Photo By: Martin Miller/Miller Brown
No. 1
Par 4/5
496/598 yards
The first and 18th holes at Chambers Bay will be rotated between par 4s and par 5s throughout the tournament, making sure par stays at 70 each round. Most tee shots won’t reach the crest in the fairway, leaving a partially blind second shot. Approach shots that favor the right side can bounce along the contours of the fairway to reach the green.
Photo By: Martin Miller/Miller Brown
No. 2
Par 4
399 yards
The tee shot should thread the narrow passage through the dunes down the left side of the fairway, but that aggressive line brings the large fairway bunker on the left into play. The green, guarded by a sandy waste area short and left, is bisected by a large ridge and slopes right to left.
Photo By: Martin Miller/Miller Brown
No. 3
Par 3
198/163 yards
A pair of usable tees (a new championship tee was built in 2012) will dramatically change club selection to a kidney-shaped green guarded on the left by a deep bunker and a swale that collections shots missed long. A sideboard on the right kicks balls toward the center of the green.
Photo By: Martin Miller/Miller Brown
No. 4
Par 4
495 yards
Normally a par 5 in day-to-day play, this hole named “Hazard’s Ascent” features a fairway that slopes significantly from left to right toward the sand pit running up the entire right side. The green, accessible to the ground game coming in from the left, is framed by that massive bunker on the right and three tiny blowout bunkers in back.
Photo By: Martin Miller/Miller Brown
No. 5
Par 4
488 yards
Players won’t have time to enjoy the view of Puget Sound from the elevated tee. Massive bunker complexes, expanded in 2012, pinch the fairway from either side. Tee shots that drift left will chase toward the bunker, setting up a semi-blind approach to a green protected by a treacherous front bunker. This hole used to have a second green that was removed in 2012.
Photo By: Martin Miller/Miller Brown
No. 6
Par 4
495 yards
The hole named “Deception Point” will play as a long, dogleg right, where tee shots up the left side are rewarded with an unobstructed view of a green nestled between two bunkers. The bunker well short of the sloping green can play tricks with depth perception.
Photo By: Martin Miller/Miller Brown
No. 7
Par 4
508 yards
“Humpback” plays severely uphill, turning hard from left to right. Long hitters can attempt to cut off more of the daunting sand hazard that climbs up the right side. Those who bail out left get stuck with a blind shot over the two hummocks (“humpbacks”) fronting the green.
Photo By: Martin Miller/Miller Brown
No. 8
Par 5
614 yards
Notice that there’s no sand on “High Road/Low Road.” The fairway slopes from left to right, redirecting shots down the left side toward the center, while shots too far right carom into gnarly, uneven lies in the fescue grasses. Contours on the left and in back of the long and narrow green tend to funnel balls to the middle of the green.
Photo By: Martin Miller/Miller Brown
No. 9
Par 3
224/217 yards
This majestic tee box overlooking the entire course and the Puget Sound sits 100 feet above an oversized green that slopes left to right. An alternate tee box was installed in 2012 at a lower position to provide variety. A menacing bunker short and right of the green tends to swallow any chance at par.
Photo By: Martin Miller/Miller Brown
No. 10
Par 4
436/468 yards
The appropriately named “High Dunes” sees a narrow fairway slide through the largest dunes on the course (and a few bunkers, too). Deep bunkers front right and back left flank a flat green sandwiched between the dunes.
Photo By: Martin Miller/Miller Brown
No. 11
Par 4
537/500 yards
A new championship tee was constructed in 2008 to add more teeth. The fairway curls around dunes and waste areas. The green, tucked behind the waste bunker on the right, slopes right to left and is bisected by a ridge.
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No. 12
Par 4
311/281 yards
“The Narrows,” an uphill, drivable par 4 through the dunes, forces a decision from the back tees. Players can lay up short or challenge the blowout bunker in front of the green. A punchbowl green sports all sorts of unique contours.
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No. 13
Par 4
534 yards
This uphill hole doglegs right with a slot up the right side of a wide fairway that will kick tee shots forward into a shorter approach. A central bunker requires players to carefully choose their line of attack toward a troublesome green complex, which was redesigned in 2012 and reseeded in 2013. A knob left of the green will reject shots, as will a slope falling away on the right.
Photo By: Martin Miller/Miller Brown
No. 14
Par 4
546/521 yards
This downhill beauty named “Cape Fear” tempts players to take on more of the massive sand hazard up the left side than they can manage. The fairway slopes right to left, following the shape of the hole. Mounding short and right funnels shots onto a large green that tilts forward in front, then tilts away toward a collection area in back.
Photo By: Martin Miller/Miller Brown
No. 15
Par 3
246/123 yards
This might be the most versatile par 3 in championship golf. The tee position of “Lone Fir” can move daily, depending upon the wind and the whims of tournament officials. The well-bunkered green slopes left to right. The only tree on the course frames backdrop of the Puget Sound.
Photo By: Martin Miller/Miller Brown
No. 16
Par 4
423 yards
Stretched by a new championship tee added in 2014, the hole named “Beached” curves along a long bunker that flanks the right side of the hole adjacent to the railroad tracks along the water. Tee shots should favor the left side of the fairway to keep from bouncing into the bunker. The tabletop green, the smallest on the course, tilts dramatically from left to right.
Photo By: Martin Miller/Miller Brown
No. 17
Par 3
218/172 yards
This gorgeous par 3 near the railroad tracks and Puget Sound plays into the prevailing wind. A lower tee box offers a level shot over a waste bunker, while the upper tee provides a drop shot with full view of a tricky green split into several sections.
Photo By: Martin Miller/Miller Brown
No. 18
Par 5/4
604/525 yards
Dunes frame this slightly uphill hole that can be played as a par 5 or a long par 4. Remnants of vast concrete sorting bins loom over the teeing grounds. Bunkers and swales dot the landing area in the fairway. On and around the green are sweeping contours and multiple tiers, making an up-and-down from anywhere a daunting task.