The first hole has a little practice green and this nifty Rolex clock, so it seemed like a great place to take a photo. If your tee time is a little later on, you can get down here early and catch a shuttle to the driving range.
The Chamber’s Bay site used to be a gravel quarry. Pierce County bought the land and hired famed golf course architect Robert Trent Jones II to transform the site. Pierce County administrators wanted the site to be the “Bethpage Black of the west” – the only other municipal course to host a US Open. Pierce County wanted 27 holes on the site, but Jones had other ideas. “Why not have 18 great holes instead of 27 good ones?”
It’s a British-style links course, which means there’s no fringe on the green and the holes are wide open for the most part. To get an idea of the scale of Chamber’s Bay, St. Andrews Golf Club – the most famous links course in the world – is set on 87 acres. Chamber’s Bay is a massive 230 acres.
Anyway, Dad’s a pretty darn good golfer. I’ve never beaten him and even when I kill my drives he’s right there with me. He’s landed shots on the famous island green at TPC Sawgrass so it’s not like the wide open spaces here at Chamber’s Bay would give me any kind of edge.
“It’s in the hole!”
After losing the round, we went up to hole 19 to down beer and talk about the round. The view from the restaurant (just above the walking trail) is a stunning one at this time of day (or any time, really).
It’s called Chamber’s Bay Grill, but I wouldn’t really recommend making a trip to it just to eat. It’s not an impressive place. But, like I said, the view is great and the beer was cold (even if service was slow) and it was all we needed.
Visit
Pierce County and Washington residents save money on green’s fees, so it helps to know somebody.
Comments (1)
One of my most memorable rounds of golf! Enjoyed being there with you and how you surprised me with the opportunity to play there! It was a memorable and special day for both of us. Thank you.