The Man Behind The Curtain
Davis, too, will be hovering during the countdown. He has had as much impact on this course as the original architects, the renowned RTJ II Golf Course Architects team, headed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr. Davis walked the property when it was just gravel and gunk. He watched bulldozers shape the terrain. He was there when the grass was applied. He knows what it once was and has the vision for what it can be. That’s why, just seven months into its operation, Davis was instrumental in the USGA’s decision to award Chambers the U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Open.
“I think he staked his reputation a bit on the decision to come here,’’ Allen has said. “I don’t think he’s nervous about that decision. (But) it’s a bold move.’’
Davis talks with Allen a couple times a month and visits the course two or three times a year. He has directed an assortment of changes, particularly ones made evident after the Amateur.
Just about every hole has had some alteration, some significantly. The first hole might be the best example. During the Open, this hole will vary between a par-4 and a par-5. A new back tee complex has been added at more than 600 yards, the landing area will be squeezed by infringing rough on each side and the green approach has been softened for better access from the right side.
Uniquely, when No. 1 rotates from a par-4 to a par-5, No. 18 will counter from its usual par-5 to a par-4, allowing the Open to be played at a par-70 each day.
No. 13 was a par-5 during the Amateur and was, by far, the easiest hole to score. Davis wanted the rebuilt green to allow the approach shot to be more receptive. Then he changed it from a par-5 to a par-4, still in the 500-yard range. Greens No. 1, No. 4 and No. 7 also were rebuilt and reseeded. They’ll have restricted access this summer and beyond to allow hardy growth.
Davis already has jotted down the various distances for the four par-3s. No. 3 will play 193, 163 and 142 yards; No. 9 will play 224, 217 and 202 yards; No. 15 will play 246, 167 and 123 yards; and No. 17 will play 218, 172 and 119 yards.
For the dramatically elevated No. 9 hole, tucked into the hillside in the southeast corner of the property, Davis requested a tee position completely separate from the high stair-step tee locations. He had a tee built on the valley floor, near the old driving range. It’s nearly the same level as the green and the direct 202-yard approach allows use of the distant bank to help draw the ball back toward the hole.
“The angle is completely different,’’ says Larry Gilhuly, the Northwest director of the USGA’s Green Section who reports to Davis. “From a playing standpoint, it’s going to be unique.
“This is not a normal golf course,” Gilhuly continues. “You are going to see a creation of shots that are out of this world. We saw that at the Amateur, where guys were hitting up banks and bringing it back. That’s what’s going to make it unique.’’
Danny Sink, the USGA’s Championship Director, adds, “This is what Mike Davis wants. He wants those guys challenged on every shot. He doesn’t want two shots the same the entire length of the championship. There are five different ways to play every hole out there based on pin placement, teeing areas, what we do with the fairways. It’s truly going to be a challenging golf course.’’
Davis is everywhere and everything in the game. You’ll see him in the background at most tournaments. He determines rough length, pin positions and tee positions, and oversees the rules of the game and standards of equipment. His impact on the game – and certainly Chambers Bay – has been enormous. Davis, though, says that when it comes to the U.S. Open, the tournament takes center stage, not the tournament director.
“I’m trying to do things right for game and right for the U.S. Open,” Davis says. “If we do it right, it’s going to be about Chambers Bay and those 156 players playing. That’s what we want to see talked about. If I end up talking in the press tent, then things haven’t gone right.’’