a half dozen giant concrete walls parallel to the 18th fairway. These are the remnants of gravel sorting bins once used by the mining companies. The designers loved them and incorporated them into the ambiance, believing that they not only retain the area's character but offer a sort of "Stonehenge" appeal.
The first three holes, along with No. 15, 16, 17 and No. 18 tee, are adjacent to the water, with wonderful views of water traffic and the Fox, McNeil, Anderson and Ketron Islands. No. 2 tee is actually sheltered by dunes but on the second shot the Sound is revealed.
"You touch the water early and late," Blasi said. "We tried to build that sense of drama."
Besides the high dunes, there is an abundance of sandy waste areas. They are to be avoided, if possible, but you can play out of them. It takes a delicate shot because your club might pick up some of the heavy sand as it whips through.
Chambers Bay is already being compared to Pebble Beach, Bandon Dunes and Crail in Scotland, made famous in the Michael Murphy book "Golf in the Kingdom."
One of the course's most vast waste areas — seven acres — is just off the tee and along the right side in a very difficult par 4, 480-yard (sand tees), dogleg-right, mostly uphill No. 4 hole. Like many of the holes, however, a golfer can bump-and-run a shot up the left side of the fairway onto the green, using side and kick slopes to guide the ball toward the three-tier surface.
In a unique twist certainly for this region (but a throwback to ancient times), the golfer has a choice of two greens on No. 5. You can go the short route, to a par 4, 320-yard green on the left side or one that is 441 yards away down the middle.
During some pre-opening rounds to assess the course, there was some discussion that holes No. 7, 8 and 9 are the "Amen Corner" of Chambers Bay because of their difficulty. There's some argument for that. The par-4, 449-yard (sand tees) No. 7 is perhaps the most difficult to par because it's all uphill, there's a large waste area on the right with two dunes in the center of the fairway and a roller coaster green. That's followed by the No. 1 handicap hole, the narrow par-5, 523-yard (602 yards from the tips) No. 8 that has big trouble on both sides. Then No. 9 is a 168-yard, par-3, with a 90-foot drop off onto a smallish green.
No. 12, a short 262-yard, par 4, is the best example of how the architects used the natural setting to subtly crave out a hole. They used the same path used by the miners and kept the dunes protecting the green on either side relatively intact. The green, however, dips and rises dramatically. From the tee, you might be tempted to go for it, which is exactly what the designers want you to do.
Holes such as No. 5, No. 9 and No. 14 have the best vantage points to see the whole layout along with the Sound and islands. It's breath-taking, especially on the tee from 14.
The par-3, 127-yard No. 15 hole is what many might call the signature hole because of the lone fir behind the green. It's the course's natural landmark.
The wind can be a factor — for and against — down the stretch and along the water. No. 16 has a relative pea-sized green, difficult to target. The par-3, 142-yard 17th is surrounded by bunkers and waste area. Then the par-5, 514-yard (604 from the tips) 18th hole is a magnificent final test. The designers shaped a ring of dunes around the hole — just in case 100,000 or so fans want to sit in grandstands to watch the little white ball.
In the meantime, there should be plenty of tee times available between U.S. Opens. Because it's a Pierce County project, county residents get a break on greens fees. It will cost $85 Monday through Thursday in season and $100 on the weekends, not including caddy fees ($35 plus gratuity). For non-Pierce County residents, the fees jump to $135 and $150.
It is believed that once the word gets out the course can attract close to 40,000 rounds a year. Because the terrain drains so efficiently and there is a "play with the elements" attitude with links golf, the county promoters believe it will have high year-round use.
"In the end, it's very unique to the area, offering challenges to the top flight players and fun to play for the intermediate and beginning players," Tipton added. "It's been quite an evolutionary process to take a property that was not pristine with a moon-like landscape and shape it into the something that's easy to walk through with these exciting holes. It's amazing what can be done in 12 to 15 months."
Photos courtesy of Chambers Bay