Chambers Bay - Links-style Golf in the Pacific Northwest

- “Chambers Bay is not a normal municipal golf course,” promised Robert Trent Jones II a few days before the opening of the Pacific Northwest’s rarest of tracks: a Scottish links-style course. Located in University Place – 15 minutes from Tacoma and 40 minutes from Seattle – Chambers Bays Golf Course officially opened on June 23, 2007.

After a two-and-a-half-year, $21 million transformation, this abandoned sand and gravel pit has been majestically chiseled into a Scottish links-style dunes course. Built on 250 acres adjacent to Puget Sound, the course offers panoramic views of the Olympic Mountains and the neighboring islands: Anderson, McNeil, and Fox.

According to Jones, Chambers Bay is a true links-style course. “It’s built near an estuary, has pure sand, with wind and weather playing a significant factor. Though this is in the tradition of Scotland, this is not a copy of anything,” he says.

Historically, links golf has been attributed to Scottish courses dating to 1728. At that time, land that couldn’t be used for farming because of its salty content was instead used for golf courses.

Designed by Jones and his team from Palo Alto, Calif., Chambers Bay is a pure links-style 18-hole course measuring 7,585 yards from the tips. It you’re looking for exercise, this par 72 is a course you’ll want to try. There are no cart rentals or cart paths at Chambers Bay. This walking-only course beckons golfers to experience true links-style golf. “It’s a very playable course,” says Jones. “There are no trees or water hazards to contend with.” However, it’s that invisible hazard of the wind that Jones alluded to that will surely test each golfer’s skill.

According to Jay Blasi, Jones’ lead architect for Chambers Bay, a great deal of infrastructure was built into the course with the intent of someday hosting a major PGA Tour event. Subtleties not readily discernable while walking the course include expansive areas around select greens, especially the 18th. “Adjacent to the final green, we have 350-yards that can serve as a staging area for corporate, food-and beverage and media tents, along with enough room for grandstands and television towers,” Blasi explains. And if that’s not enough, the three-mile Grandview Trail encircling the course could serve as a gallery area for fans.

If attracting the attention of the PGA was on the minds of Jones and company, it didn’t take long for golf professionals to incorporate Chambers Bay in their repertoire. On Oct. 9, Chambers Bay Golf Course will be the site of an 18-hole skins game featuring PGA pros Ryan Moore, Michael Putnam, Aaron Baddeley, and Bubba Watson. In addition to whatever each player wins from the $50,000 purse, all four will play for a local charity, which is guaranteed $25,000 beforehand.