CHAMBERS BAY WILL provide a spectacular U.S. Open Championship experience this week.
The size, scope and challenge of the course for the players will enthrall spectators.
Will those participating fall in love with the quirk-filled layout?
That may be a different story, based on the varied opinions being thrown around early this week.
I think the United States Golf Association will be back soon to Chambers Bay, maybe not on as regular a basis as courses on the U.S. Open rotation like Pinehurst No. 2 or Bethpage Black, but maybe more on a 15-20 year cycle.
Do your homework
Those attending a championship round Thursday through Sunday must scout out viewing locations before boarding a spectator shuttle.
The footprint of the facility is massive. To walk the entire 18-hole course is a daunting task — there’s more than 1,000 feet of elevation gain through a track that can play between 7,200 and 7,900 yards.
Tiger Woods is one of a number of pros opting to play nine-hole practice rounds in advance of the tournament.
“You feel like you’ve played 18 after you’ve played nine, anyway, because every hole seems to be uphill,” Woods said.
“And I don’t want to walk eight miles each day.”
With all the hills and mounds at Chambers, a traditional roping system in the rough off of fairways is impossible. Anyone could easily take a nasty tumble while trying to clamber around.
To reduce that risk, there are grandstands that in some spots provide multiple viewing options.
The biggest, a C-shaped grandstand capable of holding 6,000 spectators, wraps behind the 18th green.
Stadium golf, for certain.
A potential choke point for traffic occurs behind the 18th green.
The players exit off the green and walk across a path leading in front of the 10th tee box and out toward the back nine and other amenities.
Traffic bottles up when players come off the course, or if players are teeing off on No. 10.
I’m not sure how that will be handled, but there is a detour, up and around the 10th teebox and back over to the pathway.
The 17th hole is a par-3 near the railroad tracks along the shore. A grandstand behind the green offers the best chance to catch a breeze at the coolest corner of the course.
If you want to another shot at a breeze, the 16th green grandstand also is near the water.
Get a seat high enough in the stands and you should be able to turn around and watch tee shots on the 17th.
The grandstand near the sixth green allows views of the seventh and 11th holes, plus tee shots on the fifth and 14th holes.
Binoculars also will offer some limited views of the eighth hole.
Depending on how the USGA chooses to setup the ninth hole, whether from an elevated tee box with a 37-yard drop to the green, or a 200-yard uphill tee shot, the grandstand at the ninth hole also is a good choice.
The northwest corner of the grandstand allows for views of the ninth green of course, players teeing off the first hole, players coming in on the 18th and those teeing off on the 10th.
Course conditions
Nearly a month of uninterrupted sunshine has made an impact on Chambers Bay.
Mother Nature hasn’t turned on the faucet and it doesn’t appear the USGA has, either, although USGA executive director Mike Davis says otherwise.
Even in June, the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay will resemble a British Open.
The fine fescue grass that is everywhere on the course, tee boxes, greens, aprons, fairways, mounds, is a speckled brownish-green.
From tee to green, the course’s color palette runs a gamut of different shades of brown, interspersed with lighter tones of green in the fairways and gray dunes-like sand areas.
Despite what some reports are relaying, the greens are healthy, and putts are rolling true, not bouncing to the hole.
I stood in the media area behind the 18th green for about 30 minutes Monday and watched 10 to 15 players putt around the green’s slopes and noticed smooth lines, with no jagged, interrupted approaches.
It doesn’t quite resemble what I remember from the 2010 U.S. Amateur, when every aspect of the course was browned out for the stroke play portion of that tournament, but I think the USGA and the course superintendents will need to walk a fine line with use of water in order to keep it a difficult but fair test of skill.
Other must-haves
Patience.
Fans will ride spectator shuttles to the event, stand in warm temperatures and direct sunlight for hours, wait in lines for food and drink and bathrooms, all while hiking up and down a course that laughs at any “gently rolling” description.
Fans were in good spirits Monday, understanding of the wait times and the walk.
Binoculars are a necessity. It’s difficult to spot the ball off the tee, and without an encyclopedic memory of what each player looks like, it will be tough to tell who’s coming next.
Much has been made of the lack of shade on the course, so bring ample sunscreen.
Spectator Square
Down on the flattest portion of the course, the Central Meadow has been refashioned into Spectator Square, complete with the main 41,000-square feet Merchandise Pavilion, USGA Member Clubhouse, which had long lines Monday, a food court, and other activities such as a virtual long-drive contest.
Attendees will have to remember they are at a sporting event when they get hungry and reach for their wallets.
I wouldn’t say the USGA is gouging fans, but pack some cash for the concessions. Fans will need fuel to hike around the course.
Snacks ranged from $2 to $3 for cookies, potato chips and bagels, to $7 to $10 for burgers and sandwiches.
There are higher-end options from the Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse tent and the Seafood Shack.
This is where I take a little offense with the fare, the USGA choosing not to go with local seafood options and instead offering up items like $12 New England lobster rolls.
Where’s the crab cakes made from Dungeness crab?
Other seafood items include a blackened shrimp hoagie for $9.50, and a grilled salmon sandwich for $13. Booth workers stared at me blankly when I inquired whether the latter was made with Atlantic or Pacific salmon.
Beers are $6.50 for Bud Light, $7 for a microbrew, with Shock Top an option.
Wine was $8 a glass.
Bottled water was $2.50.
Soft drinks and juices were a dollar more.
Hot dogs are $5.50 and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are $3.
There are concession stands at about every third hole around the course, so no need to go hungry or thirsty.
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Golf columnist Michael Carman can be reached at 360-417-3525 or pdngolf@gmail.com.
