![\"Greg](\"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/johnstrawn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/06\/John-Clarkin-from-Turfgrass-with-Greg-Norman-at-Chambers-Bay-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a>Greg Norman and John Clarkin at Chambers Bay on the Monday of Open Week<\/p><\/div>\n
Robert Trent Jones, Jr., the Chairman and Chief Designer of RTJII, pointed his design team toward Scotland and Ireland for inspiration. Jones\u2019s experience with Dublin-based Turfgrass Consultancy on a number of projects throughout Europe led him to reach out to the firm for advice on the most appropriate grass types to use at Chambers Bay.\u00a0 Jones and Bruce Charlton, RTJII\u2019s lead designer on Chambers Bay, recruited the agronomists of Turfgrass Consultancy to advise them not only on the appropriate grasses but also on the proper grow-in regimen to produce a course which would play firm and fast, in the manner of a British links, rather than lush and soft like a parkland course.\u00a0\u00a0 Collaborating with RTJII and local experts, Turfgrass Consultancy recommended fine fescues, producing a course very much in the tradition of the classic links courses.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Mr. Jones asked us to visit the site and make recommendations,\u201d noted Turfgrass Consultancy\u2019s founding partner, John Clarkin, \u201cwe discovered that the climate of Chambers Bay closely resembled that of Ireland west coast, where most of its famous links are located.\u00a0 The notable difference was the Pacific Northwest\u2019s warmer and drier summers\u2014about ten degrees Fahrenheit warmer on average.\u00a0 We also found there were occasional strong winds, which could cause erosion and blow out bunker sand.\u00a0 Our grassing recommendations took all these local conditions into account, while retaining the aim of creating a true links, with its firm conditions, eccentric rollouts, and awkward lies.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the course opened in 2007, it was immediately recognized as the singular links golf experience which its creators had envisioned.\u00a0 In 2008, the USGA announced that both the 2010 US Amateur and the 2015 US Open would be contested at Chambers Bay, a remarkable endorsement of both the course and the local government which had committed public resources to create Chambers Bay as a stimulus for the local economy.\u00a0 The team of golf architects, builders and consultants who had brought the dream to life would also enjoy an enduring sense of accomplishment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re tremendously proud that Irish golf, which has enjoyed such prominence recently with the success of Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell, Paul McGinley and of course world number one Rory McIlroy,\u201d said Clarkin, \u201ccould also help in the creation of the first true links course ever to host a US Open.\u201d<\/p>\n
Turfgrass Consultancy\u2019s recommendation of fine fescues for the turf at Chambers Bay was based primarily on its suitability for a links course. But fine fescues also reduce both water use and fertilizer, which are key issues in golf operation and management today.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOur goal, Clarkin said, reflecting the aims of the entire design and development team, \u201cwas a course which could be maintained in a traditional manner, with minimal inputs, capable of flourishing in wet conditions but tolerating drought well.\u00a0 The Open will be the ultimate test of this approach.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fescue was also the appropriate choice for a walking only golf course, and on greens designed with dramatic undulations, as links typically are, so they can be maintained at appropriate speeds for conditions.\u00a0 Putting and the short game, Clarkin and the Turfgrass Consultancy team anticipate, will determine the outcome of this US Open more than sheer power.<\/p>\n
![\"Irish](\"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/johnstrawn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/06\/John-Clarkin-from-Turfgrass-with-Greg-Norman-and-Shane-ODonoghue-FOX-Sports-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a>Irish Television Commentator Shane O’Donaghue with Norman and Clarkin at Chambers Bay, Open Week 2015<\/p><\/div>\n
As the day quickly approaches for the inaugural tee shots at the first US Open ever to be held in the Pacific Northwest, players have begun to express their anxiety about contending on a links course whose character and challenges as a championship venue have yet to reveal themselves.\u00a0 The USGA will be the final arbiter, as always, in the course\u2019s setup as it seeks to identify America\u2019s national champion golfer for 2015.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
On the Monday of Open week, Clarkin walked the course with Greg Norman, Fox Sport\u2019s expert analyst for the network\u2019s first ever telecast of a US Open, identifying the places where the fairways adjacent to the closely cropped fescue greens, with turf practically indistinguishable from the greens proper, will repel barely miss-hit shots and send them careening back down the fairways as much as 130 yards.\u00a0 Because it has more elevation change than any Open course ever, with the 4th<\/sup>, 7th<\/sup>, and 13th<\/sup> holes particularly set into the base of the steep engineered slope on the eastern edge of the course, Chambers Bay is likely to produce an unprecedented level of focus and anxiety for even the great professionals competing at the Open.<\/p>\n Ireland\u2019s Turfgrass Consultancy is proud of its contribution to the creation of a true championship golf links in America.\u00a0 And as for the Open\u2019s contribution to the local economy?\u00a0 Reg Jones, the Senior Director of the US Open Championship, noted recently that the low estimate for the Open\u2019s impact on the regional economy is $140,000,000.\u00a0 The reality at Chambers Bay may well exceed the dream.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Text and Photos courtesy of John Clarkin and Julian Mooney of Turfgrass Consultancy.<\/strong>
\nFor more information on Turfgrass Consultancy, contact:
\nJohn Clarkin, Managing Director
\nTurfgrass Consultancy Ltd.
\nEMAIL: jclarkin@turfgrass.ie<\/a>
\nWEB: \u00a0www.turfgrass.ie<\/a>
\nOFFICE PHONE:\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0+353\u00a01 281 0331
\nIRISH MOBILE:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +353 86 246 6296
\nFRENCH MOBILE: +33 631 019 024
\nFollow us on Twitter: https:\/\/twitter.com\/TurfgrassC<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n
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