MGS Experiences: Chambers Bay

For the majority of golf fans, their lasting memory of Chambers Bay is the disastrous 2015 U.S. Open.

In one of the USGA’s many blunders, the governing body hosted a national championship on a course ill-prepared for such a monumental event. The greens were blotchy and bumpy; the spectator experience was brutal; Fox Sports, in its first year broadcasting the event, struggled mightily as cameramen were having a hard time tracking golf balls along the baked-out turf; the USGA got way too cheeky by changing the par of the 18th hole midway through the tournament; on Golf Channel, Gary Player went on a lengthy tirade about how tragic it was to host the U.S. Open at a venue like this.

Basically, it didn’t go well. There was a consensus that the U.S. Open would never return. And, if you were like me, you assumed that Chambers Bay wasn’t worth playing.

As time went on, however, there was some pushback on that sentiment. In 2018, Chambers Bay closed for five months to replace all of its fescue greens with poa annua, a grass that is more dominant in the Pacific Northwest. Reports came back that the new greens were lightyears better than the bumpy fescue.

Then Chambers hosted the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship (2021) and U.S. Women’s Amateur (2022) to rave reviews. A few golf writers I knew had been to Chambers and really enjoyed it.

My curiosity grew until the point I pulled the trigger on a trip to see it.

Getting ready to play

Chambers Bay is a modern American links—it opened in 2007—designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr.

The fully public course overlooks the Puget Sound just south of Tacoma, Wash., about an hour drive south of downtown Seattle. In the distance, you can see Anderson, McNeil and Fox Islands. Although the water never comes into play (you’ve done something terribly wrong if it does), the setting is pretty spectacular.

A word about the rates before I dive in: Chambers uses demand-based pricing (so the rates change all the time) and offers big-time discounts for Pierce County and Washington State residents.

It would be a fool’s errand to give an exact price of playing but I would expect somewhere in the $100-$350 range depending on the season, overall demand and whether you are a local. Rates when I went (summer) were above $300 for out-of-staters.

Your next question is whether it’s worth it. I’m getting there!

With a July afternoon tee time, I started my day in Seattle at Pike Place Market. Salmon on a stick for breakfast? Yes, please.

Despite Seattle’s rainy reputation, it was about as perfect of a day as you could ask for with temperatures reaching 75 degrees. If there were any clouds in the sky, I couldn’t notice them.

The clubhouse for Chambers is unassuming and quaint, built on top of a hill overlooking the entire property. There is a shuttle that takes you down to a smaller shack that has a snack bar and restrooms. From this area, you can access the driving range and first tee. The ninth and 18th greens are also in close proximity.

I would describe the practice facility as reasonable but nothing to write home about. They had us hitting off of mats—which is pretty disappointing for this level of experience—but there is plenty of grass. There is a decent-sized putting green.

I was surprised that several people out there didn’t appear to be playing. It seemed closer to a standard public range you would find anywhere around the country. What I mean is that it wasn’t just a warm-up area—some golfers were practicing as if that was their normal routine.

After a short warm-up, I walked over to the first tee. Chambers Bay is a walking-only course (unless you are someone with a disability or otherwise must use a cart) so it was time for a stroll with my push cart.

Big, bold and beautiful

Chambers gives this odd feeling like you are playing golf on another planet.

The sand is a little grayer than most courses. It’s brown out there. The elevation changes are severe (and they are everywhere). There are no trees on the property except for a lone fir beyond the 15th green.

I found Chambers to be very inviting off the tee. I wouldn’t say it was easy but it’s not a place where you are going to be losing a lot of golf balls. The rough isn’t too bad and the fescue is mostly playable. As I alluded to earlier, there is no water on the course. There is no OB, either—if there is, it’s not noticeable.

The challenge of the course comes on the approach shots. The turf can get bouncy and there are some massive slopes guarding many of the greens. It does look and play like a links, although the design is heavily Americanized. I feel like Chambers has some overlap with Dumbarnie, a Scottish course I played last year while visiting St Andrews.

Your “welcome to Chambers” moment begins immediately with an opening par-5. You could land a plane down the first fairway but the second shot—probably hit with a long-iron—requires precision. There is a gargantuan slope to the left of the green that catches any ball that is even a hair left of the target. If you are down there (and I was), you can’t see the flag. Any shot that doesn’t get up the slope will come back to you (yes, I also did that).

I had 210 yards for my second shot on a par-5 and quickly walked away with a double bogey. Woof! Going left looked OK from the fairway but it was actually a death sentence. That wasn’t the last time I would find the worst possible spot on the course. Local knowledge is definitely big here.

I would also say the greens were nice but nothing extraordinary. They are a little on the slow side but way smoother than I assumed. I found myself completely helpless in terms of reading them. Local knowledge strikes again (there is a caddie program but I chose to play without one).

I’ll skip around to a few standout holes:

• The par-5 fourth is a wicked and fun dogleg-right with a green begging for a low cut approach. I hit a perfect drive and then thinned a 3-wood into the abyss of the fairway bunker which is larger than the Seattle-Tacoma airport. After making sandcastles to get to my ball, I miraculously hit a great shot to about 15 feet and two-putted for par. The cost was that I somehow had sand in my shoes for the rest of the round.

• The par-4 sixth is a short dogleg-right with a minuscule green. The tee shot is pretty open but the wedge approach has to be spot-on. It’s a fun shot.

• The par-5 eighth is probably the worst hole on the course. It’s a dead straightaway par-5 with two levels to the fairway. Every hole at Chambers has a name and this one is “High Road, Low Road”—appropriate given the two plateaus. This honestly felt like a bit of a throwaway hole to get the course up to the ninth tee.

• The par-3 ninth is pretty. You are standing at the highest point on the course, looking down at the green way below you. The entire course is visible from here. It’s a daunting shot from a distance-control perspective and nobody in our group could get our tee shots to stop on the front part of the green where the hole was.

• The par-4 10th is a gorgeous tee shot. It reminds me of playing golf in Ireland. Striking dunes create an alley and the green is nestled between them. A tough hole if you get out of position.

• The par-4 12th is controversial among those who have played Chambers. It’s a drivable hole with a crater of a bunker in front. Laying up is more awkward than sending driver so you have to take a rip at it. The real story is the green which I won’t even attempt to describe. It’s like a crumpled-up rug that has waves through it. I would put this among the weirder golf holes I’ve ever played but I honestly like it. You have to hit two great shots to have a good look at birdie.

• The par-3 15th is the signature hole at Chambers. The downhill tee shot points you right out at Puget Sound. It’s a tough tee shot to gauge distance-wise with the wind (which I should mention is ever-present around here).

• The par-4 16th is another short hole that runs alongside a railway. The narrow and long green is very strange and requires a precise shot.

• I just wanted to make a note that I didn’t get to play the par-3 17th which looks beautiful. If you can believe this, someone who appeared to be a homeless man walked out onto the green with a dog and refused to leave. Or, more accurately, he ignored us and appeared to be in his own world. After a 20-minute wait, the course staff arrived but was unable to get him off the green. Chambers borders a public park and apparently things like this are prone to happen occasionally.

• The par-5 18th is probably in my bottom two or three holes on the course. The drive doesn’t make much sense because there isn’t anywhere to hit it. If it’s downwind and you try to lay up short of the fairway bunker, you will still end up in it because the turf is so firm and it funnels over there. You can find a little bit of fairway to the right of it, but it’s a tough tee shot just the way the fairway is angled.

After finishing the round, I had a lovely dinner in the clubhouse as the sun began to set over Puget Sound. You could see the entire layout from that balcony which is a unique vantage point to have at any course.

Is Chambers Bay worth playing?

I genuinely enjoyed my round at Chambers Bay. It is a golf course that holds your attention all the way through.

There are several high points in the round. The par-3s are beautiful, though a little too one-dimensional for my liking, and the par-5s are all conversation starters in good and bad ways. The 10th hole is one of my favorite tee shots in the country.

I think that, ultimately, Chambers gets a little out over its skis in certain areas. It sometimes feels too contrived and over-designed. I prefer more of a minimalist approach to architecture and yet Tobacco Road is one my favorite courses. I know, I know.

Chambers didn’t quite do it for me—not for $300-plus. It’s a very nice golf course with a lot of positive features and I can see it being divisive with some people loving it while others don’t care for it. I tend to be in the latter category.

I think it’s very much worth trying if you are in the area or pairing it with other courses during a road trip. You might come away with a totally different opinion than mine. That is the beautiful part about golf!

Have you played Chambers Bay? What did you think?

Let me know below in the comments.