Chambers Bay on a sunny afternoon (C.J. Anderson)

In this final installment of my interview with Dave Wieneke, superintendent of Chambers Bay, he talks about the importance of educating the player about links golf. This task involves getting the golfer to understand the different types of shots needed to score well at Chambers Bay and also the playing characteristics of the fescue fairways and greens (video after jump)

After talking with both Dave and GM Matt Allen, it seems that the main complaint that they hear about Chambers Bay pertains to the speed of the greens. This is to be expected as the average golfer plays Chambers after having recently played a course with bent grass greens and few, if any, contours in the greens. I know Dave and the rest of his team are working very hard to increase speeds on the greens to a level that is appropriate for the amount of movement that they have. Chambers Bay is less than two years old and it often takes longer than this for fine fescue grass to mature into a dense putting surface that can be mowed tighter for faster green speeds. (for an update on conditions, check here)

The Chambers Bay website is one of the best I have ever seen in reaching out to the public and trying to educate them about the course and links golf. Dave has a monthly newsletter that he uses to update people on changes to the course and also some basic agronomy. There is also a monthly “ask the architect” section that is worth a quick glance on a rainy day.

The final section of this video deals with the USGA and what they are looking for at Chambers Bay. While there will be a narrowing of some fairways, the thing that the USGA seems most concerned about is maintaining firm and fast conditions and a pure fescue golf course. I commend their dedication to playing this links design under these conditions, but am somewhat miffed by all of this religious devotion to a pure fescue playing surface. Poa Annua is evident in just about all of the great green surfaces in the world and it seems the chance of it establishing then dying back due to heat and humidity would be fairly slim in this temperate climate. It will be interesting to see how this develops over time.

For more with Dave Wieneke, click here, and here.

For an interview with Matt Allen, Chambers Bay’s GM, click here and here.

THE SUN SETTING AT CHAMBERS BAY (Courtesy of Simonds)

In the second half of my talk with Matt Allen, he discusses the changes that the USGA desires in anticipation of the the 2010 U.S. Open and the 2015 U.S.. Open. They are adding six tees to this already long course (7,585 yards). When I was there recently they were making changes to the fourth green area. It was not clear what they were doing to this area. If I were them, I would move the green down the hill, shortening the hole, but making the slopes around the green more manageable and encouraging players to play into this green along the ground. This would have the added benefit of moving the green away from the ridge that runs along the east side of the property and blocks sunlight to some of the greens that are hard-up against it. (video after the jump)

Touching up the bunkers will visually improve the course the most. The shape along the edges move up and down and in and out. They are really quite well done. Since the end of construction, the bunkers have been maintained only with a sand pro which has led to long, narrow ribbons of sand winding through the large waste areas that are prevalent throughout the course. There is great potential to go back into these bunkers and extract some of the grass that has crept down the edges and onto the floors. These edges could be really cool looking if they were allowed to look natural and not excessively tidy. The USGA is on record as saying that they like rugged nature of the bunkers and it will be interesting to watch their evolution in the coming years.

Another thing to watch leading up to 2015 is the fairway width at Chambers Bay. For years the USGA has narrowed fairways at their U.S. Open courses, often taking away the preferred angles of attack to flags or even whole greens. During my last visit a few weeks ago this process was well underway and it is to the detriment of the paying golfer. If they don’t tinker too much with this aspect of Chambers Bay (and I fear they have done so already), then the 2015 U.S. Open could truly be as democratic an Open as Matt thinks it could be.

For the first half of the interview with Matt Allen, click here.

For more on Chambers Bay, click here, and here.

THE SEVENTEENTH AT CHAMBERS BAY

I was fortunate enough to play at Chambers Bay twice in the last two weeks and I wanted to share a few quick thoughts. First off, the greens are still very slow. The speed had not improved since the last time I was there in January. Dave Wieneke and Matt Allen have a big challenge on their hands getting them up to speed for next years U.S. Amateur. With the amount of foot traffic that those greens see (40,000 rounds in 2008 with additional wear and tear from caddies) it will be difficult to get the cut down and maintain a smooth surface. The new grassing lines for the Amateur are growing in. Mike Davis of the USGA is handling the changes. I have to say that I am not a fan. One of the things that made Chambers so compelling on my first visit was the vast fairways that would bleed into each other through the dunes. This has pretty much been eliminated. Fairways are still wide by USGA standards but they have often been shrunk in a way that eliminates the ideal lines into some portions of the greens.

THE NEW GRASSING LINE ON THE SECOND

The fifth is a perfect example. The fairway has been shrunk on both sides, but most noticeably on the right side. The best angle to the right side of the green is from this section of the fairway so that one can avoid the bunker that bisects the front of the green. If the course is playing firm and fast, it will be impossible to bounce the ball in to this flag position. They are makng the course more difficult and less interesting and most importantly less fun to the paying public.

NOTICE THE CHANGE ON THE LEFT

There is now a fifteen yard-wide strip of grass between the fairway and many bunkers, a phenomena that  the USGA seems to have invented. It will be interesting to see what height they maintain the rough. As of now it is short and manageable.

On a different note, it was revealing to see the place almost empty on a beautiful Sunday morning. Three groups went off in a little more than an hour. When we made the turn, the place was bustling, though, as people were lined up to take advantage of the reduced twilight rate. It goes to show that the current high priced model is really struggling, but people still want to play great courses for a reasonable price. Two days later,  I found the same busy tee sheet when I returned for an afternoon round.

Ironically, the best thing for Chambers Bay’s greens may be raising the price, which will limit play, while keeping revenue steady. This would allow them to take the greens down while not having to worry as much about foot traffic.

Anyone else been to Chambers recently? What did you think about the greens and the grassing lines?

N.B. Try the brownies at the turn. They are excellent and remind me of the early days at Bandon before the lodge was open.

STILL FUZZY

THE BIARRITZ AT MID OCEAN

In the second part of my interview with Norman Furtado, he discusses the course’s push-up greens. They switched the greens over to Tifeagle a few years ago under the advice of Patrick O’Brien of the USGA. I was somewhat surprised that Mr. O’Brien did not suggest the replacing of the greens with USGA greens. (Video after the jump).

As Norman explains, the amount of surface drainage on Mid Ocean’s greens sheds water before the greens can become soggy, causing problems. Building greens in this manner would obviously be cheaper and lead to more interesting contours, but the trade off is that if they are maintained at too high a speed, they become unplayable. Superintendents on courses with steep, contoured greens are constantly balancing on a high-wire trying to please players and members who want high green speeds but also want to finish their rounds.

The greens at Mid Ocean are an absolute pleasure to play. Greens like the fifth are contoured to effect strategy going all the way back to the tee. Accurate and decisive play is rewarded with easier putts, while indifferent play is met with putts that challenge a players imagination and skill. It would be hard to ask for anything more.

ONE OF THE MANY BEAUTIFUL VIEWS AT CHAMBERS BAY (Courtesy CJ Anderson)

Matt Allen came to Chambers Bay after nine years at Bandon Dunes.  As the General Manager, he is responsible for making things go smoothly in anticipation of the 2010 U.S. Amateur and the 2015 U.S. Open. In this first part of my interview with him, he discusses the site’s history and how it came to be a golf course. This is a project that took a lot of vision, both by the county executive and then Robert Trent Jones Jr., to create such an audacious golf course. (Video after jump)

Chambers Bay is in the enviable position of having received a blessing by the USGA as one of the best courses in the U.S. As Matt points out, this acknowledgment by the USGA has led to more attention in both the local and national press, which in turn has put Chambers Bay on everybody’s short list of must plays. This surely helps in the course’s effort to educate the public about links golf and fescue greens.

Hopefully, as more and more golfers get to Chambers Bay, they will enjoy this type of golf and return to their home courses with a new appreciation for firm and fast golf. It is through incremental steps that the long held belief in the desirability of green and lush conditions will be overcome. I highly commend Chambers in their effort to help along the cause.

For another video on Chambers Bay click here.