Chambers Bay greens ‘outstanding’ after change, says USGA. Is another U.S. Open coming?

The 122nd U.S. Women’s Amateur is ongoing at Chambers Bay this week, running through Sunday’s championship round. It kicked off on Monday with a field of 156 golfers. Before Friday’s quarterfinal round, that number had been trimmed to eight golfers, who are competing in match-play format.

Mark Hill, the USGA’s managing director of championships, was on hand Thursday and Friday to observe. He’s in charge of future site selections for both amateur and Open championships. He sat down with News Tribune sports reporter Jon Manley on Friday to discuss how the week is going, what he thinks of the new putting greens and Chambers Bay’s chances of landing another U.S. Open in the future. Here is the full conversation.

Jon Manley: First of all, how’s the event going overall this week?

Mark Hill: I think it’s certainly meeting and exceeding the expectations that we had coming in. This is the first women’s championship that we’ve brought to Chambers Bay. We were very happy and excited to bring it here. The players that I’ve talked to and our staff that I’ve talked to have really enjoyed the experience, certainly the challenge of the golf course. I think Chambers has presented a great challenge. The host committee and group here at Chambers Bay, volunteers, Chambers Bay staff, have just really made the players feel welcome. It’s been great.

JM: What have you heard from the players about the course?

MH: It’s very challenging. From tee to green, very challenging. The greens are certainly — you’ve gotta know how to play certain shots. We see that play out on the broadcast. It’s certainly a golf course that you want to play more than a couple times to understand the nuances. What’s interesting about the players that have advanced to this point, is I think they’d tell you they learned a little more about the golf course with each passing round and learn how to approach shots in a different way with each passing round. I think the reviews of the golf course, in terms of its presentation, its challenge, have been very good.

JM: What do you think personally of the course?

MH: I like Chambers Bay. I was here for the first time in 2010. This is my 11th year on staff, but prior to that, I was a committee member and I refereed our championships. I refereed here in 2010. I was based in Louisville, Kentucky at the time, flew in and it was my first exposure to the course. Really liked it, liked it a lot. I think the architecture is exceptional. I think the intangibles like the scenery, it’s pretty stunning. You can get caught up in that, particularly as a player if you’re not careful. I’ve always been a fan of Chambers Bay.

JM: All three of the USGA’s original championships (U.S. Amateur, U.S. Open and the U.S. Women’s Amateur) have been held here now. What does that say about the relationship that the USGA and Chambers share?

MH: I think it says a lot. We’ve become very close with leaders in Pierce County, Chambers Bay, Kemper Sports. I think what it says is the respect we have for the golf course and the challenge that it represents for the players. We’ve always been excited to bring our championships here, but we were particularly excited to bring this one, to bring the Women’s Amateur here. We thought it could present a compelling challenge, particularly once we got into match play and I think that’s proven to be the case.

JM: The switch to poa annua greens has been well documented. The complaints were loud during the 2015 U.S. Open. What does the USGA think of the greens now?

MH: I think they’re outstanding. We saw that and heard it during the four-ball. We survey our players after each championship. We certainly heard very clearly that they enjoyed the challenge at the four-ball and really enjoyed the putting greens. It’s my understanding that the conversion has been good for Chambers Bay, good for business, good for everyday play and good for the players. So yeah, good all around.

JM: I know Pierce County was lobbying for a Women’s Open, maybe 2026, 2027. The USGA went in a different direction (The Riviera Country Country Club in California in 2026 and Inverness Club in Ohio in 2027). Why?

MH: We haven’t ruled out anything for the future at Chambers Bay. We’re in regular talks and communication with leaders here. As I mentioned earlier, we’re close. So I’d like to think we’ll continue to return to Chambers Bay. It’s just a question of what and when. Those discussions are ongoing.

JM: There are openings for future U.S. Open’s (2028, ‘31, ‘36, ‘38, ‘39, ‘40) and U.S. Women’s Open’s (2032, ‘33, ‘36, ‘37, ‘39). Is Chambers Bay in play for any of those?

MH: Again, we stay in regular and close communication with leaders here. We haven’t ruled anything out for the future. We’d like to think that we’ll have the opportunity to return to Chambers Bay well into the future.

JM: Is Pierce County actively lobbying for these championships? How would you describe your communication with them?

MH: They make it clear to us that they enjoy having USGA championships at Chambers Bay. They have made that clear to us, continue to make that clear to us and it certainly shows in a week like the one we’re having here at the Women’s Amateur. They enjoy having us, the community enjoys having us, the players like the golf course.

JM: Aside from the greens, there were also complaints about the walkability for spectators during the 2015 U.S. Open. Has all of that been addressed? Would you feel comfortable with the course (to host another U.S. Open) in its present state?

MH: I think so. Candidly, I’m outside of some of those strategic discussions, just being very candid. It’s my understanding as with any host championship, we review things, have discussions with the host site and I think some of those things were surfaced and have to some extent, been addressed or it’s certainly something that the people here are aware of.

JM: Like you mentioned earlier: the views, the setting. How much does Chambers have going for it in that regard?

MH: It’s great. When I think about it, it’s a municipal golf course. I’m a public golf course guy. I learned the game on municipal course, worked at a municipal course. My first job in golf was on a (municipal course) in Tennessee. I think it’s a wonderful asset for the area, community and municipality here to have a world-class venue.

JM: Yeah, even if you’re not a golfer, just the walk along the top.

MH: That’s the other thing that’s so fascinating about this whole area. It’s my understanding that the foot traffic on the walk paths has dramatically increased (since) covid. I’ve heard or read that it has doubled and has stayed there. When you think about that dynamic with a very busy golf course — I think they’re as busy as they’ve ever been — and how that intertwines with people walking their dogs, it’s pretty cool. You don’t see that very often.