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TJ Bordeaux grew up across the street from Chambers Bay, advanced to match play there in the 2010 U.S. Amateur Championship, and caddied there the day after Jordan Spieth won the 2015 U.S. Open. He even won the inaugural Pacific Northwest Four-Ball Championship on the layout this past September with partner Charlie Van Sicklen.
Based on that recent experience, Bordeaux has little doubt that Chambers Bay is ready for its third turn in the national spotlight when the course hosts the 2021 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship in May. “The course is in the best position to portray itself now,” he said. “It will be a more fun product to watch.”
That assessment is due in large part to the successful installation of new grass on all of the greens following the 2015 U.S. Open. At that time, the invasion of poa annua onto the fine fescue surfaces, exacerbated by unseasonally warm temperatures, led to less-than-desirable conditions. The course in University Place, Wash., which is owned by Pierce County, was shut down for six months beginning in October 2018 for the regrassing project, pushing the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball back two years from its original 2019 dates. The installation of an annual bluegrass green sod version of poa annua is considered an overwhelming success.
“The greens are night-and-day better,” said Bordeaux, who played professionally on various mini-tours before applying for reinstatement as an amateur last year. “They will be tough but super fair.”
Other changes include the addition of new teeing grounds on several holes as the course readies for the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball, which is open to two-player sides with individual handicaps not exceeding 5.4. Entries closed Sept. 9.
“From all the way back, the golf course can play more than 7,900 yards,” said Brent Zepp, director of golf. “For instance, the par-3 15th can play between 100 and 250 yards. There’s not a lot of courses out there that can make a par 3 play almost 150 yards longer from front to back. The ribbon-shaped tee complexes really provide a lot of flexibility.”
Late May in the Pacific Northwest does bring the possibility of inclement weather, but Zepp says the course is ready for potential rainfall.
“The course is built on sand, so it will play great even if there is rain,” said Zepp. That sand base, left behind on the site of former sand-and-gravel mining operations – the remnants of enormous gravel sorting bins still sit alongside the 18th hole – gave free rein to course architects Robert Trent Jones II, Bruce Charlton and Jay Blasi.
“It really was a blank canvas, and with all of that sand, we were jumping for joy all the time,” recalled Charlton. “We could dig down 50 feet or build something up 50 feet if we wanted to.”
The architects did both on the 230-acre property overlooking Puget Sound, creating a memorable links-style layout that will share stroke-play hosting duties for the championship with The Home Course, just down the road in DuPont. The 32 sides who qualify for match play will compete solely at Chambers Bay.
Match play will create numerous risk/reward situations, according to Charlton. “There are a lot of places there to gamble and take on aggressive lines, which is what you love to do in match play,” he said. The 16th hole, a drivable par 4 depending on the tee location, is one example where decision-making could decide who advances or goes home. “The whole concept when we designed the course was to let people hit it anywhere, have fun and see how well they can think their way around the holes.”
Getting out of the gate quickly could be essential to victory, according to Zepp. “The challenging holes start on 5 and go through 13. The first four holes and final five are scoring holes. You have to get off to a hot start.”
Both Zepp and Bordeaux expect the championship to come down to putting.
“They will not have simple putts,” said Zepp. “There will be 10-, 15- and 20-foot putts they need to make, and these greens can be quite the challenge to read. There’s always some kind of movement to consider.”
Added Bordeaux: “I do think the biggest thing that will decide matches is speed control on the greens. Making a lot of good two-putts to free up your partner will be huge.”
In some instances, missing a green can even prove advantageous. “A lot of times here if you hit into a greenside bunker, depending on the hole location, that’s actually a good spot to be,” said Zepp. “You may be better off there than putting from across the green because of the contours.”
That’s especially the case on the par-5 18th, where Dustin Johnson famously three-putted from 12 feet to lose the 2015 U.S. Open by one stroke. “I think they will be going for that green in two a lot,” added Zepp. “It’s one of our largest and most severe greens. It has four totally separate portions to it, the hardest being back right.”
As on the links of Ireland and the United Kingdom, sides will need to take into account the rolling landscape of Chambers Bay.
“A lot of golf today is just bomb it and go for the flag,” said Bordeaux. “But here you have to visualize landing your ball in a certain spot and then calculate where the ball will end up. Even if it’s softened up a bit, you can be 15 yards right of where you were thinking and still hit a great shot. You can’t just hit it right at the flag every time.”
Tom Mackin is an Arizona-based writer whose work has not only appeared in Golf Journal but also the USGA website.
