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Richard Choi

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12th Hole, 310 Yards, Par 4
« Reply #1 on: April 26, 2015, 05:50:22 PM »
Half Par Holes

Variety is the very spice of life, they say, and variety is what makes half-par holes so much fun to play.

Half-par holes, whose length is somewhere in between par 3’s and 4’s, or par 4’s and 5’s (driveable par 4’s & reacheable par 5’s), are among the most popular holes that golfers enjoy. They are popular because “anything” can happen, particularly eagles. Eagles are exceedingly rare for “normal” par holes as the only way you can make them is by hitting an approach shot that ends up in the hole (<0.1% chance). In comparison, half-par holes are short enough that you have a reasonable chance at an eagle via putting.   

The brilliance of half-par holes is not just that you can make eagles (if that was the case, we would just add a stroke to all pars), but that hole are long (and difficult) enough to produce bogies and double bogies in balance with birdies and eagles. Mathematically put, half par holes produce scores with higher standard deviation. Philosophically put, emotional highs are higher, lows are lower.

But they are not without controversy, and #12 at Chambers Bay, the most obvious half-par hole on the course, has plenty of detractors…


Tee Shot
From the tee, this is a strange par 4. Most “driveable” par 4’s look just like any other par 4’s, just shorter. #12 at Chambers is a rare beast, a par 4 that looks like a par 3, just longer.


There is a narrow ribbon of fairway (A) that leads ever higher to the green, which is barely visible between two giant sand mounds. Every visual cue is telling you  this is a par 3, but the card says this is a par 4. This dichotomy is jarring to many players. But there is no reason for despair; the visual cues are correct. This is a short par 4 that should be played like a long par 3.

Unlike many driveable par 4’s, laying up in the fairway is not necessarily the safest way to play this hole. The widest part of the fairway (A) is barely 20 yards wide (about 180 yards away). While the steep side slope effectively widens the fairways by bouncing wayward shots back to the middle, trying to hit this fairway is not necessarily easier than trying to hit the green with the driver.



You may think twice about hitting a driver off the tee is if your tendency is a miss to the left. The straight line to the middle of the green is over the bunker in the front. If you aim down that line and hit a hook, there is a very good chance that you will end up in the dunes to the left (H). If you are lucky. If you are not so lucky, you will end up in the OB area (C), one of the very few OB that is in play at Chambers.

While most of the green is hidden behind the dunes to the left, there is much more room to the right of the green than it looks from the green. Better yet, if you hit a fade or slice into this dune, there is a decent chance that your ball will bounce down from the dunes (F) and back towards the middle of the green. If your slice is bad enough, the ball will land on the other side of the dune (G, very likely on the cart path). Even this isn’t so bad, as long as your ball does not roll back all the way down to the tee on the cart path. The area has very sparse vegetation and you should have a lie to hit out of. With such a large and deep green, getting the ball back somewhere near the pin is a reasonable shot to pull off. Your drive should favor the right side, even if you hit a fade.


A straight drive to the opening is not necessarily ideal. With a very firm green, landing your drive past the bunker in the front probably means that your drive will bounce through the green and end up in the side slope in the back of the green (I). From there, you will not have any chance to get your chip shot near any pin in the back.

An ideal drive is a high draw that starts at the right edge of the green. This drive should bounce towards the middle of the green with ease.

Approach Shot


If you ignore the above advice and decide to lay up, you better have a very good distance control with your wedge. The green is very large, but is divided into five distinct sections. To have any reasonable chance at a birdie, you must hit the correct section with your wedge. This is easy for lower sections (front), not so for higher sections (back).

If your ball is on the side slope (B), depending on the lie, your only choice will be to advance it somewhere near the green, preferably the right side that has an opening from the fairway.

Around the Green

With the punchbowl green, any miss is going to end up somewhere on the side slope. Some side slope lies are better than others. The side slope on the right (F) are the most ideal as the entire length of the green is accessible to you and you have side slope on the left (H) and right (I) to guide your ball towards various sections. While vegetation will provide some resistance, the covering here is thin enough that you should have a decent shot to get the ball back to the green.


If you miss long with your drive, you better hope that the pin is in the front bowl section. The back slope is the highest part of the hole and everything falls away from it. Any pin located on the top section will not be accessible. Most shots out of here, will require the side slope on the opposite side to bring the ball back to the green.

If you miss deep to the left (J), again, you have an entire length of the green to work with. However, since the green mostly runs away from you, the access to the pin will not be easy.

Putting


Each green sections have distinct challenges facing the putter.

The easiest section is the bowl within a bowl section in the front left (4). You have a sideboard to the left and a sharp ridge to the right that will dominate most of your putts. Since these slopes will direct the ball back to the middle of the bowl, most of the putt you have (as long as it is uphill) will be fairly straight and makeable. There is more slope than it looks to the front, but this is more of a problem if you have to cross multiple sections.

The second easiest section is the back left (2). Again, you have bow within a bowl situation where many approaches will end up somewhere near the middle part of the bowl. But there is less of a side slope here and you will face more side breaking putts. If you remember that everything breaks to tee, you should do okay.


The back right sections is very similar to the back left except that it is located higher on the green and has more back to front slope. Going to any other section from here will be very difficult as there is a lot of elevation going back down.

The right front (3) is not so bad as the pin is in the same section. If your ball is here and pin is anywhere else, there is almost no chance that you will even get the ball close to the pin.

The most difficult part is the middle back (1). This is the highest section of the green and such, everything runs away from it. There is also multiple slope at play as the spine running down from the back of the green intersects with the deceptive left to right slope that is located just next to it. There is no straight putt here.

The players will feel a great urgency to birdie here. As long as you can land your drive somewhere around the green, your chances of making a birdie will be reasonable. If not, you can easily end up with a bogie and leave the hole with desperation that may lead to some very bad decision on the next hole.

David Davis

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Re: Photo Tour - Chambers Bay - US Open Edition - 12th Hole
« Reply #2 on: April 27, 2015, 10:01:56 AM »
Thanks Rich. After a few plays on this hole I definitely don't think it's an easy birdie hole anymore. Maybe it is for the longest hitters but at 300 yds steep up hill I don't think most strong amateurs will make it. The chip you are left with after landing short of the green is always going to be pretty tough as if my memory serves me right it's either blind or semi blind and steep up hill. Those are really tough shots in my book. Personally out of the times I've played it I only managed birdie once and that came from my worst drive missing a bit right and short but ended up roll back to near center and leaving short shot to a back pin where it was possible to use the backboard.

Will surely be way different for the pros. I guess they hit 3 wood or hybrid up into the bowl and will be a must birdie hole for them. Should be interesting to see how it's played during the Open.

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Sean Leary

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Re: Photo Tour - Chambers Bay - US Open Edition - 12th Hole
« Reply #3 on: April 27, 2015, 02:42:06 PM »
Rich

Have you ever layed up on 12? I have always hit driver because the layup is so narrow.

Richard Choi

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Re: Photo Tour - Chambers Bay - US Open Edition - 12th Hole
« Reply #4 on: April 27, 2015, 04:57:24 PM »
I have laid up (on purpose...), exactly once.

I regretted it, and have never done it since. I go for it even when I am playing from the very back tee which makes reaching the green with the tee shot impossible.

Sean Leary

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Re: Photo Tour - Chambers Bay - US Open Edition - 12th Hole
« Reply #5 on: April 27, 2015, 08:24:44 PM »
I have laid up (on purpose...), exactly once.

I regretted it, and have never done it since. I go for it even when I am playing from the very back tee which makes reaching the green with the tee shot impossible.

Not surprised. Because of this I don't love the hole. Plus the green is a bit much.

Steve Lang

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Re: Photo Tour - Chambers Bay - US Open Edition - 12th Hole
« Reply #6 on: April 27, 2015, 09:58:46 PM »
 8) Richard,

This series has been great, thank you for all the effort and diligence in being tour guide..  6 holes to go!

Ms Sheila and i played CB once in twilight on a beautiful spring day, after playing at Gold Mountain in the morning and maybe i was tired, but 12 seemed like it was the hardest climb of the round... does it get you more mentally and/or physically on multiple plays?
Inverness (Toledo, OH) cathedral clock inscription: "God measures men by what they are. Not what they in wealth possess.  That vibrant message chimes afar.
The voice of Inverness"

Richard Choi

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Photo Tour - Chambers Bay - US Open Edition - 12th Hole
« Reply #7 on: April 27, 2015, 10:03:05 PM »
Steve, thank you for the kind words. I must say that this is not the hole that gets me mentally/physically. That would be the 14th.

Most of the difficulty on this hole is with the drive and that is before the climb. If you hit a nice drive, the walk up becomes a pleasure. Of course a bad drive can make this walk a bear in reverse. But most of the times, I have a pretty good results here.

14th is tougher for me because the climb is done and I kinda let my mind go and lose the edge. I seem to screw up the drive on the 14th more than I really should.

Greg Gilson

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Re: Photo Tour - Chambers Bay - US Open Edition - 12th Hole
« Reply #8 on: April 30, 2015, 01:29:10 AM »
Hi Richard. Thanks again for this tour. I love re-living my time at this course. Andrew Bertram (Yarra Yarra Head Professional) and I had a ball putting on this thing. And the drive is so much fun because it is SOOOOOO unique. You did a great job describing it.

My biggest regret here is that this is the hole most impacted by temporary tees/greens the past few months. My recent visitors from Victoria GC got to play it as a 100 yarder from a temporary tee to a temporary green. Needless to say they could not understand why I had made such a fuss about it in advance.

Matthew Essig

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Re: Photo Tour - Chambers Bay - US Open Edition - 12th Hole
« Reply #9 on: May 05, 2015, 09:09:19 PM »
The local affiliate's video tour has reached the par 3.5 #12, sandwiched between the par 4.5's #11 and #13.

http://q13fox.com/2015/05/03/u-s-open-hole-by-hole-preview-hole-12-chambers-bay-golf-links/

And the Gil Hanse tour:

http://www.foxsports.com/golf/usga/video?vid=453482051890
« Last Edit: June 06, 2015, 11:22:45 PM by Matthew Essig »
"Good GCA should offer an interesting golfing challenge to the golfer not a difficult golfing challenge." Jon Wiggett

Charlie Ray

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Photo Tour - Chambers Bay - US Open Edition - 12th Hole
« Reply #10 on: May 05, 2015, 09:28:38 PM »
Richard
Thanks for the world-class photo tour of Chambers.  The intrigue of half par holes are apparent to almost all golfers for the reasons you expressed well.  From glancing at the photos does a particular ball flight seem favorable.  More specifically, can a hard draw (right-handed) result in a favorable leave; or does the hole beg for a left to right tee shot?  (what is the penalty for being short with a right to left tee ball compared to a 'power fade', and if so does the whole have a bias for a fade off the tee?)

Richard Choi

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Photo Tour - Chambers Bay - US Open Edition - 12th Hole
« Reply #11 on: May 05, 2015, 10:57:29 PM »
Charlie, a hard draw would be tough on this hole as you have very tall dunes guarding the entry and you would have to hit it extremely high to avoid them on a draw. You probably can only shape it 20 yards max and still hit the green. Of course, if you can fly it 300 yards, this won't matter.

Left to right is a viable shot as the left dune is lower and fade will be naturally higher. The best thing about the fade is that miss to the right is easier to deal with than the hook miss into the trees on the left.

Adam Lawrence

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Re: Photo Tour - Chambers Bay - US Open Edition - 12th Hole
« Reply #12 on: May 06, 2015, 10:13:15 AM »
One of my favourite holes at Chambers, but I do have sympathy for Steve Lang's view. Third time up the big hill, and it's starting to get a bit much by now.
Adam Lawrence

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Mike Hendren

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Re: Photo Tour - Chambers Bay - US Open Edition - 12th Hole
« Reply #13 on: June 17, 2015, 02:38:25 PM »
I have said on more than one occasion that in my opinion the par fours at Chambers Bay are as strong a set as you'll find on any modern U. S. golf course.  The exception is the 12th.
 
That said, I always wonder why if so much dirt is going to be moved to create dunes or dune effects, why the holes are played between and among them but not OVER them.  Perhaps the 12th would have been a fantastic opportunity to create such a hole by running a dune across the fairway at the 250 yards mark near the "D" in the photograph below.
 

 

 
Would that not have created a true option off the tee by forcing the player to honestly weigh the distance he can carry a driver severely uphill?  Would it not also make a much more interesting blind pitch shot for those who lay up?  Could the dune be angled - perhaps from the very front of the bunker through the "5" in Rich's 250 marker and the backside maintainted at fairway height to kick a long drive left onto the green?  The result would be a tremendous punchbowl.
 
Admittedly, there might be a divot farm in the lay-up area.
 
Your thoughts?
 
Bogey
« Last Edit: June 17, 2015, 02:44:43 PM by Michael H »
Two Corinthians walk into a bar ....

Richard Choi

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Photo Tour - Chambers Bay - US Open Edition - 12th Hole
« Reply #14 on: June 17, 2015, 02:41:12 PM »
Bogey, I do not disagree with anything you said.


The only counter-point is that RTJ2/Blasi, actively avoided blind tee shots. Most likely based on advice from USGA (which is probably based on pros' abhorrence of blind tee shots).

Phil McDade

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Re: Photo Tour - Chambers Bay - US Open Edition - 12th Hole
« Reply #15 on: June 18, 2015, 08:52:10 AM »
Bogey, I do not disagree with anything you said.


The only counter-point is that RTJ2/Blasi, actively avoided blind tee shots. Most likely based on advice from USGA (which is probably based on pros' abhorrence of blind tee shots).


Erin Hills eliminated two blind shots -- the NLE Dell hole, and the 17th hole with its now-denuded esker -- also apparently at the behest of the USGA.

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