Travel bucket list idea:
University Place, Washington, United States of America (USA)
Credit Shutterstock.com/A. Emson
Chambers Bay is infamous as the controversial host of the 2015 US Open, when Gary Player called it the worst course he’d seen in 63 years as a pro and Henrik Stenson said it was like “putting on broccoli,” but this Trent Jones Jr design on Puget Sound is one of the purest – and most beautiful – links courses in the United States. Lee Westwood said about it: “It’s the kind of course I’d like to come and play with my mates, with a cart and some beers.”
The course brings the very best of Scottish and Irish links to the Pacific Northwest, and adds tawny fescue grasses, huge sand dunes, generous fairways and breathtaking views of the Puget Sound and snow-capped Olympic Mountains. Despite the experiences of 2015, the play is fair and challenging, calling for imagination and no small amount of artistry in shaping shots.
There are a handful of world-class municipal courses in the United States – Pebble Beach and Bethpage Black amongst them – but Chambers Bay, which only opened in 2007, is unquestionably to be ranked alongside them. And it’s way more affordable to play than the others. Just bring a cart and some beers.
Tee times are available daily. Book your tee time online up to 90 days in advance. The Chambers Bay Grill is a full-service restaurant at the complex, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The course is open all year round, seven days a week, but April to September is the best time to play – if only to avoid the colder weather.
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Inspiration
Spectacular landscapes, impeccable fairways and greens, brilliantly-designed holes and plenty of golfing folklore – we asked golf expert and journalist Fionn Davenport to recommend his top 30 golf courses from around the world.