Chambers Bay learns from The Olympic Club
Jun 17, 2012, 5:11 PM | Updated: Jun 18, 2012, 9:40 am
If Northwest golf fans took in this weekend’s U.S. Open at The Olympic Club near San Francisco, they no doubt saw thousands of spectators basking in the sunshine on steep hills near the eighth and 18th greens.
Let me tell you, it was treacherous to trudge up the banks for the prime views of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Bubba Watson.
I was lucky enough to have a close-up view of the marquee group as they played the second round. It will be very similar to what golf fans have to deal with three years from now at Chambers Bay in University Place.
As Mickelson practiced chip shots, I watched along with Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy in the USGA’s hospitality area. McCarthy is sponging in every part of running a major golf championship. After all, the county government owns Chambers Bay.
McCarthy told me at the U.S. Amateur Championship two years ago that some spectators slipped on the steep slopes of Chambers Bay. It will be a bigger concern when the course hosts 35,0000 people every day for one week in the summer of 2015.
Pierce County officials have been planning for their enormous event since learning of the honor three years ago. Staffers have attended U.S. Opens at Bethpage Black, Pebble Beach, Torrey Pines and Congressional. While The Olympic Club has hundreds of trees and Chambers Bay has only one, the topography is very similar.
The USGA has already been working with Chambers Bay to improve some greens and landing areas. The USGA will soon hire a full-time employee at Chambers Bay to oversee every nook and cranny, every shuttle bus, every concession stand. That master plan will include the best and safest viewing areas for the spectators.
Leaving golf fans with a first-class experience is critical for the clubs hosting these major tournaments. As McCarthy told me, the eyes of the world are watching on television. Many of those fans will see Chambers Bay and Pierce County and will want to come visit and play the course which had the 2015 U.S. Open.
This week more than 200 million new dollars were pumped into San Francisco’s economy by golf fans. Some of them have sore ankles and rear ends from standing on incredible inclines and slipping on dry, matted grass. Hopefully the three great players are giving us the same show at Chambers Bay in June of 2015.
