2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay Discussion Thread

[ChrisP]

Some amateur was just shown on GC "dribbling" his golf ball along the fairway. Legitimately bouncing the golf ball. Bahahaha. This is gonna be weird.

LIke I said, this is going to be 2013 Muirfield all over again. If you don't remember that Open, here's a little refresher of the kinds of things you may see:

http://www.businessinsider.com/video-charl-schwartzel-hit-a-450-yard-drive-to-within-six-feet-of-the-hole-at-the-british-open-2013-7

[Wally Fairway]

Is it Thursday yet :)

+1 - get this started already

also, I'm struggling to make the mental time zone adjustment. I've become comfortable getting up early to watch The Open Championship, but it feels weird to have rounds in the US Open starting after 6pm (EDT), and probably have the last groups finishing after 11pm.

[oregongolfguy]

Relax.....Unless Mike Davis has makes a big mistake the course will be fine.  It does play shorter then yardages say.  A lot of the longer holes are downhill tee shots, a couple severly downhill, the fairways are gonna be really fast.  The greens are funky looking, but they roll true.....Its gonna be fun...

Man, I wish I would have taken vacation and made the 5hr drive over for a couple days....may never get a opportunity like this again here in the pac northwest...

[nevets88]

Some amateur was just shown on GC "dribbling" his golf ball along the fairway. Legitimately bouncing the golf ball. Bahahaha. This is gonna be weird.

Here's the video. That's not what I'd call dribbling. He's throwing the ball down with some force. If he dribbled a basketball like that he'd get called for traveling. :-)

[ChrisP]

+1 - get this started already also, I'm struggling to make the mental time zone adjustment. I've become comfortable getting up early to watch The Open Championship, but it feels weird to have rounds in the US Open starting after 6pm (EDT), and probably have the last groups finishing after 11pm.

Not me. I'm flying in 630 Sunday so with the last groups teeing off between 6-7, I'll be back just in time to relax and watch some golf. Same with Saturday. Playing golf in the pm but will be done by 7 and can relax at the bar and watch Rory and Jordan battling it out (wishful thinking).

[RJH999]

How do players end up with their practice round partner(s)? Is it random, or do the players go up to each other and schedule rounds together. Asking because I just saw that Sergio Garcia is playing a practice round with Masahiro Kawamura, and I thought that was really random.

[Stretch]

1st green ...

[Club Rat]

LIke I said, this is going to be 2013 Muirfield all over again. If you don't remember that Open, here's a little refresher of the kinds of things you may see:

http://www.businessinsider.com/video-charl-schwartzel-hit-a-450-yard-drive-to-within-six-feet-of-the-hole-at-the-british-open-2013-7

Been reading winning score could and should be "over par"

Really throws a wrench in the Callaway Driver give-away for score predicting............ 99% of the entries pick sub par scores.

Should be fun to watch, love to watch Pros Hack Up a Course.....

Club Rat

[ChrisP]

Been reading winning score could and should be "over par" Really throws a wrench in the Callaway Driver give-away for score predicting............ 99% of the entries pick sub par scores. Should be fun to watch, love to watch Pros Hack Up a Course.....  :whistle: Club Rat

I had Spieth -2. Still feel confident about that. There are some gettable holes at CB. You'll see a lot of Eagles at 12. The ball swells down to the hole. You may even see a hole in one on the par 4. I think in the end, mike Davis will set the course up for some birdies to go with the carnage and the winning score will be close to even. Only wrench in that is if the wind blows.

[Club Rat]

Why are there white dots on the Chambers Bay greens?

http://thegolfnewsnet.com/golfnewsnetteam/2015/06/16/white-dots-chambers-bay-greens-11548/

If you pay close attention to the ground at Chambers Bay, you’ll see a bunch of paint. A bunch of white paint. Why? It’s by design. The USGA has indicated the green complexes with dotted white paint.

There are two reasons why:

1. Many of the Rules of Golf are enforced differently on the green versus off the green, so knowing if your ball is on the green — regardless of whether you can use the putter or not — is key.

2. As Jason Day said Monday, it’s the USGA’s way of telling players that pay attention where not to put their ball.

“They’ve put most of them on slopes to where the ball probably won’t stop or won’t roll down or will roll away,” he said. “If you look, you can’t really see where the green is. If you’re hitting into a flag, it looks like the green is all the way down the fairway.”

So, consider the paint a line of demarcation.

Never heard of this before.....

Club Rat

[Golfingdad]

Why are there white dots on the Chambers Bay greens?

http://thegolfnewsnet.com/golfnewsnetteam/2015/06/16/white-dots-chambers-bay-greens-11548/

Never heard of this before.....

I don't think anybody has because it's never been necessary before. :)

[Club Rat]

Here's another good article - http://highlandstoday.com/hi/sports/chambers-bay-a-tough-test-20150617/

The Associated Press Published: June 17, 2015 UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash.

Jordan Spieth didn’t take long when asked for one word to describe a U.S. Open course where trains rumble loudly by, holes can change from one par to another, and players sometimes search for little white markings to see if they’re actually on a green. “Inventive,” the Masters champion said. That may not be the word some players will be using when play gets underway Thursday on a course unlike any other in Open history. Chambers Bay isn’t for the faint of heart, or those without some imagination in their game. But if the grumbling is to begin, the Masters champion wants no part of it. “If you are going to talk negative about a place, you’re almost throwing yourself out to begin with because golf is a mental game,” Spieth said. Indeed, the player with the best game doesn’t always win the Open, where par is jealously guarded by the USGA. But while Spieth and Rory McIlroy are the favorites of the oddsmakers in Las Vegas, no one is really certain about anything on a golf course that will change by the day. Except that patience — like in any Open — figures to be a big key. “I keep saying to people, the U.S. Open is all about controlling your attitude, controlling your emotional level and your stress levels out there because it can be a very frustrating week if you let it be,” Jason Day said. “You’ve just got to keep grinding and grinding and grinding, and hopefully by Sunday you’re somewhere around the lead.” The links-style course built on an old gravel pit may end up the star of this Open, no matter who ends up conquering it. Chambers Bay — with its one tree and huge elevation changes on the edge of the water will look good on television, even if the players don’t. Some won’t be able to adapt to hitting shots 20 yards away from where they want their ball to finally come to a rest. Others will have difficulty judging tee shots that will hang in the air longer than usual.

And some might have trouble just finding the greens, which are the same fescue as the fairways and seem to blend in with them on some holes. The USGA is trying to help out by painting little white dots around the greens to show where they are. “I think it might be slower rounds of golf, given the size of the greens and the difficulty of the course,” Spieth said. “(But) at least we have some nice views.”

The views were already there when architect Robert Trent Jones Jr. went to work on building the course that opened to the public in 2007. So were the elevation changes, and the train tracks that run between the course and the water. “Those who adopt it and embrace it, they like it,” Jones said. “Those who are uneasy with the newness of it, we’ll listen to them, but they probably won’t make the cut.” Still, it’s the U.S. Open and it will be a grind. Spieth is only playing his fourth Open, but understands that if he is going to get halfway to a Grand Slam, he has to be as prepared mentally as he is physically. “You have to go in positively,” he said. “You have to go in with enough confidence to get yourself into contention.”

Club Rat

[Club Rat]

Gonna guess something to do with some FoxSports tech.

More importantly ... sheesh, look at all those people on the fairway during the practice rounds!!!  What a circus!!!!

Was that a "Driver Off the Deck" in the last photo with the gallery behind the player?

Pretty Cool .....

Club Rat

[Crim]

I had to turn the Golf Channel off, it seems it's just four golf analysts bickering about everything they can possibly think of. Unbelievably annoying IMO.

Would love to get some more shots of the course and the pros

[Golfingdad]

Here's the video. That's not what I'd call dribbling. He's throwing the ball down with some force. If he dribbled a basketball like that he'd get called for traveling.

Or double dribble. ;)

Was that a "Driver Off the Deck" in the last photo with the gallery behind the player?

Pretty Cool .....

Club Rat

LOL, good catch.  Looks like Rickie too.  (My pick to win!!) ;)

[zero]

Spent yesterday at Chambers Bay. What a fantastic course, just stunning to behold and looks like so much fun to play. I will have to play it in a season or two when I'm ready. I have to say that there is basically zero forgiveness out there. For example, on hole #7 if they place the hole at the front of the green you're going to see any hits that come up short dribble potentially 50 yards or more back down the hill. I thought the grass was in good shape and yes a little tough but In my view just perfect. However, I have no experience on the courses these guys normally play so what do I know. It's going to make for a great 72 holes.

Rory sighting on #3 - he spent probably 5-10 minutes on this one 4 ft. put. reading and putting it repeatedly.

[ChrisP]

One thing to consider when thinking of what the winning score will be.....Mike Davis has been a genius at getting the final score around Even Par. He worked with David Fay in 2010 at Pebble Beach when the winning score was Even. He wasn't there in 2011 at Congressional, but in 2012, the winning score was +1. In 2013 when everyone said Merion would break scoring records, the winning score was +1. And last year, while Martin Kaymer played out of his mind and dominated Pinehurst, the second place score was -1. I think Davis will find a way to make this course both challenging and rewarding. There are holes out there that are very birdieable (or even eagleable), like 12. The 3rd, 8th, 16th and 1st/18th will also be birdie opportunities. The drier the course usually is, the easier it traditionally is to manipulate the scores to what you want it to be. I think in the end, you'll see the winner somewhere close to Even Par, give or take a couple strokes.

[Club Rat]

LOL, good catch.  Looks like Rickie too.  (My pick to win!!) ;)

Looks like Puma golf shoes and a Cobra golf bag to me ....... Gotta be Rickie ...........

Don't usually see him sporting casual "All White" attire .....

Good pick and good luck to both you and Rickie ......

Club Rat