For better and worse, Chambers Bay reminded me of Shaquille O'Neal when he played college basketball at LSU: He was big (it looks like you could fit Bandon and Pacific Dunes in the space that houses Chambers Bay); he was a little raw (there's no significant rough yet); and he had some flaws (the greens are hard and shaggy). But it was clear O'Neal would have a dominant pro career. And so will Chambers Bay. Its high season is May through September. Green fees range from $155 in the week to $170 on Fridays and weekends.
The course evokes the best of golf in Scotland. From the ninth tee, I thought of the view from the hotel at Turnberry, over a sweeping course and across the neighboring Puget Sound. Trains roll past, as they do at Prestwick. And just like the local park that is St. Andrews, you'll share Chambers Bay with walkers and joggers, kids and dogs, all using the public footpath that surrounds the 7,585-yard course. Come 2015, USGA officials will have all the room they need for merchandise tents, trailers and the 45,000-plus daily galleries.
Critics thought Ladenburg was crazy to plant grass in a sandbox for $21 million. "I told them, 'I'm not building a muny. I'm building something to attract tourism and a course that's worthy of an Open,' " he says. Chambers Bay has that Open, and the buzz that comes with it: Ladenburg estimates 40 percent of the course's play is from more than 200 miles away. Tacoma now casts a shadow of its own.
Any more questions?
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
ROUND(S) OUT THE ITINERARY
My other favorite area courses: Olympic Course at Gold Mountain (inland, it winds through thick trees), Washingtona National (four strong finishing holes) and the Home Course (a former site of an explosives plant with tee markers shaped like sticks of dynamite.
54 HOLES IN A DAY IS NOT ADVISED
Chambers Bay caddie Bill Heikkinen, 63, once had three loops in a day, then had to call his wife from the garage to help him out of his car. Take a caddie for $35 plus tip, but players should think twice about 54 holes in a day.
PEACE OF MIND, BODY AND FEET Next door to Hotel Murano is Savi Day Spa. If golf has got you down, skip a round and treat yourself to the "Gentleman's Retreat." It's 4½ hours and $290 of stiff-swing therapy. Catered lunch is included.
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