Should the U.S. Open go Back to Chambers Bay?

[Shindig]

Yes.  Has there been a recent U.S. Open where the pros didn't complain?

I doubt there's been any event, except the Masters, where they didn't complain. It's one of the reasons I miss Anthony Kim -- a few times, he was told that there were bad conditions somewhere on the course, and he'd compare it to the city munis he played growing up and say it was in great shape.

[DrvFrShow]

They'll have to let the greens grow a bit longer in the spring before the tournament so that the fescue can crowd out the poa. Unfortunately the conditions this spring did not allow that to happen. The USGA was managing the course. The USGA should not be blaming Chambers Bay for the problem with the greens.

And now we're having temperatures that are way above normal for this time of year. Upper 70s after the 4th of July is fine, but 90s before the 4th is ridiculous. That poor course.

[ChrisP]

Yes.  Has there been a recent U.S. Open where the pros didn't complain?

Yes....congressional. I wonder why.

[jamo]

I voted yes. Maybe not for a while, but in 20 years or so I'd like to see them come back to it.

[acetoolguy]

I said no, I don't want to see two British Opens in a row.

[nevets88]

The US is a salad bowl/melting pot of people and religion among other things, why should its national championship not reflect that character in the variety of landscape found between two oceans? Why should there be only one type of course, the parkland, solely associated w/the USO? This is not a landlocked nation. The more public courses in the rota, the better, albeit the definition of public is stretched for some.

[ChrisP]

I said no, I don't want to see two British Opens in a row.

Royal Liverpool didn't play like a British Open last year, so maybe they'll put it the same year as that to accommodate you.

[Wally Fairway]

I want to reiterate the making it a better experience for the fans; I read somewhere that a few pros stated it was surreal on a couple of holes that there were no fans.

I've not been to an Open, but I've been to regular tour events, a Ryder Cup and a PGA Championship and I can't imagine having holes that the fans are not able to get to.

Also the greens need to be at a point where they roll, I think they were in the condition they were in due to the dry weather but also due to the USGA insisting on having them be very fast. Having them be very fast means that the greens cannot grow at all, to the point where they would be considered healthy and have the ability to roll well.

Seeing these tournament on public courses is awesome, though most will never get to experience it, just the possibility is nice for the fans (try to get onto Oakmont, Augusta, etc).

I'd vote yes if those items were improved (and Fox did a better job in coverage)

[phan52]

I voted no, although I don't really have a vote and I believe that the USGA will almost certainly return to Chambers Bay. They need to resolve some issues, particularly the greens and the fans' experience.

The USGA is blaming the weather for what happened to the greens but, as is always the case with the US Open, the USGA has pretty much had control of the golf course and it's condition for months and they had people embedded on site for a couple of years in advance. I understand that they want Chambers Bay to address the problem and make the greens similar to the perfect conditions they had on a few of the greens like 13. They should have done the due diligence on that years ago.

And, as at Merion, they herded people into grandstands over critical portions of the golf course, following a player or a group was virtually impossible, and there were holes on the course where there was zero fan participation.

[RayG]

I want to reiterate the making it a better experience for the fans; I read somewhere that a few pros stated it was surreal on a couple of holes that there were no fans. I've not been to an Open, but I've been to regular tour events, a Ryder Cup and a PGA Championship and I can't imagine having holes that the fans are not able to get to.

The Majors have turned into any other mainstream professional sport. Fans on site mean NOTHING to the bottom line. TV rights payments fill the coffers. If it WERE possible, NFL, MLB ,NBA, NHL teams would play in a vacuum. A building with just the area needed to play. no fans would mean no expenses to cater to the fans. No ushers, security, etc... Take a look at some of the secondary tours on TV. There's nobody watching other than family and REALLY dedicated fans. The Umbrella sponsor pays the bills so the people in the galleries aren't needed to pay any expenses.

[bubble]

YES

this was the best US open I have ever seen. The course is very "european british open style" nevertheless.

[mchepp]

I am very very torn on this. Everyone here in the Pacific Northwest loved having the event here. A true boon to the area. However, I voted no, but not because of the greens. More the viewing issues at the course.

1. Fans have a really hard time following the action. The hills and uneveness of the course led to holes without any spectators. Many people who drove up said that there were really long lines to get into the grandstands and anywhere else than that was not very good to watch the action. This is due to the course layout and is a major issue in my opinion.

2. Lost golf balls by the cameraman. I made this complaint before a ball was struck and many were lost.

The course was done in by a combination of things. As @iacas said it was dry this spring.

I would like them to come back to the Pacific Northwest but not Chambers Bay.

[Golfingdad]

I am very very torn on this. Everyone here in the Pacific Northwest loved having the event here. A true boon to the area. However, I voted no, but not because of the greens. More the viewing issues at the course.

1. Fans have a really hard time following the action. The hills and uneveness of the course led to holes without any spectators. Many people who drove up said that there were really long lines to get into the grandstands and anywhere else than that was not very good to watch the action. This is due to the course layout and is a major issue in my opinion.

2. Lost golf balls by the cameraman. I made this complaint before a ball was struck and many were lost.

The course was done in by a combination of things. As @iacas said it was dry this spring.

I would like them to come back to the Pacific Northwest but not Chambers Bay.

Regarding your point 1 ... it's worth noting that at least a handful of people posted in the US Open thread that actually went to the tournament, and most, if not all of them, said that they had a great experience.

It's easy to lament from afar that it's really lame that nobody could walk the 8th hole and therefore the viewing experience must stink, but I've been to many tournaments and I think only one time did I ever walk the entire course in one day.  If I found out that there was one hole I couldn't see anyway, I'd just go "OK, cool, well that just makes my viewing strategy decision about 5 or 6% easier."

You don't go to see live golf (any sport for that matter) to see everything like you would be able to on TV, you go for various other reasons (everybody is different) and I have no doubt that I could have found a way to enjoy myself at Chambers Bay were I there last week.

[DaveP043]

Although I thought the tournament was very entertaining, I'm not a big fan of the golf course as a US Open venue.  I just didn't like the very severe slopes, multiple backboards and sideboards, the results of the shots seemed a little too random for my taste.  If they do decide to return, I'd hope that the USGA would re-think the set-up from a on-site fan standpoint.  If I was there, I'm sure I'd want to be able to see ALL the holes, and might want to follow an individual player, and it sounds like that just wasn't an option this time.  I'm sure than can work through the agronomy issues, and again, I enjoyed watching it, but I'd prefer a little more traditional layout for the US Open.

Oh, a little side note, they talked about the players having to climb over 600 feet during a single round.  I looked at a recent round I played and recorded using Google My Tracks.  My golf bag traveled  over 5.8 miles, so I walked a bit more than 6 miles.  The highest and lowest elevations are 265 feet apart, and with all the ups and downs I climbed 721 feet.  no wonder I'm tired when I finish a round!

[DaveP043]

The Majors have turned into any other mainstream professional sport. Fans on site mean NOTHING to the bottom line. TV rights payments fill the coffers. If it WERE possible, NFL, MLB ,NBA, NHL teams would play in a vacuum. A building with just the area needed to play. no fans would mean no expenses to cater to the fans. No ushers, security, etc...

Take a look at some of the secondary tours on TV. There's nobody watching other than family and REALLY dedicated fans. The Umbrella sponsor pays the bills so the people in the galleries aren't needed to pay any expenses.

I can't agree with this.  I agree that TV pays the lion's share of the bills, but onsite fans contribute significantly.  Ticket sales are in the range of 40,000 weekly tickets at $400 and up, adding up to $15 to 20 Million.  There's additional revenue from food vendors leasing space to cater to the fans, from corporate hospitality, from sales of merchandise.  The reports put Fox's deal with the USGA at about $100 million per year, which includes the rights to broadcast 8 USGA championships.  The revenue from on-site fans is far from inconsequential.

[burton9190]

I'd prefer to watch golf than pinball :-D

[dkolo]

As amazing as it was having golf in prime time, I'd be 100% in favor of every US Open being held on the West Coast. That was amazing from a scheduling perspective. Doesn't keep me hostage in my house to watch TV or having to DVR it and go on social media lockdown to prevent spoilers. This broadcast window was perfect for a TV viewer on the East Coast

[Divot Master]

I voted No.  The U.S. Open is the #1 most prestigious golf event on the continent (sorry, Masters).  They (CB management and the USGA staff) screwed up spectator access, course routing, and greens conditions, to name just a few things.  They should not be afforded a second chance, when there are plenty of other deserving courses out there waiting for their first shot.  Nobody should be given a U.S. Open until after they have proven themselves with regular tour events (Amateur events don't count here, as the spectator requirements for such are minuscule compared to a tour event), and have been around long enough to establish reliable turf conditions.