This week golfs US Amateur Championship is being held at Chambers Bay, Tacoma, Washington. Turfgrass Consultancy had the honour of working alongside Robert Trent Jones II as the agronomists for the grassing plan and grow in of the course. As an Irish based golf development and agronomy company, the Trent Jones organisation wanted to replicate the typical links land found alongside the coastal waters of Ireland. Ireland contains more than 30% of the total links courses around the world and over the years we have experienced many different scenarios with the fine fescues that adorn our fairways. Robert Trent Jones II asked Turfgrass Consultancy to produce playing surfaces similar to those found on the world famous links courses such as Portmarnock, Ballybunion and Waterville.
Only fine fescues were chosen for the site which was an old sand and gravel mine. While Chambers Bay Links is on the sea and the wind can blow as strong as it does in Ireland, thankfully the temperatures are a lot nicer in the summer time which all bodes well for the upcoming 2015 US Open. The greens were constructed using the local sand to depths of up to 2 feet in order to dry them out faster than a normal USGA green. This would create firmness on the surfaces and bring the undulations on the greens into play more often.
We would like to wish the USGA, Pierce County, Robert Trent Jones II, Kemper Sports and all the staff at Chambers Bay the best of luck with the event this week and look forward to seeing you all soon.
Ire & GB viewers can catch the US Amateur Semi-Finals @9pm on Saturday and the Final @9pm Sunday on Sky Sports 3.