Played Chambers Bay last week while visiting my brother’s family and let me tell you, it didn’t disappoint. I’ll be honest I have never heard of Chambers Bay and after watching Titleist’s “WhereAbouts” that took place at Chambers Bay last summer and watching the 2015 US Open, it went on my bucket list to play.
I booked my tee time online and believe it or not they do go 90 days out. However, you can’t book a single unless there’s one available. I got myself a Wednesday’s tee time at 2:44 p.m. for $99. They had a deal going on and got very lucky. For future reference, prices are $275 before 3 and $165 afterwards but keep an eye out for the deals, they usually come in a month before the tee times and it’s pretty easy to cancel and change your tee times online. I did it at least 3 times with no issues.
I had about an hour drive and once I got to the Chambers Bay area, I must admit it was pretty to drive through. Then again, Washington State appears to be a very pretty state to visit. I came upon a rotary where there was an opening that overlooked the course. I immediately pulled over to take some pictures. I couldn’t wait to tee it up.
I got there about 2 hours early, wasn’t taking any chances. They have a great bar area so grabbed some lunch (food was very good) and then headed to the pro shop. The Pro Shop is small, not much to it but the staff was VERY friendly. I checked in and they asked me if I would go out earlier since they’re running ahead of schedule. I’ve never heard of such a thing but yes I would love to go out early. From there I jumped on a shuttle bus, yes a shuttle bus and headed down the road to the driving range, only way down there.
The driving range is amazing IMO. Thankfully at the time we were allowed to hit off grass and the grass there is exactly like the fairways so it was great practice for me. They have a HUGE practice putting green and a decent size chipping area. Hit around for about 45 minutes and a shuttle came up and called me. Got back on the shuttle bus and headed off to the first tee.
Checked in with the starter and was introduced to my caddie Juan. This was the first time I’ve ever had a caddie so didn’t know what to expect. I played with 2 guys from DC and a guy from Texas. All 3 were super nice and great company.
Here we go!
-The course did not disappoint. I really enjoyed the layout, the scenery and all the high dunes. The course was in great shape and the greens were extremely tough for me. They were fast and lots of breaks. My caddie gave me great reads just couldn’t get the speed down on most of them. I putted A LOT haha.. next time, I’ll spend more times on the practice greens…
-Back 9 was my favorite just b/c some of the holes being along the water but don’t get me wrong, the front was a lot of fun as well.
-There are tons of bunkers and easy to hit out of. Thanks to the caddie I was allowed to ground my club on some b/c of the local rules. If I didn’t have him around, would’ve never known.
-Yes I was lucky to see the train go by on #16, pretty cool to see.
-Pace of play was PERFECT! 4.5 hours and we waited a little the last 3 holes but didn’t mind at all. It gave me a chance to view scenery a little bit more.
-My group was awesome and had a great time with them all.
-Get a caddie. Well worth it. If not, then you can either get a push cart or carry your bag, no carts allowed. But having that caddie was a lot of fun. Definitely felt like a pro for a day the way he treated me. Can’t thank him enough for making my experience great.
-Happy to say I broke 90. If I putted a little better, I could’ve came close to breaking 80 but the most important thing was that I had a blast.
Overall it was a great day, no complaints what so ever. One of the most scenic courses I’ve ever played and took a TON of pics. I will definitely play there again someday.
I did stay afterwards to see the sunset and that didn’t disappoint either.
Next up: Pinehurst for the TT Invitational and looking forward to meeting everyone that is going.