2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay Discussion Thread

[RFKFREAK]

Man, so looking forward to this. Hoping they don't block it at work.

[gogolfing]

I live on Vancouver Island, a few hours North of Chambers Bay. We just had our driest month of May on record, so my guess is they didn't think it would be this dry at this time of year. That being said, with the proper set up by the USGA, this can be great.

I head down there tomorrow and am watching rounds 2-4. I can't wait...feeling like a kid on Christmas Eve right now.

[Scotsclaff]

Haha,

Just watching the latest interviews from the players.

Mike Davies has got these guys shitting themselves.

[Crim]

I live on Vancouver Island, a few hours North of Chambers Bay. We just had our driest month of May on record, so my guess is they didn't think it would be this dry at this time of year. That being said, with the proper set up by the USGA, this can be great.

I head down there tomorrow and am watching rounds 2-4. I can't wait...feeling like a kid on Christmas Eve right now.

Nice! Have an amazing time you lucky sucker. Also, if you want to forget about the TST Fantasy Golf for a weekend, that'd be cool too

[Crim]

[Crim]

Sorry for triple post, I'm just way too psyched already. Bubba & Phil group (featured group) tees off in 2 hours. I'll provide the link here when that happens. Damn you east coast! I want golf right now.

[OnceAnAssman]

This course reminds me of Arcadia Bluffs in Michigan

[boogielicious]

http://www.golfdigest.com/blogs/the-loop/2015/06/fifteen-things-to-expect-from.html

From golfdigest.com

The variability of tee length and wind changes will create a lot of trouble.

Quote:

Fifteen things to expect from Chambers Bay, per USGA mad scientist Mike Davis

By Shane Ryan

Mike Davis, executive director of the USGA, is the man most responsible for the unique character of the U.S. Open. And by "unique," I mean "incredibly demanding." Every year, a certain number of players will complain about the difficult setup of the U.S. Open course, and Chambers Bay, with its sloped tee boxes and shifting par-4/5s and massive four-tiered greens, is no exception. Davis held his pre-tournament presser Wednesday, and we'll get to the main takeaways in a second, but I want to talk quickly about something I noticed -- his total composure. In the maelstrom of gripes levied by players and media, he kept his cool, deflected criticism, and seemed to have a logical answer for every question and every doubt.

Here are 15 things we learned about this week's U.S. Open from Davis' presser:

1. A warm, dry May and June is going to make this course very, very fast, which will simultaneously give the long hitters an advantage, but also keep the short hitters in the game due to the significant roll-out for anyone who hits the fairway off the tee.

2. The wind is actually going to fluctuate over the course of the tournament, and will likely shift from the south to the north over the first two days -- as if things weren't hard enough.

3. The elevation changes will be greater than "any Open we've seen." I can confirm this after walking the course -- it is an absolute hike. Davis described it as an "endurance test."

4. Players can put the fear of a 7,900-yard course, which is what it plays if every tee is back, to rest. Davis said the course will fluctuate between 7,300 and 7,700.

5. Furthermore, the course will actually play shorter with the dry fairways, and some of the longer par-4s, like the 14th, will play 35 yarders shorter because they're downhill. Davis made it a point to diminish length concerns.

6. "We want to see how they think on their feet, how their caddie thinks on their feet." This is in line with an older quote from Davis, which is that he wants a player to feel like he's going through a round with a pebble in his shoe. The philosophy "is to have a very fair test of both their physical and their mental capabilities," added the USGA's Diana Murphy.

7. As expected, Davis said that players will have multiple ways to play a hole, whether it's a modified bump-and-run that stops short of the hole, a traditional high shot with spin, or playing off the various banks around a green. None of these are "right" or "wrong," but he seemed happy at the prospect of this variety.

8. The fast conditions will also lead to different choices off the tee. Davis predicted that we'd see at least one threesome on Thursday or Friday where one player took a driver, another a 3-wood, and another a long iron...all off the same tee.

9. Green speeds will fall between 11 and 12 on the Stimpmeter.

10. Contrary to what some players have been saying, the greens will actually speed up as the day goes along. Even though the poa annua grass (interspersed with the fine fescue) will grow as the day progresses, it actually loses friction, and won't slow a ball down like you'd expect.

11. The greens "look splotchy" due to the two types of grass, but Davis is happy with the smoothness of the roll, and less concerned about appearance. Brad Fritsch, a Canadian player, actually expressed similar sentiments on Twitter yesterday. Most other U.S. Open courses use poa annua and bentgrass, which are the same color, but fescue and bent are different, hence the mottled appearance.

12. It's hard to distinguish between the greens and the fairway for the simple fact that both are predominantly fine fescue grass.

13. His biggest anxiety is "managing the firmness." With the dry weather, the USGA won't be sabotaged by rain (as you could argue they were last year at Pinehurst on Thursday and Friday), and the concern now is not to go too far in the other direction, with a course so dry and fast that good approach shots won't hold the green -- Davis' main fear, and something that happened at Shinnecock, where they had to take the unique step of watering greens between holes.

14. His pace-of-play target for the first groups off the tee is four hours, 45 minutes, though he has no delusions about sustaining that pace for the entire field.

15. The choice of where to place the tees on any given day will depend on several factors, including hole location and prevailing wind. He is emphatically not concerned with complaints that it's too unpredictable, because he wants players to think on their feet, even if they've been practicing at Chambers Bay for a week.

[nevets88]

Video is 2 days old, but shows how fast greens can get:

[saevel25]

Video is 2 days old, but shows how fast greens can get:

I know some people say the greens are rolling good. On downhill putts like that, when the ball is rolling very slowly it almost looks like it follows the imperfections in the greens. You see it going downhill, but it's wobbling left and right. The greens must have small, I might call them ridges or bumps that cause the ball to bank left or right as it slows down.

I hope the USGA doesn't put the pins in spots where the ball has a hard time stopping under it's own weight.

[Crim]

I know some people say the greens are rolling good.

Todd Lewis from Golf Channel just suggested that the greens will be fairly bumpy and they'll be talked about all week. Don't know how much stock to put into him though.

Also, two caddies got hurt yesterday traversing Chambers Bay. Stenson's caddie will be on the bag today with a cast on his arm, and it is unknown if Stephen Gallacher's caddie will be able to continue after his fall yesterday.

http://golfweek.com/news/2015/jun/17/us-open-2015-golf-injury-fall-chambers-bay-caddie/

[iacas]

I know some people say the greens are rolling good. On downhill putts like that, when the ball is rolling very slowly it almost looks like it follows the imperfections in the greens. You see it going downhill, but it's wobbling left and right. The greens must have small, I might call them ridges or bumps that cause the ball to bank left or right as it slows down.

I hope the USGA doesn't put the pins in spots where the ball has a hard time stopping under it's own weight.

That happens on virtually every green when the ball is rolling that slowly.

We call it wobble and it's one of the reasons why you shouldn't try to leave your putt only six inches past the hole. When the ball is rolling that slowly it's very easy to have it hit small bumps and veer offline. On any type of green.

[RFKFREAK]

Sorry for triple post, I'm just way too psyched already. Bubba & Phil group (featured group) tees off in 2 hours. I'll provide the link here when that happens. Damn you east coast! I want golf right now.

Don't forget about Angel!

[gogolfing]

Nice! Have an amazing time you lucky sucker. Also, if you want to forget about the TST Fantasy Golf for a weekend, that'd be cool too

Thanks @Crim . Will be an amazing three days...Father's Day weekend at the US Open with my 13 year old son, who has become an avid golfer over the past 10 months. As for TST Fantasy golf, I will be seeking out some inside information....need to with you breathing down my neck!

[RFKFREAK]

Thanks @Crim. Will be an amazing three days...Father's Day weekend at the US Open with my 13 year old son, who has become an avid golfer over the past 10 months. As for TST Fantasy golf, I will be seeking out some inside information....need to with you breathing down my neck!

This sounds amazing.

We expect a full TR!

[Crim]

Don't forget about Angel!

My bad, the 2-time major champ deserves his due.

Here are the pin placements today.

[gogolfing]

This sounds amazing.

We expect a full TR!

Will be logging on to TST forum each night and giving my impressions of the day. I've had the tix for a year, and just can't wait to get on the grounds. I will see what I can post for pics too.

[RFKFREAK]

Will be logging on to TST forum each night and giving my impressions of the day. I've had the tix for a year, and just can't wait to get on the grounds. I will see what I can post for pics too.

This!!