UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. -- If you come to Chambers Bay for the U.S. Open and you're looking for the clubhouse, you're in for a long search. There isn't one, not in the style you normally see for a major event.
No opulent and majestic clubhouse like Congressional, Oakmont, Winged Foot or Riviera. Not here -- just a little one-story building about the size of a middle-class house in the suburbs.
It's one of the many quirks that makes Chambers Bay a different setting, not to mention a golf course like no other in the 119-year history of this event. This is not your father's U.S. Open or your grandfather's Open or even your older brother's U.S. Open.
This is a setting and a facility unique for this event: From a giant, gravel pit eight years ago on the shores on the Puget Sound to a links-style golf course similar to legendary British Open courses like St. Andrews, Turnberry or Muirfield.
"It's really like playing a [British] Open Championship in the United States, apart from the fact that it's about 20 degrees warmer," Ireland's Rory McIlroy said Tuesday. "I really like the golf course. I think it sets up well for my game."
Chambers Bay was a visionary idea of former Pierce County [Washington] executive John Ladenburg. Soon after it opened, Pat McCarthy became the county executive; he has been involved in the preparation for this event for seven years. Chambers Bay suffered financial challenges early on, when the national recession hit soon after it opened.
"It's been seven years of a lot of work, but it's been a labor of love," McCarthy said Tuesday. "We were in the midst of a recession. To get the course at the platinum level it needed to be for this event has been a challenge. It's been a huge team effort to make this a reality."
PGA Tour golfer Michael Putnam, who grew up a stone's throw from Chambers Bay, is proudly playing in this event after making the field last week at a sectional qualifier in Ohio.
"This is awesome for the whole Pacific Northwest," Putnam said. "When the course opened in 2007, they called me and asked if I wanted to come and play the first official round of golf. It was a pretty neat experience, not realizing that eight years later, I'll be the first person to tee off for the championship here."
This golf course is entirely publicly funded, which is why you don't have a multimillion dollar clubhouse. The building at the entrance to the facility sits on top of a cliff that overlooks the entire course and the South Sound, one of the most breathtaking views of any golf course in the world. There's a pro shop, a restaurant and not much else inside.
"We hope to have a clubhouse one day," said McCarthy, who attended four previous U.S. Opens to learn about the event. "My first U.S. Open [in 2009], I went to was Bethpage Black, which is a state park in New York. The clubhouse there is absolutely breathtaking. I thought, 'We have to get a clubhouse.' But quite frankly, it's not in our contract [with the USGA]. As you can see, [the USGA] builds a city here."
Chambers Bay also doesn't have a locker room for the players. No, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson aren't changing shoes in the parking lot. The USGA built nice tents for players that include locker rooms.
McCarthy said Pierce County officials are in talks with several developers for a privately funded clubhouse, which becomes more likely after the attention the U.S. Open brings Chambers Bay. The views of the course, the water and the mountains are spectacular.
"It definitely has the wow factor," McCarthy said. "The enthusiasm is just infectious here. It's a chance to show our civic pride. Chambers Bay is an asset to the entire community. It has tremendous amenities."
Like British courses, there are no trees lining the course. Well, there's one tree -- the Lone Fir that stands out of play near the 16th tee box.
What the course does have is endless elevation changes of rolling, high dunes lining many holes, with tall, tan, weedlike rough you wouldn't want to try to hack through with a machete. And here's a word you're going to hear over and over this week -- fescue, the type of grass here. It's extremely rare for American golf courses.
The course itself has been well chronicled, but many other things about Chambers Bay make it a unique experience for everyone involved.
Pierce County borrowed $20.7 million to build the entire facility, not just the golf course. In many ways, Chambers Bay has become one giant public park.
It includes the Central Meadow, where people fly kites, throw footballs or just sit in the sun. There's also a challenging 3.2-mile walking and biking trail that circles the course with major uphill climbs in spots. The facility has a fenced dog park and a children's area known at the Playground by the Sound.
"I've got a 4 year old and a 2 year old," Putnam said. "When we're home, we come use the playground at least twice a week. We're here a lot. We enjoy the park part of it, and then every once in a while go down and play golf."
And there's an 800-foot pedestrian bridge to the water, built at a cost of a whopping $3 million, to give residents access to the beach over the railroad tracks that run against the water next to the course.
That's another interesting part of the tournament this weekend, similar to some British Open events. Trains are going to pass by while golfers are taking shots, and a train whistle likely will blow when someone is in the middle of his backswing. It's part of the drill here.
PGA Tour player Ryan Moore grew up in nearby Puyallup, Washington. He remembers the day it was announced Chambers Bay was getting a U.S. Open.
"It was incredible to think a U.S. Open was coming here, truly where I grew up," Moore said. "I think this is a very golf-starved area, especially for professional golf. So it's huge to have an event like this for the rest of the world to get to see how great this area is."
Even without a fancy clubhouse, Chambers Bay is a special place.
