Chambers Bay facts for kids
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View from south in 2015
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| Club information | |
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 Location in the United States
Location in Washington (state)
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| Coordinates | 47°12′N 122°34′W / 47.20°N 122.57°W |
| Location | University Place, Washington, U.S. |
| Established | June 23, 2007 18 years ago |
| Type | Public |
| Owned by | Pierce County |
| Operated by | KemperSports |
| Total holes | 18 |
| Tournaments hosted | U.S. Amateur (2010), U.S. Open (2015), U.S. Amateur Four-Ball (2021), U.S. Women's Amateur (2022) |
| Greens | Poa annua (full green replacement 2017-2019), formerly fine fescue |
| Website | chambersbaygolf.com |
| Designed by | Robert Trent Jones Jr. |
| Par | 72 |
| Length | 7,585 yards (6,936 m) |
| Course rating | 74.3 (Navy) |
| Slope rating | 139 (Navy) |
Chambers Bay is a public golf course located in University Place, Washington, in the United States. It sits right next to Puget Sound, which is southwest of Tacoma, Washington. This golf course is special because it's designed in a "British links" style. This means it looks like the old golf courses found along the coast in places like Scotland.
Pierce County owns Chambers Bay, and it first opened on June 23, 2007. Since then, it has hosted some very important golf tournaments. These include the U.S. Amateur in 2010 and the famous U.S. Open in 2015.
Contents
Building a Unique Golf Course
Chambers Bay was designed by a famous golf course architect named Robert Trent Jones Jr.. The golf course covers about 250 acres. It is part of a much larger 930-acre park owned by Pierce County. This park also has walking trails and other fun areas for people to enjoy.
From Quarry to Golf Course
Before it became a golf course, the land was a big quarry. A quarry is a place where people dig up sand and gravel from the ground. Pierce County bought this land in 1992 for $33 million. For many years, before the park was built, the area was a popular spot for people who liked to ride off-road vehicles and dirt bikes.
The Idea for Chambers Bay
John Ladenburg, who was in charge of Pierce County at the time, loved golf. He had the idea to turn the old quarry into a golf course. His big dream was for Chambers Bay to host major golf championships, like the U.S. Open. Not everyone agreed with his idea at first, but Ladenburg worked hard to make it happen. He also chose the team that would design and manage the new course.
The course was designed to look like the natural Oregon Dunes. It was also inspired by another well-known public course, Torrey Pines Golf Course in California. Because the weather in the Pacific Northwest is similar to the British coast, a "links-style" design was a perfect fit. Building the course cost $20.7 million. Some people called it "Ladenburg's Folly," meaning they thought it was a silly or wasteful idea. However, most golfers really liked the new course once it opened.
How Chambers Bay Was Built
Building Chambers Bay was a huge project. Workers moved about 1.4 million cubic yards of dirt and sand. That's more than 100,000 truckloads! This material was taken away, cleaned, and then brought back to shape the golf course. At the time, the area was still allowed to operate as a mine. This meant there were fewer rules for the architects, which helped them create the unique design.
Hosting Major Golf Events
In February 2008, the United States Golf Association (USGA) announced that Chambers Bay would host the 2015 U.S. Open. This was a very exciting announcement! A study showed that the U.S. Open brought in $134 million for the local economy. It also generated $16.8 million in tax money. About 110,000 different people visited the event, and one-third of them came from outside Washington state.
There were plans to build a special train platform for the Sounder commuter train to bring visitors from Seattle. However, these plans were later canceled because of difficulties with how to manage the trains and the costs.
Playing at Chambers Bay
Chambers Bay offers five different sets of tees for golfers to choose from. These range in length from 5,250 yards to 7,585 yards. Since it's a public course, people who live in Pierce County get special lower prices to play.
Walking the Course
This course is designed for walkers only. You can hire a caddie to help you, but it's not required. Golf carts are only allowed for people who have medical conditions or disabilities. If you use a cart, you must also hire a caddie to drive it for you.
One interesting feature of Chambers Bay is that the greens do not have a clear edge. The fairway grass blends smoothly right into the green.
Course Details
Chambers Bay has only one tree on the entire course. It's a Douglas fir located behind the 15th green.
| Tee | Rating/Slope | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Navy | 75.6 / 139 | 559 | 395 | 167 | 530 | 465 | 418 | 482 | 557 | 227 | 3800 | 398 | 457 | 281 | 485 | 496 | 139 | 396 | 172 | 541 | 3365 | 7165 |
| Sand | 72.4 / 135 | 501 | 365 | 145 | 480 | 441 | 369 | 449 | 523 | 202 | 3475 | 360 | 425 | 262 | 453 | 407 | 116 | 359 | 142 | 514 | 3038 | 6513 |
| White | M:70.2/127 L:76.2/137 | 465 | 337 | 130 | 424 | 423 | 315 | 435 | 488 | 168 | 3185 | 330 | 402 | 246 | 437 | 383 | 103 | 323 | 119 | 487 | 2830 | 6015 |
| Handicap | Men's | 3 | 13 | 17 | 5 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 15 | 10 | 8 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 18 | 12 | 16 | 4 | |||
| Par | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 37 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 35 | 72 | |
| Handicap | Women's | 3 | 11 | 17 | 7 | 9 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 15 | 8 | 4 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 12 | 18 | 2 | |||
| Blue | 71.5 / 128 | 436 | 301 | 111 | 347 | 323 | 283 | 415 | 441 | 132 | 2789 | 311 | 378 | 219 | 348 | 309 | 91 | 279 | 92 | 462 | 2489 | 5278 |
Championship Tees Layout
| Hole | Name | Yards | Par | Hole | Name | Yards | Par | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Puget Sound | 598/496 | 5/4 | 10 | High Dunes | 436 | 4 | |
| 2 | Foxy | 399 | 4 | 11 | Shadows | 537 | 4 | |
| 3 | Blown Out | 198 | 3 | 12 | The Narrows | 311 | 4 | |
| 4 | Hazard's Ascent | 495 | 4 | 13 | Eagle Eye | 534 | 4 | |
| 5 | Free Fall | 488 | 4 | 14 | Cape Fear | 546 | 4 | |
| 6 | Deception Point | 495 | 4 | 15 | Lone Fir | 246/167 | 3 | |
| 7 | Humpback | 508 | 4 | 16 | Beached | 423 | 4 | |
| 8 | High Road Low Road | 614 | 5 | 17 | Derailed | 218 | 3 | |
| 9 | Olympus | 224/217 | 3 | 18 | Tahoma | 604/525 | 5/4 | |
| Out | 4,019/3,910 | 36/35 | In | 3,855/3,697 | 35/34 | |||
| Championship tees: Rating=78.1, Slope=146 | Total | 7,874/7,607 | 70 | |||||
| Hole | Name | Yards | Par | Hole | Name | Yards | Par | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Puget Sound | 559 | 5 | 10 | High Dunes | 398 | 4 | |
| 2 | Foxy | 395 | 4 | 11 | Shadows | 457 | 4 | |
| 3 | Blown Out | 167 | 3 | 12 | The Narrows | 281 | 4 | |
| 4 | Hazard's Ascent | 530 | 5 | 13 | Eagle Eye | 485 | 4 | |
| 5 | Free Fall | 465 | 4 | 14 | Cape Fear | 496 | 4 | |
| 6 | Deception Point | 418 | 4 | 15 | Lone Fir | 139 | 3 | |
| 7 | Humpback | 482 | 4 | 16 | Beached | 396 | 4 | |
| 8 | High Road Low Road | 557 | 5 | 17 | Derailed | 172 | 3 | |
| 9 | Olympus | 227 | 3 | 18 | Tahoma | 541 | 5 | |
| Out | 3,800 | 37 | In | 3,365 | 35 | |||
| Navy tees: Rating=75.6, Slope=139 | Total | 7,165 | 72 | |||||
Managing Chambers Bay
The company that runs Chambers Bay Golf Course is called Kemper Sports Management. This company also manages other golf courses nearby, like Lake Spanaway Golf Course. They also operate Bandon Dunes on the Oregon coast.
Chambers Bay is part of a larger area called Chambers Creek Properties. This area offers many fun activities besides golf. There's a three-mile (5 km) walking trail that goes through part of the golf course.
In 2016, there was a plan to build a resort at Chambers Bay. This resort would include an 80-room hotel, spaces for events, and a restaurant by famous chef Tom Douglas.
Exciting Golf Tournaments and Events
Chambers Bay has been chosen to host several important golf tournaments by the United States Golf Association (USGA).
- It hosted the U.S. Amateur in 2010. For this event, the course was set at 7,742 yards, making it the longest course in USGA history at that time.
- In 2015, Chambers Bay hosted the U.S. Open. This is one of the biggest golf tournaments in the world! All the tickets for the final round and weekly passes sold out almost a year before the event. The famous golfer Jordan Spieth won this tournament.
- Chambers Bay also hosted the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball in 2021. This tournament replaced another event called the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship.
- In August 2022, the course welcomed the U.S. Women's Amateur. Saki Baba won this exciting competition.
- Looking ahead, the USGA has chosen Chambers Bay to host the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2027 and the U.S. Amateur again in 2033.
