You Really, Really Want To See Chambers Bay

I thought the poll question from earlier this week was a loaded one, what with The Old Course hosting The Open this year.

But with 715 votes 47% of you said Chambers Bay was the most anticipated major venue of 2015, followed by St. Andrews at 27%. And the quick return to Whistling Straits has almost none of you excited.

Certainly there is a mysterious quality to Chambers Bay and how the entire thing will work (or not), from the conditioning to the setup to the logistics to the first Fox telecast. As always, thanks for voting.

U.S. Open Train Arrival Option Ruled A No-Go

Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times reports that yet another element of the experience expected at Chambers Bay for the 2015 U.S. Open (clubhouse, ampitheater, dock) has been ruled out.

This time it was the USGA not feeling secure enough about a planned rail line drop off at the course that was hoped to handle 6,000 spectators a day. Instead, all will make a 17-mile shuttle bus drive.

“We couldn’t ensure a great spectator experience based on the limited amount of people we could get on the trains,’’ said Danny Sink, USGA’s on-site championship director for the tournament, scheduled for June 15-21 at Chambers Bay Golf Course in Pierce County.

Instead, the USGA will continue with its existing plan to have 11,000 parking spaces available at its main locations in Puyallup and Lakewood, Sink said. Golf fans will then be shuttled up to 17 miles by bus to the University Place course.

The inability to get a grasp on costs was a major concern for one of golf’s four major tournaments in the world.

“This is a tournament for profit,’’ Sound Transit board member Pete von Reichbauer said. “It’s not nonprofit. They want more knowns than unknowns.’’

Sink said Sound Transit “bent over backwards for us’’ and did all they could to make the plan work during 16 months of discussions.

Deep Meaning Quiz: 2015 U.S. Open Logo Unveiled

Todd Miles reports on the unveiling of the 2015 U.S. Open logo for Chambers Bay and I can't say it has me reaching for my wallet hoping to buy some '15 swag.

In this case, the 2015 U.S. Open logo is very similar to the original Chambers Bay emblem, designed by Tacoma freelance graphic artist Scott Bailey in 2005.

The defining image of Bailey’s design is two sails.

“We ended up with the sails because the course is right next to (Puget Sound),” Bailey said. “It seemed like the most obvious symbol that represents the Northwest in feel but that did not identify something specific.”

I'm not sure sails would have been in my top ten things those two lines represented. In fact, I made a list before reading the story and came up with the following:

- It's two bent legs representing the ideal shape necessary to navigate the Chambers Bay "dunes"

- It's a Machu Picchu symbol for "Be Careful, Robert Trent Jones Jr. Wasn't Thinking Of A U.S. Open When He Built This Place"

- Logo finalist for Phillip Morris rebranding with innocuous new corporate name that I can't recall.

- An homage to the memory wellness ad appearing next to the U.S. Open logo story (see image)

Of course, I'd love to know what you see in this logo...