Chambers Bay expected to be shut down starting in October for greens conversion

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Updated: July 2, 2018

Chambers Bay, the Pierce County golf course that hosted the 2015 U.S. Open, is likely to close for about five months starting in October to complete the conversion from mostly fescue greens to poa annua greens.

Chambers Bay general manager Matt Allen said three greens — numbers 7, 10 and 13, plus the practice green — have been converted using poa turf and are being used by golfers and are being monitored. If results remain encouraging, he said the plan is to close the course in the fall and install poa turf on the remaining 15 greens. The poa turf is being purchased from a British Columbia company, and much of it already is being stored in a nursery at Chambers Bay.

Poor greens were a major complaint of golfers at the 2015 U.S. Open. Unusually hot, dry weather in the weeks preceding the Open contributed to the problem.

While the course is closed, Allen said steps also will be taken to improve spectator flow on the course.

Allen said the tentatively planned shutdown is “a proactive move” done with the approval of the United States Golf Association. Allen said Chambers Bay wants to be the site of another U.S. Open and before then, host a U.S. Women’s Open. Sites for the U.S. Women’s Open have been announced through 2023, and sites for the U.S. Open have been picked through 2027.

Chambers Bay was scheduled to be the site of the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball (best ball) Championship in 2019, but at its request the tournament has been moved to Bandon Dunes in Oregon. Chambers Bay will host the four-ball championship in 2021.