Chambers Bay Golf Course, University Place, Washington - a Unique Golfing Experience at the ``Ends of the Earth''

Chambers Bay Golf Course has been described as a "golf masterpiece'' and a truly unique experience at the "ends of the earth'' in the state of Washington. The course, which opened in 2007, is a Robert Trent Jones II design, and a tribute to the historic links-style courses of Scotland and Ireland.

The course features a breathtaking layout that overlooks Puget Sound and its coastal vistas, wind-carved dunes and fescue grasses. In the distance, the snow-capped peaks of the Olympic Mountains rise above the horizon, combining natural beauty with a championship-golfing experience.

When designing the course, the Robert Trent Jones II design team made some decisions that contributed to the uniqueness of the course. They emphasized the course design over the clubhouse location, for example, pulling the clubhouse away from Puget Sound so that seven of the 18 holes touch the water or give that feeling.

The 18-hole, par-72 course plays to a staggering 7,585 yards from the longest "Teal'' tees, with a USGA rating of 76.9 and a slope rating of 135. Most golfers will choose something more manageable, with the White tees playing to a modest 6,011 yards.

Chambers Bay is also a "walking-only'' course, in keeping with the design team's goal of delivering the purest of golfing experiences. The result is a public links-style layout that will conjure up images of the St. Andrews Old Course and Royal Troon Golf Club where the game of golf was born.

Like those courses, Chambers Bay features all the elements of a true links course: it's built along a major body of water, it has very few trees, if any, it resides on sandy soil, it features a natural, open layout where the landscape and weather factor into play, it has ground contours that provide remarkable undulations and slopes in both the fairways and greens, it has few internal water hazards, and it features seaside grasses.

The course is located just outside of Tacoma, Washington, less than an hour's drive from Seattle. As a testament to the caliber of the course and its design, Chambers Bay is the host to the 2015 U.S. Open and 2010 U.S. Amateur Golf Championships.

The course also received another accolade on August 14, 2007, when it became the first golf course in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest to be certified as a Silver Signature Sanctuary by Audubon International. Such a certification is given only to new developments that meet Audubon International's demanding standards and environmental disciplines. And the staff of Chambers Bay is dedicated to protecting water quality, wildlife habitats on the property, and the environment in general.

The 950 acres of land on which the course was built also has a rich history. The local quarry dates back to the Steilacoom Indian Tribe and the first European settlers in 1832. And the land encompassed in the Chambers Creek Properties has been used as a location for a paper mill, numerous lumber companies, a gravel mine, and a railroad center, to name a few. For those who wish to sightsee, the nearby Grandview Trail runs along the summit of a 200-foot bluff, offering sweeping view of the golf course, Puget Sound and local islands.

Chambers Bay Golf Course offers a full array of instruction options, while the Chambers Bay Grill is a full-service restaurant and bar, featuring menu items ranging from fish-and-chips to prime rib. From the dining area, guests can gaze out upon Puget Sound, where whales sometimes crest the water's surface, or perhaps see eagles soaring above the Olympic Mountains - not unlike the "ends of the earth.''