Chambers Bay

Today we were lucky enough to be invited along on a Nike Golf trip to play Chambers Bay golf course in Tacoma Washington. Chambers Bay just opened three years ago and is still coming into play, but it has already been selected the site of the 2010 US Amateur and the the 2015 US Open Championship.

The course is a links style set up running along the Puget Sound. It is a old rock quarry that has been rehabbed by the city into a first class golf destination. It is a walking only course, but it is not a perfect layout for walking, as there is a lot of space between some of the holes and there is one place in particular where they have a cart that transfers you to the next tee. There is also a lot of ups and downs on the course, so you need to be in good shape to play it.

The piece of ground they have for the course is beautiful and the views of the Sound are amazing. The course reminded me a lot of the Castle Course in St. Andrews, which was also built along the water and has a lot of mounds in the fairways. The greens are a lot fairer at Chambers which makes the course more playable. We should have made it around in four hours, as we had a couple of caddies per foursome, but it got bogged down on the back nine and ended up being closer to five hours.

If you are taking a golf trip in the PNW, Chambers Bay is a must play. Start in Seattle and work your way down the coast to Bandon.