This is Part 4 of my series covering the 2013 Summer Trip. It was now Wednesday morning and I had the first tee time at 6:33 on the Olympic Course at the Gold Mountain Golf Complex in Bremerton, WA. It was a cool, overcast morning and the course was extremely wet. The Olympic Course was rated 100th on the Golf Magazine’s 2010 List and is the site of many amateur tournaments. There are two courses at the complex and despite playing as a single at such an early time, I had no issues with the grounds crew (or more accurately, they had no issue with me).
I started on the back nine. I didn’t play very well at this course. The ground was pretty wet and not very friendly to my “V-shaped” swing. It’s a pretty course with some elevation change and rich with many varieties of pine trees.
I started on the back nine. I didn’t play very well at this course. The ground was pretty wet and not very friendly to my “V-shaped” swing. It’s a pretty course with some elevation change and rich with many varieties of pine trees.
Stately Pines at Gold Mountain
There was one funny incident (although not funny at the time) during this round. I was playing a par 5 hole and reached into my bag for a hybrid. My hybrids have magnetic head covers and unbeknownst to me, the shaft of my putter had stuck to that head cover. As I quickly pulled the hybrid out of the bag, the putter head whacked me right on the upper lip. While the lip did not split, the red line on my lip showed my carelessness for almost a week.
I left Gold Mountain at 9:15 and headed for a 1:09 tee time at Chambers Bay, one of my highly anticipated rounds on the trip. Chambers Bay held the 2010 U.S. Amateur and will be the site of the 2015 U.S. Open. It is currently rated 14th on the Golf Magazine list, 25th on the Golf Digest list, and somewhere on just about every other Top 100 List.
I was at the course in University Park in 30 minutes and for the first time on my trip, was able to sit down for some breakfast. The Chambers Bay pro shop is high above the course and golfers are shuttled down to the driving range and caddy shack.
I was at the course in University Park in 30 minutes and for the first time on my trip, was able to sit down for some breakfast. The Chambers Bay pro shop is high above the course and golfers are shuttled down to the driving range and caddy shack.
Chambers Bay from the Pro Shop Above and The Puget Sound in the Background
Chambers Bay is a walking only course of seven miles and I elected to have a caddy carry my clubs for the round. My caddy was Will Holdridge, a student at Seattle University and a member of the golf team. I was paired with a threesome who played from the tips (I played the tees one step forward from the tips). Dominic and Joel were in commercial real estate and Jim, a University Park local, was a client of theirs. They were all accomplished golfers and Joel was one of the finest putters I’ve seen. All had the one shot Midwesterners do not have because we never have a chance to practice it: the putt from 30 yards off the green. My caddy and playing partners all had stories from the U.S. Amateur and about changes that will be made to the course prior to the U.S. Open. Their running commentary about the difficulties the amateur players had was quite interesting.
As you can see from the pictures, Chambers Bay is a true links course, built on an old quarry and designed by Robert Trent Jones II. It is built on sand and has putting greens of fine fescue grass. It looks like it won’t putt very well but it does--the ball does not hop at all.
As you can see from the pictures, Chambers Bay is a true links course, built on an old quarry and designed by Robert Trent Jones II. It is built on sand and has putting greens of fine fescue grass. It looks like it won’t putt very well but it does--the ball does not hop at all.
Chambers Bay Drivable Par 4 12th Hole
The signature hole is the 139 yard 15th hole. The only tree on the course is behind it with the Puget Sound in the background. Interestingly, a crazed citizen took an ax to the tree recently and now the trunk is wrapped with fencing.
The Signature Hole at Chambers Bay
The weather that day was spectacular! There was just a little breeze and a temperature of 80. Jim, one of the youngsters playing the tips, told me they get about a six week period of this beautiful weather each year. And men are fooled by this wonderful weather and call home and tell their wives, “pack up everything honey, we’re moving to Washington!” And then Jim added that two years ago, they had 109 consecutive days of measurable precipitation.
This course beat me up! After a birdie at the par 5 1st hole, I had my problems and carded my highest score of the trip. I had much trouble with the green complexes.
Chambers Bay was almost a six hour round. As you can imagine, everyone wants to play it. I left the course at 6:30 and began a 245 mile trip to my hotel in Eugene, OR.
Next: Summer Trip 2013: Oregon
This course beat me up! After a birdie at the par 5 1st hole, I had my problems and carded my highest score of the trip. I had much trouble with the green complexes.
Chambers Bay was almost a six hour round. As you can imagine, everyone wants to play it. I left the course at 6:30 and began a 245 mile trip to my hotel in Eugene, OR.
Next: Summer Trip 2013: Oregon
RSS Feed