Chambers Bay
A county-owned public course built on an old gravel mine above Puget Sound — walking-only, treeless but for one lone fir, and good enough to host a U.S. Open just eight years after it opened. The views are free; the greens made grown men weep on live TV.
Pierce County bought a worked-out sand-and-gravel mine above Puget Sound, handed it to Robert Trent Jones Jr., and got back a links course good enough to host a U.S. Open eight years after it opened. That is not how municipal golf usually goes. Chambers Bay is treeless but for a single lone fir, tumbling across old quarry benches with the Sound glittering below and Mount Rainier floating on a clear day — a public course that plays, and photographs, like nowhere else in America.
| Yards | Rating | Slope | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tips | 7,158 | 74.4 | 138 |
| Regular | 6,345 | 70.6 | 130 |
How it plays
Firm, fast, and relentlessly uphill-and-down. From the Black tees it stretches to a brawny 7,158 yards, but everyday players should pick a human set and let the ground do the work — this is tumbling, rumpled fescue where a shot can release forty yards or kick dead sideways off a slope. The wind off the Sound is constant, the greens roll big and bold (poa annua now, not the much-maligned fescue of 2015), and the smart miss is almost always short and underneath the hole. Take a caddie your first time; local knowledge here is worth strokes.
A worked-out gravel mine that woke up as a U.S. Open venue.
Where it bites
Everywhere the elevation and the wind conspire — which is most of it. The par-5 8th climbs and never relents, and the whole round demands you flight the ball and respect the tilt. The finish is the postcard: the par-3 15th plays toward the Sound beneath the Lone Fir, the only tree on the property; the 16th, “Beached,” runs hard along the old rail line to a long, skinny green; and the par-5 18th, “Tahoma,” climbs home framed by dunes. Views this good are usually private. This one takes tee times online.
The pedigree
Chambers Bay announced itself fast: Golf Digest named it the Best New Public Course of 2008, and by 2010 it was hosting the U.S. Amateur. Then came the 2015 U.S. Open — Jordan Spieth’s second major of the year, sealed when Dustin Johnson three-putted the 72nd green from twelve feet. The TV greens were a scandal and the regrassing followed, but the USGA kept coming back: the 2022 Women’s Amateur, and future championships already on the books through the 2027 Junior Amateur, a 2028 Amateur Four-Ball, and the 2033 U.S. Amateur. Today it’s routinely ranked the No. 1 public course in Washington.
Plan your visit
It’s in University Place, about 20 minutes from downtown Tacoma and 40 from Sea-Tac, so it pairs easily with a Seattle trip. Book through the county’s reservation system — residents get the best rate, out-of-staters the premium — and plan to walk, because you’re walking regardless. Wear real shoes, bring a push cart or hire a caddie, and give yourself time on the range and the Chambers Creek trail afterward. The Sound doesn’t get old.
Who should play here
Walkers, history buffs, and anyone who wants a U.S. Open venue on their card for a muni green fee. Chambers Bay isn’t for the cart-riding, flag-hunting target golfer — it’s windy, hilly, and happy to reject a perfect-looking shot. But if you’ll take the ground game, the views, and the story, there’s nothing else quite like playing an Open course that the county technically owns.
Full scorecard — Chambers Bay (Black tees)
Par 72 · 7,158 yards · 74.4 rating · 138 slope
| Hole | Par | Yards | Handicap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 494 | 3 |
| 2 | 4 | 415 | 9 |
| 3 | 3 | 167 | 15 |
| 4 | 5 | 522 | 13 |
| 5 | 4 | 457 | 5 |
| 6 | 4 | 452 | 7 |
| 7 | 4 | 467 | 1 |
| 8 | 5 | 558 | 17 |
| 9 | 3 | 197 | 11 |
| 10 | 4 | 394 | 4 |
| 11 | 4 | 460 | 8 |
| 12 | 4 | 295 | 18 |
| 13 | 5 | 519 | 14 |
| 14 | 4 | 455 | 2 |
| 15 | 3 | 171 | 16 |
| 16 | 4 | 396 | 10 |
| 17 | 3 | 200 | 6 |
| 18 | 5 | 539 | 12 |
| Total | 72 | 7,158 | — |
Hole-by-hole yardages and stroke indexes are illustrative.
Chambers Bay, quickly
- How much is a round at Chambers Bay?
- It's tiered by residency and season. Pierce County residents pay the least (roughly $115 off-season); Washington residents more; and out-of-staters the most, up to about $450 at summer peak. Check the current rate card before booking.
- Who designed Chambers Bay and when did it open?
- Robert Trent Jones Jr. (RTJ II) designed it on a reclaimed sand-and-gravel mine. It opened in 2007 and hosted the U.S. Open just eight years later, in 2015.
- Can you ride a cart at Chambers Bay?
- Generally no — it's walking-only, with carts allowed only by medical accommodation, and a caddie or push cart is recommended. It's a genuine walk, with big elevation change.
- What happened to the greens?
- The fine-fescue greens were widely criticized on TV at the 2015 U.S. Open. The course piloted poa annua on a few greens in 2017, then converted all 18 during a closure in late 2018, reopening in April 2019. They're far more consistent now.
- Who won the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay?
- Jordan Spieth, by one stroke, after Dustin Johnson three-putted the 72nd green.
We may earn a commission on the tee-time link above — we only point you where we’d book ourselves. Scorecard figures are illustrative.