We learned much from the first round of the U.S. Open.
Chambers Bay proved to be a beautiful and uniquely challenging layout. Especially for fans.
The dramatic elevation changes offer spectacular views of the Puget Sound, but the gnarly mounds are difficult to walk. Tennis shoes provide no traction on the slick fescue grass. Get sideways on a hill and you are toast.
While walking with Jordan Spieth, I only fell twice, which translates to a score of about 67. Negotiating the bumpy terrain and huge swarms of people while tweeting was no easy task.
However, the worst part of the long walk is that fans cannot really follow a group from hole to hole. Scraggly areas are roped off, leaving very few places to walk. So you make switchbacks to reach the green or the next tee. But you basically have no idea where you are going. The fifth hole goes uphill but the hole coming back beside it is No. 14.
Thousands of people are grouped in the same places on each hole. It can take up to 15 minutes waiting for access to cross a fairway. By then, your group is putting out and your scrambling to find them.
Billy Horschel, who shot 72, empathized with the crowd problem in these series of Twitter posts:
- “Fans are having a hard time walking the course. They can barely see anything from outside the ropes.”
- “I truly miss the cheers/roars when you hit a great shot. Especially if you can't see where it finished. I feed off the energy of the fans!”
- “I would be pissed if I paid a lot of money for tickets and could barely see the top players hit golf shots.”