The 2015 US Open: A Glimpse at Chambers Bay
 

After doing a Trip Report on The Masters and receiving such wonderful feedback I figured there may be some golf fan's out there who want to see a little more of Chambers Bay; the site of the US Open.

I apologize in advance, I had far less opportunity to photograph Chambers then I did Augusta so I have very few photos. Also, where I was able to provide an inside look at 'The National' going to Chambers Bay was a bit "nothing to see here folks." All of the structures are temporary pop-ups, the locker rooms don't have running water, just really classy out houses behind them. There was no nearly 100 year old buildings to tour, or fine landscaping to admire. Chambers Bay is a golf course and little else. It is beautiful, terrifying and hypnotically sprawled across the side of a hill like a ribbon of torn from a Christmas gift and tossed to the ground.

Novice golfers need not apply, so without further adieu....Chambers Bay:

Player Dining:
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Every rail, on every grandstand is hand painted. There are grandstands for 18,000 fans.
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After time on the driving range, the group I was with headed to the first tee - which requires a bus ride - and saw FOX shooting trophy "B" roll.
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Grandstands surrounding the massive 18th green
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Stay out of the rough!
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The trophy was following us.....an omen?
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The green is marked why white painted dots four feet apart. Can you tell which side of that dot is the putting surface? It does not matter, the fairways, greens and green complex are all cut to the same height. The answer was: Everything right of that dot is the putting green. https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/559/18...c553d761_c.jpg

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Filling in as the flag on a blind approach
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Chambers Bay's single tree
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Sneds
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Looking across the 11th hole from the 4th tee.
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OK, sure.
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One of the many bunker complexes or as the players call it "double death."

"I wish it was a lake, because that way if I hit it in there I'd only have a one stroke penalty" - Ernie Els
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Your double bogey is right downstairs sir.
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I got to catch up with The Big Easy
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The monster 9th hole. 230 yards that plays about 190.
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Look, an abandon TV tower.......
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A view of the 18th, the 1st and the Puget sound
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Not all of the fairways are wide and welcoming
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The back tee on the 18th hole
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If you are wondering why there are so few photos it's because I ended up filling in as a loop! With the multiple tee complexes and different par's on several holes the players have 21 or 22 holes to learn, not the regular 18. Coach and caddie were so busy using laser scopes and making notes I ended up with the bag. I knew I should I packed at least one pair of shorts! :D
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Enjoy,
M59

Looks awesome. Great photos. Was going to go over for the week and regret not now! Looking forward to a weekend on the couch watching.Going to be fascinating to see how they get on. Get a bit of wind up and it could get fun! Just hope the USGA are sensible.

Who's the player you follow if you don't mind me asking? If you would rather not say I completely understand that too

As promised!!

You are really getting me hooked on this four lettered word: G-O-L-F.:D:D

Nice - one of my "ToDo"-courses.
I hope that Martin Kaymar will play as well as last year (the moment I am writing this, he had an eagle and a double bogey successively ... great! :mad:)

No problem for me, since I mostly play Stableford.
I would just walk down the stairs, collect my ball and walk right to the next hole - Skipping the part, where I dig myself into that sand and, after a couple of missed attempts, have to remodel the whole area ... ;)

nice. man that bag looks HEAVY! not caddyshack Rodney bag heavy but heavy....

Great pictures! Quite an odd course by normal US Open standards. I can now see why people are comparing it to the links in Scotland. Oh well, no such thing as a bad golf course! :D

That is way too cool. As a big golf fan ( well watching I'm really bad playing) I want to play 'guess who madone works for' so bad lol. Keep the pics coming and best of luck to your pro!

Super pictures, thanks.

How are the greens close up?

Thanks ESFLYER95. I don't think you are missing much, unless you get a grandstand seat there isn't much to see and whole parts of the course are completely inaccessible to fans like 7,8,9 for example. You'll have a better view from your sofa. Sorry, I prefer to keep my employer anonymous so he isn't searchable along with my FT profile and any opinions I have - thank you for understanding.

roadwarrier There are worse things to be hooked on ;). Glad you enjoyed, sorry there weren't more photos.

Thanks Askartus. Your man Kymer MC(hammered) as they say on tour - sorry. If that is one of your to-do courses bring your big-boy legs and two boxes of balls :D. If you play it send me a PM, I'm interested in a non-pro's take on it.


mkjr So heavy!

UAL250 I'm glad you enjoyed. Yes, it is an odd course, the elevation changes make it really hard to figure out.

xyzvlad You are welcome to shoot me a PM with your guess, I'll tell you the truth if you'r right....I just don't want him associated with my posts. I'm glad you enjoyed the TR!!

Thanks stevie. Up close the greens look just like they do on TV.....bad. The issue is that some of those slopes and runoffs players are using to move their ball around the greens stimp at nearly 20 and the greens stimp at 12. So you can be off the green, on the same cut but putting through something far faster than the green. It's odd. I putted on a few holes and each is different, there is not speed to learn.

Haha I'll probably take your offer. I've always been fascinated by what's happening behind the scenes as far as travelling and accommodations go in Pro Sports. If you and your friend ever want to do a little tourney-to-tourney trip report, it will be pretty sweet.

Very nice report.... Chambers bay very disappointing from a players and TV spectators PoV. Watched the interviews with Poulter and Montgomerie and that says it all. What were the USGA thinking of ?

Really? I could not disagree more. How many years did players have notice of this course? I love it. And yes, sure, players wanted a wet course so they could throw darts at the green. I love the drought weather for this.

There is no wind either.

USGA, GREAT choice.

Remember the moaning when they played pebble?

What a fantastic last day.

If you don't agree, you probably did not watch the end. :D

Sister at the course said it was awesome. Hard and fast. Sure, not typical for this time of year in pac NW, but hey, you'd rather have sun and no wind of shiity rain and lush and slow greens and wind. I love the course conditions and might try to fly back and play it with my uncle before it grows back.

Haha. Speith wins.

Amazing pictures. I watched a little bit on tv over the weekend and watched the final 2 holes. Did I miss why everything is so brown? Surely Seattle isnt lacking that much rain.

lowest snow pack in decades and pretty much no rainfall since April...well, lowest amount of rainfall in the last 25 years or so for May and i don't think it rained much in june with well above average temperatures. great for those that are used to the wet weather...no so great for a lot of stuff.