Pricey Chambers Bay can compete with state's best

I played it and I like it.

Chambers Bay matches its hype. The new course south of Tacoma is a visual treat with a view of Puget Sound from every hole, and what holes they are.

One way I judge courses is by how many holes I can remember the next day. Chambers Bay set the record with 17.

This is a course where the post-round question, "What was your favorite hole?" is as inevitable as "Let's get something cold to drink and settle our bets."

My two favorites are the par-4 10th hole with its fairway narrowing between two giant dunes, and the par-3 ninth that drops 100 feet. It's hard to wait to hit your tee shot on No. 9 because if you hit it well, it's so much fun to watch.

Chambers Bay is a links-style course with hard fairways that invite you on most holes to be creative and play either bump-and-run or fly the ball to greens. You have options and are thinking all the time on this track.

I like trains so I consider the major rail line at the edge of the Sound edge of the course to be a bonus instead of a distraction. The engineers waved back, too.

This is a walking course and the absence of cart paths enhances the beauty. But be advised this is no stroll in the park, even with a caddie.

There are four uphill holes and as one golfer put it, "It's definitely not for the unfit."

Time will tell whether there are enough deep-pocketed golfers who enjoy walking to keep the course busy at its current high greens fees.

What don't I like about it?

I'm not crazy about the public path on the course. It is an obvious effort to show Pierce County taxpayers that they have access to the grounds and that the course property is more than a rich folks' playground. With that said, the trail is mostly out of the way and walker-jogger contact with golfers is limited.

I also don't like the fact that the first hole is a 436-yard par-4 from the white tees. That's almost a guaranteed bogey for me and I like the chance for a good start.

However, this is a course where you can score. It's hard to lose balls here because there is only one tree on the course and no water hazards.

I don't like the greens fees of $150 plus tax on weekends and $135 during the week for non-Pierce County residents because I can't afford them. But they didn't build this Robert Trent Jones II-designed course for me. They paid $20.7 million for a special course to try to put Tacoma on the national golf map, to attract golf-centric tourists and to try to draw a U.S. Open or PGA Championship.

With an investment of that magnitude, greens fees can't be cheap. Fortunately, there is plenty of affordable golf elsewhere in Pierce County, which gave the county the green light to try to hit a national home run with Chambers Bay.

One thing is certain: With Chambers Bay now in operation, the best-course-in-the-state debate just got a lot more interesting.

Craig Smith: 206-464-8279 or csmith@seattletimes.com