DamonHackGC

For the golfer who lives for the spectacular walk and the stunning visual, Chambers Bay offers both in abundance. Even beyond the wildness of the golf course – heaving green complexes, orange and auburn-colored heather, yawning bunkers framed by unkempt rough, remarkable elevation change – this is a golf course blessed with location.

Chambers Bay in University Place, Washington – a suburb of Tacoma - sits hard by Puget Sound, separated from the water only by a narrow sandy beach and a ribbon of railroad that is visited several times an hour by freight trains, an echo of sorts of England’s Royal Lytham and St. Annes, whose opening holes run adjacent to the St. Annes railway.

It is one of many aspects Chambers Bay shares with golf in the United Kingdom. The golf course – the site of an old sand and gravel pit – has firm, tight terrain that can make shot-making a guessing game. Well-struck shots occasionally find collection areas, rough and cavernous bunkers (sometimes in a row) and the seemingly poor shot can sometimes, luckily, find safe passage.

Trusting your caddie is essential at Chambers Bay.

My best shot of the day came on the difficult par-4 16th hole when my terrific looper, Jason, insisted I aim my approach along the rough line some 40 yards left of the flagstick. I hit my 9 iron along said line, lost sight of the ball as it disappeared below a mound, and was shocked to walk up to the green and find it 15 feet from the cup. (That I three-putted wasn’t Jason’s fault).
Some may find the course quirky, but if you like links golf and the spirit of the ground game, you will be invigorated by this 7.5 mile trek (wear comfortable shoes and socks for it is a hard walk).

In this era of Instagram, you will be moved often to snap a picture of the many stirring views, including the glorious fir tree that guards 15 green and 16 tee (it is the lone tree on the course), not to mention the occasional sight of dolphins breaching in the distance.

The golf course is Hillside (England) meets Streamsong Blue (Florida) with a dash of Dornoch (Scotland) and Bandon Dunes (Oregon).

Play from the correct tees, load up on some extra pearls, and embrace this beautiful brute.