Website Launched for 'America's St. Andrews,' Book on Chambers Bay & 2015 U.S. Open


The website has been launched for the upcoming book, "America's St. Andrews," in advance of the 2015 U.S. Open.

The website - www.AmericasStAndrews.com - supports the hardbound, full-color coffee-table book that chronicles the story of how Chambers Bay, in 2008 just an eight-month-old municipal course in University Place, Wash., was selected to hold the 2010 U.S. Amateur as well as be the first course in the Pacific Northwest to host a U.S. Open.

Included on the website are a sampling of photos from the book, quotes from interviewees, table of contents, paragraphs pulled from chapters, and a video that can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G14w23M3dcY&feature=youtu.be.

America's St. Andrews
(Photo Courtesy of Green Cloud Media)

The scheduled release date for the book is October 1, 2014. Prior to its publication, the book can be pre-ordered from the website at a preferred rate of $29.95. Once the book is released, it will retail for $39.95. Available are two levels of options for businesses wishing to partner in the book. Once released, the book will be sold at bookstores as well as online, and will be sold on-site at Chambers Bay during the 2015 U.S. Open. It will also be available on e-books via Kindle, iPad and other tablets.

The book's Foreword is written by Robert Trent Jones, Jr., the chairman and master architect of the firm Robert Trent Jones II, the designer of Chambers Bay.

Included in the book are extensive interviews of key people involved in the process of transforming an abandoned gravel mine into a U.S. Open-caliber golf course, such as Mike Davis, executive director of the USGA; Danny Sink, USGA championship director of the 2015 U.S. Open; Matt Allen, general manager of Chambers Bay, and his superintendent, who took on the task of nurturing fine fescue grass on an unfamiliar landscape; John Ladenburg, the former Pierce County Executive who spent much of his political clout on a dream that ultimately came true; and Jones and his team of architects and shapers, who looked to the roots of the ancient game to create a world-class links layout along the shores of Puget Sound.

Along with photography of the golf course, the book also includes never-before-seen images of the property where Chambers Bay was built; the various phases of the course's construction; the 2010 U.S. Amateur; renovations performed in the wake of the Amateur; as well as photos from the USGA archives and the many people involved in the project.

Owned by Pierce County, the municipal course and the land around it provide, in addition to golf, various public uses.

Proceeds to Charitable Initiatives

A portion of the book's proceeds will be donated to a number of charitable programs and initiatives, such as the Patrons of Golf Program of the Pacific Northwest Golf Association; First Tee of South Puget Sound, which includes Chambers Bay as one of the chapter's facilities; First Green, an educational outreach program that uses golf courses as learning labs for high school students; and the Evans Caddie Scholarship Program, in support of Chambers Bay's caddie program which provides opportunities for young qualified caddies to earn four-year college scholarships.

About the Author

Blaine Newnham was a sports editor and columnist for 11 years with the Eugene Register-Guard, and an associate editor and sports columnist for the Seattle Times for 23 years. He is a featured writer in Golf Getaways magazine, and a regular contributor to Pacific Northwest Golfer magazine and Cybergolf as well as Golfweek. He has authored two previous books, "The Running Experience" and "Golf Basics." In 2005, Newnham received the Distinguished Service Award from the Northwest Golf Media Association.

The book's editor is Tom Cade, the editor of Pacific Northwest Golfer magazine, published by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association. He is also the senior director of Communications for the PNGA and Washington State Golf Association. Cade is the current president of the Northwest Golf Media Association. Newnham and Cade are regular members of the Golf Writers Association of America.

The book is being published by Green Cloud Media.

St. Andrews is used in the title of the book with the expressed written permission of St. Andrews Links Trust, the charitable organization which manages the seven public golf courses in St. Andrews, Scotland. Creating golf's future by honoring its past, St. Andrews Links Trust is dedicated to keeping the game available and open to all.