My wife and I take a trip for our anniversary every year. This year I had sold Bandon Dunes to my wife. She isnt a golfer but the hiking and scenery had her sold. We called Bandon in November to get a room in April. We were told we were about 8 months late. I could golf but I wasnt staying on property. The cost got a little too high for us at that point so we had some thinking to do. I still wanted a world class golf experience and she wanted good hiking. That led us to settle on Seattle. She got beautiful mountains and I got the chance to play Chambers Bay.

You may remember Chambers for the 2015 US Open. It was an awful looking course. There was no green on the fairways and the fescue greens were getting taken over by the Poa Annua so it looked bumpy and splotchy. Frankly, it was a bad look for a US Open course. After talking to some folks there (obviously biased) I did learn a little bit. Apparently Mike Davis (head of the USGA) came in and just turned the water off for 2 weeks. It dried out the course and made it play terribly. They also decided to quit fighting the Poa on the greens and just replaced the greens completely with Poa. It was a good call.

The Experience

I woke up in the morning and made the hour long drive from Seattle to the course. If you dont live in a place with mountains like me this drive alone is worth it. Mt Rainer dominates the skyline. It was incredible. When you arrive at the course you check in at the club house which sits on the top of the property. You can go out of the back and take a look at the entire property. Once you buy your souveniers and get checked in you have the option to take theshuttle down to the range or drive your car down there. I asked the employee which one I should do and she said ‘take the shuttle, get the full experience” I shuttled down to the range and was greeted by a range attendant telling me all of the dos and donts. I walked into the massive practice area. The range was well stocked with quality balls but the lack of markings was a little disappoointing but the grass was great. Not much to knock. The course is also a links style course so chipping and putting were very important and it showed with the massive chipping green. With about 25 minutes until I teed off I took the shuttle down the road again to the snack shack. At the snack shack I met my caddie and discussed the course and upcoming round. I also met the local who was playing the course with me. After a few putts on the practice green and a bottle of Dr Pepper it was time to head to the first tee.

The Front 9

I wont go through the course hole by hole but there are certainly some highlights on the front. The second hole is your first real option on the course. You can play left and get a short shot into the green but that will bring the massive bunker into play. The right side opens up the green but it does require that longer shot. The other thing you notice QUICKLY out here is the contours really allow you to play slopes and angles more than anywhere else I have ever played. Slopes can help you on about 5 holes on the front side alone. I did hit my worst shot of the round on the long par 4 7th. I hit a drive pretty good then had about 200 in. I had been hitting my hybrid well and the caddie even recommended it. I took the swing and chunked it about 140 yards and about 40 yards right. Ended up in the bunker where I got out then 4 putted. Just an awful hole for me. The 8th was somehow boring yet interesting at the same time. From the tee box its a straight forward par 5. It offers a choice of going on the high side or the low side of the fairway but as my caddie said “if you hit it straight here youll be fine. Neither side is that much better”. Where the hole starts to get interesting is the green. I ended up fairly close to the hole but my playing partner was on the front of the green while the pin was in the back of the 26 yard deep green. My caddie looked at me and said “he needs to put it on the fringe on the other side and let it come back down” He didnt and ended up about 10 ft short.

While we waited on the next tee to clear the guy went back and dropped a few balls from that spot. He hit another and it almost ended up in the exact spot. My caddie goes “Aim at the fringe!” The guy did and put it within 6 in. The contours of the course were so much fun to play with and use to navigate the course. Another prime example was the par 3 9th. At 100 feet over the green the drop off was steep. The big concern was the front bunkers. My caddie said hit it left and use the hill to roll it down. The higher up the hill the faster it comes down. I pulled it a little and watched my ball land on the left hill, threaten the pin and end up about 15 ft from the hole. All in all the ball probably tolled 15 yards off that hill. Super fun.

Back 9

You start the back 9 with a very unique hole. The hole cuts through two dunes and has a very European links feel. By this point I was pretty wet from the rain and donned the rain coat. It limited my swing so I really struggled on 10 and 11 tee shots. Hole 12 is a short reachable par 4. This is the biggest risk reward hole on the course. I didnt reach but only had a small flip wedge. 2 putt and a par. Once you reach 14 you are at the highest point on the course. From here its all down hill. 14 is a fun down hill drive. The bunker is pretty easy to carry. If you go right of it youll hit a speed slot and roll for days. 15 is basically the signature hole. The view from the tee box is incredible. You have the strait and the only tree on the course. Just a really cool view. The par 3 isnt anything overly memorable outside of the view. After 15 we made the turn to my two favorite holes on the course. If you remember from the 2015 there is a train that runs along side 16 and 17. Ive always thought that was the coolest thing in the world and the idea of hitting a shot with a train right next to me is awesome. As I stood on 16 tee nothing was happening but on 17 a train made an appearance. It was just as cool as I had hoped. You’re slightly higher than the train and between the sound of the train and the view of the strait it was almost a religious experience. The final hole is a par 5. In 2015 the shot of the US Open was Jordan Spieth’s 3 wood on 18 to give him the title. They put a plague down from where he hit the shot and let me tell you… That shot was incredible.

Final Thoughts

I have played a limited amount of top notch golf courses like this. I am often playing municipals in Dallas for 40 bucks. I have played Pebble and Spyglass. Pebble is obviously great because its Pebble but on a pure course rating its hard not to place this at the top of my list. It was so much fun. The way the course makes you think and the ability to use the contours of the ground to play various shots was so much fun. If you are looking for pure golf youll do much worse than Chambers. Its a course worthy of the high level am events its getting and should get another shot at the Us Open. I havent played a ton of courses around the country but I cant imagine there are too many better than this