'America's St. Andrews' by Blaine Newnham

By: Dr. John Wagner


How could 900 acres of sandy land, Pierce County executive John Ladenburg, fescue grasses, golf architect Robert Trent Jones Jr., and three miles of shoreline be connected? They will all come together next summer when the U.S. Open is played at Chambers Bay in University Place, just south of Tacoma, Wash.

Ladenburg harbored a dream when he was voted in as executive of Pierce County to build a golf course on this huge chunk of property alongside Puget Sound that was formed by glaciers centuries ago and became an eyesore of a gravel pit. He envisioned converting the site into a public golf course that, perhaps, could host a major championship.

He sent out invites to golf course architects to bid on a 27-hole design for the project, and over 60 firms responded. Ladenburg narrowed the list to five before selecting Robert Trent Jones Jr. Jones's firm submitted a 27-hole design but also included an 18-hole course. Jones and his associates believed this was a unique area for the construction of a great course.

Ladenburg and Jones soon asked the USGA to visit the site, enlisting Ron Read, then the Western Region manager of the USGA, for support. This book tells how Chambers Bay all came together, with the 2015 U.S. Open fulfilling Ladenburg's dream.

The story, written by Blaine Newnham, a former sports columnist of the Seattle Times and regular Cybergolf contributor, is nicely told and very readable. The book, also worth buying just for the photography, is one of the best I have ever read.

Do yourself a favor and buy it.

"America's St. Andrews" by Blaine Newnham, Green Cloud Media, 160 pages, hardbound, $39.95, 2014, ISBN 978-0-0060688-0-2, $39.95, order online at http://americasstandrews.com.

Dr. John Wagner has been a Seattle dentist for 40 years. He's been published in several dental journals as well as had several articles appear in the turf magazine for Pacific Northwest golf course superintendents. John has served as a guest lecturer at the University of Washington Business School for several years and as a guest lecturer for several dental societies. Dr. Wagner is the co-designer (with Steve Shea of the Berger Partnership) of a golf course in Japan that cost over $120 million and was built by Wadsworth Golf Construction. He's a Past President of the Washington State Golf Association and a Trustee of the Pacific Coast Golf Association. A 7 handicap, John is currently a member of the USGA Green Section and a Director of the Western Golf Association.