USGA awards Chambers Bay 2010 U.S. Amateur & 2015 U.S. Open

Brian Beaky Cascade Golfer Editor

I first heard the news via text message, and from the lack of capitalization or punctuation, I could tell it had been typed with a rushed, excited hand, wanting to be the first to spread the news — “the 2015 us open is coming to tacoma[sic]”. Now, as with I’m sure many of you who have lived and golfed in the Northwest all your life, I almost instantly had two reactions — the first was to think, “Holy cow! That’s awesome!” followed seconds later by, “Darn, now everyone’s going to know about Chambers Bay!” That reaction typifies the conflict that exists in nearly all Northwesterners — we’re fiercely proud of our region and will trumpet its natural beauty, multiculturalism and its status as one of the nation’s most forward-thinking social and economic centers to anyone who challenges us with talk of endless rain and long, gray winters. On the other hand, we desperately want to keep all of this a secret, so that we can continue to have this wonderful region all to ourselves. Well, suffice to say, after the USGA’s announcement in February that one of the world’s premier sporting events, the U.S. Open, will be hosted on the shores of Puget Sound in 2015, the secret is most definitely out. A quick Google search in the days following the announcement turned up thousands of newspaper and magazine articles, blogs and chats from as far away as England and Japan, all asking the same question —“Where in the world is Chambers Bay?” The international community were hardly the only ones surprised by the USGA’s decision — even those who helped build Chambers Bay have been blown away by its rapid ascent into the realm of the world’s most-talked-about courses.

Golf Digest writer Ron Whitten called Chambers ‘the hottest municipal golf course on the planet.’

“Our hard work has paid off as we have done everything possible to attract the attention of a prestigious championship,” Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg said, shortly after the announcement was made. “Even so, we never dreamed we’d be chosen by the USGA to host both the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open championships. Especially not so close to the opening of the course. It is a true honor.” It was only 12 months ago that Cascade Golfer was helping introduce the 230-acre course, built by Pierce County for $20.7 million in an old sand and gravel quarry, to the world at large in our premier issue. Bob Sherwin’s lead to the story cited an anecdote from 2004, when course co-designer Bruce Charlton handed out bag tags in an effort to convince Pierce County decision makers to move forward with Charlton and Robert Trent Jones, Jr.’s revolutionary links-style course design. The tags read, “Chambers Bay — Site of the 2020 U.S. Open”. How does 2015 sound, Bruce? In the nine months since Chambers Bay officially opened to the world, more than 19,000 rounds have already been played on and around its Scottish-style dunes and rough-free, treeless fairways, creating a buzz that has reached all the way to USGA headquarters in New Jersey. Much of Chambers’ appeal is its accessibility — unlike the vast majority of the world’s truly elite golf courses, accessible only to the mega-rich and social elite, Chambers Bay is a municipal course open year-round to any pro, hack or weekend duffer with a golf bag and a few hours to spare. It’s everything we love about the Northwest — naturally beautiful and socially indiscriminate — and everything we love about golf — challenging yet rewarding, frustrating and exhilarating, classically designed yet sophisticated — all wrapped into one, a populist haven entirely without pretension. And now it’s about to go big-time. In the wake of the USGA’s lid-blowing announcement, Golf Digest writer Ron Whitten, himself a noted course designer, called Chambers “the hottest municipal golf course on the planet. Hotter than Torrey Pines, site of this year’s U.S. Open, hotter than Bethpage Black, which will see its second U.S. Open this decade in 2009, hotter even than the brand new Castle Course at St. Andrews, Scotland, which, though utterly spectacular, will probably never receive an equivalent blue ribbon, a British Open.” Golf Magazine named Chambers Bay the No.1 new course in the nation in 2007. So did Travel + Leisure Golf. Editors at Golfweek named it not only one of the best courses of the year, but the No. 2 new course of the past three years — oh, by the way, trailing only another of our little Northwest gems, Bandon Dunes in Oregon. So it is that our little corner of the world is this month’s hottest topic in the international golf community. Seven years from now, the Puget Sound region will play host to Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh and the rest of golf’s competitive giants, and the eyes of the entire globe will be opened as to the beauty and appeal of the Pacific Northwest. We can’t keep the world out forever. For a little while longer, though, Chambers Bay still belongs to us.

Ten facts you need to know about Chambers Bay

1. Designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr.
2. Is the first Jones-designed course to be awarded a U.S. Open.
3. At a cost of $20.7 million, is one of the most expensive municipal courses ever built.
4. Will be just the third municipal course ever to host a U.S. Open, joining Bethpage Black in New York (2002, ’09) and Torrey Pines in San Diego (2008).
5. More than 1.4 million cubic yards of sand and gravel were moved to create the dunes and other geographic features.
6. Will host the first U.S. Open ever held in the Pacific Northwest.
7. Built on a 930-acre sand and gravel quarry.
8. Boasts just one tree, a Douglas fir behind the 15th green.
9. Has no cart paths — and no carts. Walking is mandatory.
10. Signature hole may be the par-4 5th, which drops 50 feet to two separate greens, 150 yards apart. Golfers may choose which green to attack.