I am 76 & played with my son 42. The walking part for me is a killer. I thought a links course would be flat but this is EXTREMELY up & down. I estimate the walk is 6/7 miles. Fantastic lay out but we played Aug 2014 & the greens were only average. I shot 86 with a 12 handicap & my son 81 with a 7 so if you're a hacker you will NOT like the experience. It is well worth the money & visually one of the most attractive courses I've played. With walking only there are many, many divots that have not been sanded. If you play make sure there are no temporary greens as we played 10 months before the US Open & there was talk about temporary greens and limiting play.

Customer Service

Excellent customer service. Everybody from the pro shop to van drivers to caddies to the starter could not have been more polite and welcoming. The starter accommodated my son with an earlier tee time as we had to fly out earlier and was very , very helpful.

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In Ireland Ballybunion, Lahinch. In Scotland Carnoustie. NONE of these courses are as hilly as Chambers Bay. The walking part for me at 76 was extreme. You have to be young and fit. Even my son at 42 was puffing with the up and down.

Beautiful, fun course. Perfect setting.

Customer Service

Very rude Caddies.

I played in a Group of 3 with family. The other 2 had caddies but I did not. The caddies didn't know we were family, and they gave me a hard time the entire round. Apparently because I had the audacity to play without a caddy.

It started on the first hole. My Mom's caddy walked right across the line of my 20 foot putt. I asked him to please not do that, and he said "it doesn't matter."

It was a sunny day and I was carrying my bag and got a little sweaty, and one of the caddies told me I was fat.

Also, My Dad was playing with his wife who is a good golfer, and she drives it well. My Dad's Caddy was making fun of him for "not driving it as far as your wife".

One caddy berated me for approaching the bunker from the wrong spot, when I didn't even have a club in my hand. I was looking at my lie, not getting in the bunker.

I shot a good score for me, and the course is beautiful. But the caddies were unprofessional.

There have been a few occasions in my golfing career when playing a round of golf, I came across a golf hole so beautiful and stunning, that the hair on the back of my neck stood straight up and goosebumps ran down my arms. The first time it happened was at the Challenge at Manele (Lanai, Hawaii) on the 12th hole. A breathtaking par 3 that requires your shot to travel 500 feet over the ocean to a green that extends out on a cliff. Bill Gates chose that spot upon which to take his wedding vows...need I say more?
October 8, 2010, I again, got to experience that same feeling, standing on the 8th fairway at Chambers Bay Golf Course. Looking down at the holes to be played and the holes just played, on a piece of land that can be described in a thousands words...or none. The air from my lungs were forced out in awe. I stood there for several moments with the view, stunning with the rays of sunlight slipping through the clouds as though it were God shining his light onto a special piece of earth....
Maybe if I had a bad round, I would not have felt so moved...but I shot an 83 on a course that required every bit of my 10 handicap. And a tap-in birdie on 18 was a very pleasing way to end the round.

Without question, if you make it out to that part of the country, Chambers Bay is a MUST play.

I've played Chambers Bay ten times now. The course is now playing extremely hard for most amateurs. The fescue rough is very deep and balls hit into it are usually lost. Most of the greens are very sloped and this again is very difficult for most amateurs. I can't think of another course that is this difficult. That being said, it's my opinion that there aren't really any exciting holes. For having a blank canvas to carve out great holes, where are they? Where are the wow holes? The entire property has nice views, but the holes themselves aren't very exciting. My favorites are 10, 13, and 14. The back nine is far superior to the front. We should remember that this course was created for major championships and not for the average amateur golfer. It is a difficult walk and they have now even resorted to carting golfers between the 3rd and 4th holes. I consider that to be a design flaw. Also, slow play is the norm. I also noticed that there are several bunkers between the greens and the next tee and this needlessly creates slower play. Finally, I would like to see a lowered green fee for all Washington golfers. I feel this course is worth $75 and I think they would get a lot more business. For hosting the US Amateur in less than a month, it seems that business is way down from what it was last year.

Customer Service

I've made several complaints to the course through the survey they email you after you play. In particular, the employees are either unprofessional or always have a hand out for a tip. The caddie supervisor frequently calls golfers "bud" or "dude." I didn't appreciate the expectance of a tip for taking my clubs out of the van. I could do that myself.

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Spanish Bay. I haven't played there, but it seems like Whistling Straits is very similar to this course.

Wonderfuls Links golf experience. I have played the best in Europe and I never thought I would see a real Links course in America. Well this is the real deal. I realize that most Americans who have never played in Scotland or Ireland will not know what I am saying, but real Links golf is far different that what they call Links here.
The course is perfect in every way. A great test of golf and shotmaking. I can see why the USGA immediately put two championships here. I love the combination of long, short, narrow, wide. I love the tough greens with real fescue, something most golfers here never even see. If you can't get to St.Andrews, this is the closest you will get.

Customer Service

Great, I got a good caddie who showed me around and helped me play the correct kind of shots into hole. Better know how to bump and run and play in the wind.

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St. Andrews, Ballybunion,

I was not favorably impressed with this course. Brutally difficult to walk with my pushcart (most of the paths are sand so it's akin to walking on the beach while pushing a cart - exhausting). The greens were in surprisingly good condition but "furry" is the best way to describe them. And, speaking of the greens, they are unbelievably difficult to read - I imagine we should have hired a caddy but thought we could wing it.

Some of the par 4s are unbelievably long while the par 3s are too short. One last complaint - the bunkers and waste areas are very difficult to enter and exit. This is NOT a friendly course for anyone other than a scratch golfer (I'm and 11 hdcp and the course chewed me up and spit me out).

The views are very beautiful, but I don't need to punish myself like that again anytime soon. It will be nice to watch the Amateur and the Open after having played here though.

Customer Service

Exceptional - treated us very well. Plus the restaurant terrace is nice - albeit the food and drinks are a bit pricey.

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I haven't ever played a course like it, with the exception of certain golf nightmares I've had.

what an outstanding golf course. I shot a 78 from the sand tees, and the only way to play this course is with a caddie. I was lucky enough to be paired with "Dennis", who made the round that much better. Brutal greens, lots of undulations that seem unfair at times. ON number five i found a bunker in my way to the hole and had to putt from the green at a 90 degree angle to the hole. You get alot of roll on the dry fairways. Made 4 birdies, but a handful of boags. If you do not drive it in the fairway, hitting greens in reg can be a challenge. I would definitely play this course again if i am in the area. It will be fun to watch the pros play it at around 7700 yards. a few of the par 3s had alternate tee boxes growing for the open to be held in 2015. try playing 15 or 17 from the tips.... nuts.

Customer Service

great

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spanish bay

This course will likely be in fantastic shape for those who qualify to play in the 2010 Am or the 2015 Open. Unfortuntely for the rest of us we get stuck paying $180 to play a fantastic layout w/ not so good conditions. Played in July 09 for the 3rd time and the greens were the best ever, unfortunatley they were still very poor (although faster than normal, around 8.5 to 9.5), with holes, limited consistency, excessive top dressing on some and then properly top dressed on others. Some greens had sand literally dumped in some areas then bare in others, leaving a completely horrible puting surface to play on for $180 in the middle of summer (???). Tee'd off at 1:45 and most water jugs were empty. Not a $170 experience. The staff thinks very highly of themselves and ability to asses the golf course. The bus driver indicated greens were "perfect" and running at 10 to 11. Try not even close to perfect, some at 8, some at 9 and others ran 10 on top of the course grain top dressing sand. I would have prefered to pay $50 or $60 and played Gold Mntn. I felt as though the public is being taken advantage or (price and expectations) due to forthcoming US Open publicity. In the end, I'll probably not waste $170 and find somewhere less full of themselves. Don't even get me started on the ridiculous comments about "easy to walk"...this course is a bear of a walk and a caddy adds another $50 + tip to the $170 green fee.

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Most municipals for under $45 were of similar caliber in conditioning to this $180 track.

I've played Chambers Bay three times now and each time was in different conditions. The first time, in April 2009, the course played fairly slow, although the fairways and greens are always firm. The greens putted so slow, maybe a 6 on the stimpmeter. In May 2009, I played it again and it played faster but still relatively slow. I played again in July 2009 and the course was really running fast. The fairways and greens were firm and fast and the greens were playing more like 11. It was finally playing as a true links so I guess this is really a midsummer course.

The back nine is so clearly better than the bland front nine. There are maybe only a couple of real pot bunkers, otherwise it is waste bunkers that really add nothing to the course.

I've never gotten the feeling that I'm playing in Scotland or any place other than Tacoma. However, the views are beautiful, but only on a clear day.

The course advertises itself as "easily walkable," but I don't know what course they're talking about. There are quite a few significant climbs and everyone I've played with have complained about the long hauls between green and tee.

Customer Service

Everything is done well.

Dont know if this is the right forum, but here goes. Creighton is the best caddy you can get out here. Played out here a couple times and the guy is money. He knows every hole, is not afraid to tell you to back off....etc. Listen to him and you will go low. Period, end of story. The only time I didnt listen to him I made bogey. The dude is awesome. Shot 81 from the sands today. 39 on the back and loved every minute of it. The guy is seriously smart. Will request him every time.