'Academy Award' Goes To
Chambers Bay
By Ken Klavon, USGA
Far Hills, N.J. - As renowned architect Robert Trent Jones
Jr. rode his way down an elevator recently in Houston, his
docile eyes were ebullient. The elevator crawled to a stop. Jones didn't. Who
could blame him? The 68-year-old son of iconic architect
Robert Trent Jones and brother of fellow designer Rees
bounded out as if he just won the prize of a lifetime.
Well, in all actuality, he had. Forget the more than 240
courses worldwide his firm has designed. For the
Yale-educated Jones was basking in the afterglow of seeing
his latest brainchild, Chambers Bay, awarded the 2010 U.S.
Amateur and 2015 U.S. Open, the crown jewel of the
package. "It made me beyond happy," said Jones. "I
felt like a 16 year old who qualified for a USGA junior
championship for the first time. It's an honor of a
lifetime." "It was like winning an Oscar," said Bruce
Charlton, 50, president of Robert Trent Jones II, LLC.  | | The opening hole at Chambers Bay
offers a picturesque view of Puget Sound. (Photo
Courtesy of Chambers Bay) |
When the USGA awarded Chambers Bay the two championships
on Feb. 8, it solidified Jones' 45-year-plus reputation
as a designer. Never mind that the Open signified the first
major championship Jones could stick in his back pocket.
Moreover, speaking of backs, it took a back seat to Chamber
Bay's breath-taking expanse as the perfect landscape to
carve out the masterfully panoramic-woven 7,585-yard,
par-72 course. Jones quickly pointed out that he dare not take all the
credit for the 240-acre links gem that abuts Puget Sound in
University Place, Wash. He singled out Charlton and Jay
Blasi, a 20-something wunderkind, as instrumental in
getting the $20.7 million man-made municipal course
developed. Charlton, a 27 year-veteran at the firm, took
the lead on the project. Blasi was his right-hand aide. In 1992 Pierce County bought the 930-acre park for $33
million. At that time, only visions of a 27-hole municipal
golf course were in the mind's eye. Pierce County
executive John Ladenburg headed up a search for an
architect that could create a unique championship layout,
ala Bandon Dunes on the southwest coast of Oregon. He first
got the idea from another muni: Bethpage State Park's
Black Course while at the 2002 U.S. Open. Bids were opened.
The most illustrious design firms, more than 50, fell over
one another trying to land the contract. Why? With the
property on a former quarry that produced sand and gravel,
this was a designer's dream. After all, courses are, as
Jones whimsically pointed out, all about drainage, drainage
and more drainage. Mike Davis, the USGA's senior director of Rules and
competitions, recalled being tipped off about the course
from fellow staff member Ron Read. While on a trip to the
Pacific Northwest, Davis came upon fenced-in terrain. "I remember looking over the fence and the first
thing I saw was 1,000 acres, not only on water but on all
sand," said Davis. "It was a giant sand pit. And
I thought to myself, 'Wow, does this ever have
potential.' " In the meantime, Jones' firm decided to take a
calculated risk as it attempted to procure the request for
proposal. In their presentation to county officials,
Charlton said his team abandoned the 27-hole schematic the
county envisioned and proposed an 18-hole layout
instead. "I remember we stood and said, 'You know, you
could have a very high quality golf course with 27
holes,' " said Charlton. "But if you want to
take it to the next level, you really need to do 18 good
holes. Before we were selected, I remember thinking,
'Never happen now. Forget it.' When the Pierce
County officials selected us, we were all celebrating
together and one of them said, 'Now the pressure's
on.' " Getting It Built The flowing topography invited thoughts "outside of
the box," as Charlton put it. Imagine placing a child
in a vast sandbox with toys galore. That's the feeling
Jones' crew had. Not only was the most challenging
aspect solved - namely soil and sand mix - there'd be
no need to haul it in. Much of the rich soil, though,
resided on the north side of the land parcel and needed to
be mined. A sifting process was set up on the south end to
ensure the right mix could be used. More than 1.4 million
cubic yards of soil were shifted throughout the course,
much of it by bulldozers to fashion mounds and windswept
vistas along seascape. In some cases while shaping and
reshaping holes, a layer of sand had to be added. During the initial construction in 2003, Charlton would
stand 240 feet above sea level on the eastern edge of the
site, on top of the rim that kissed the Puget Sound, and
visualize the layout. A strong bluff along the water
existed, long and linear, that lent itself to lowering
holes (15 and 16, for instance) closer to the Sound or
constructing others closer to one another at right
angles. But first, leftover elements from the quarry had to be
removed. There was a defunct mine operation, sorting bins,
tunnel and dilapidated buildings that needed to be
demolished or hidden. The sorting bins, which separated
rock and sand, were saved and serve as a signature marker
off the 18
th
hole. "It's kind of like Stonehenge," said
Charlton. "Where else in the world have you seen
something like that? That was our thinking by leaving the
storage bins." Jones approached playability with a smidgen of
clairvoyance. If he could get into the player's mind on
the tees, he knew the course could grow into its potential
as "The Monster Jr.," a reference to his
father's famous re-design of Oakland Hills. Unleveled
lie ribbon tees were introduced. The thought was to have
the teeing grounds flow and provide a tie-in with the dune
landscape. "Once you're in the player's mind,"
said Jones, "you're in his backswing." The beauty of the course lies in its natural feel. There
are no cart paths. There is, however, a paved trail for
exercisers that cuts through the course. Jones pushed for
something inimitable, struggling to find an adequate
comparison that he's created in the past. The Links at
Spanish Bay and The National Golf Club in Australia come to
mind for their breath-taking views, but in terms of
distinct characteristics, it's hard to judge, he
said. It's rare but not an innovative idea to hand the
U.S. Open keys to such a youthful course. Hazeltine
National Golf Club (1962) and Bellerive Country Club (1960)
- both, incidentally, designs done by Jones' father -
hosted the 1970 and 1965 Opens, respectively. Champions
Golf Club, opened in 1958, was awarded the 1969
championship. The thought, according to Davis, is that Chambers Bay
would host more championships down the line assuming things
go well. That, no less, would suit Charlton fine. "Just like the Academy Awards," said Charlton,
"you hope that you win another one at some point
again. But this is so unique." Ken Klavon is the USGA's Editor of New Media.
E-mail him with questions or comments at
kklavon@usga.org.
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