With 2022 PGA Championship leaving Trump National, should Chambers Bay pursue the major?
The 2022 PGA Championship is now up for grabs, which begs the question: Should Chambers Bay pursue a bid for the major?
The PGA of America recently announced it will move the 2022 PGA Championship away from Trump National Golf Club Bedminster, after a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
Chambers Bay, which is owned by Pierce County, hosted the U.S. Open in 2015, and the idea of hosting another major so soon would be welcome news to golf fans in the region.
“At first blush, it seems kind of attractive,” said Don Anderson, senior counsel to Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier. “That’s only at first blush.”
Like any project of this scale, it’s not black and white. There are logistical issues to consider, politics at play, corporate sponsorships that would need to be sold, course adjustments that would likely need to be made, security plans to consider. Since golf majors are awarded years in advance — the 2022 PGA Championship, for example, was awarded to Trump National in 2014 — the county would start behind the eight ball to plan the event. Coupled with the fact that the county is still in the midst of a coronavirus vaccine rollout and working to address the economic effects of the pandemic, golf, seemingly, would be a low priority.
At the same time, the allure of hosting a major and showcasing the Pacific Northwest on the national stage once again — right here in Tacoma’s backyard — could catch Pierce County’s attention. There’s money to be made, and the financial impact of hosting a major would be a boon to the local tourism industry. Since so many businesses are reeling from the effects of the pandemic, bringing droves of out-of-towners to Tacoma and its surrounding neighborhoods could be welcome news to hotel owners, restaurant and bar owners.
THE USGA AND THE PGA OF AMERICA
Men’s professional golf stages four major tournaments annually. The Masters, played in April, is played at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia every year. The PGA Championship, hosted by the PGA of America, is played in May, at various locations each year. The U.S. Open, hosted by the United States Golf Association (USGA), is played at various locations each year in June. The Open Championship, or British Open, played on a links course at one of ten locations in the United Kingdom, comes last, in July.
Since the Masters always takes place at Augusta and The Open Championship is held overseas, that leaves two majors up for grabs for the nation’s top-flight golf courses: The U.S. Open and the PGA Championship.
Chambers, of course, hosted the U.S. Open in 2015 and already has a working relationship with the USGA. While there are a few examples of courses that have hosted both events over the years, generally, it’s an either-or proposition: You’re either aligned with the USGA or with the PGA of America. The U.S. Open is the country’s true national championship, open to anyone in the United States who qualifies, in addition to the professional field. In golf circles, it’s generally seen as the more prestigious major of the two.
“I think the U.S. Open, it’s the true United States open,” said Michael Putnam, a 37-year-old Tacoma native and professional golfer who has played in six U.S. Opens, including the 2015 tournament at Chambers Bay. “Anyone can play in it. The PGA is more of a closed shop. … I just think (the U.S. Open) is a bigger deal.”
If Pierce County and Chambers Bay pursued a working relationship with the PGA of America, it could potentially muddy the waters with the USGA. Anderson, who said in plain terms that Pierce County is not actively seeking a bid for the 2022 PGA Championship right now, said that when it comes to Chambers Bay, maintaining the relationship with the USGA is the top priority.
“I don’t think we would move forward (on a bid) without the USGA’s concurrence,” he said. “Our relationship with them is great. They’ve expressed interest in holding future events at Chambers. We wouldn’t want to do damage to that relationship, which is a real and ongoing one.”
John Ladenburg, who served as Pierce County Executive from 2001 to 2008, spearheaded the development of Chambers Bay Golf Course and is largely credited with helping bring the 2015 U.S. Open to the University Place course. He told The News Tribune he fully supports a bid to bring the 2022 PGA Championship to Chambers Bay and said if he were in Dammeier’s shoes, his first call would be to USGA Senior Managing Director of Championships John Bodenhamer.
“I would call him and and ask if we’d be stepping on toes if we offered the PGA to come here, just once,” he said. “We know the course can host a major. It has hosted a major. The USGA likes the course. … The PGA is in a bind. The USGA understands that. It’s not like we’re saying we’re going to host a PGA event every year. … We’re not suggesting we’re going to try to be both, we’re going to step in and help the PGA out because it helps golf and helps showcase the Northwest.”
The USGA has booked future U.S. Open sites through 2029, with one opening in 2028. The years 2030 through 2034 are still up for grabs, and Pierce County hopes Chambers will be considered for its second U.S. Open.
“Realistically, you’re looking at something like 2030 to 2034,” Anderson said.
But is it a guarantee the USGA would want to return to Chambers? The course has plenty going for it: the sweeping views of Puget Sound — which played out spectacularly on TV — the unique, links-style architecture of the course and a devoted, golf-hungry fan base in the region. Tickets for the 2015 U.S. Open sold out quickly and the tournament set records for merchandise sales.
But the 2015 U.S. Open also generated plenty of negative headlines, namely for the condition of the greens during the tournament.
AFTER CRITICISM, CHAMBERS CHANGED THE SURFACE OF THE GREENS
Golfer Henrik Stenson remarked the greens were like “putting on broccoli” during the 2015 U.S. Open. A hot spring and summer with an extended dry spell left the fescue putting surfaces in rough condition going into the tournament.
“We had August weather since May,” said Eric Johnson, director of agronomy for Chambers Bay.
Putnam said the greens were as bad as advertised.
“The greens were horrible,” he said. “The rest of the golf course was fine. The fairways, tee boxes, approaches were in great shape. They set the course up well. The greens themselves were horrible. They were the worst greens I’ve ever played as a professional golfer.”
Chambers did a test run on holes No. 13 and 17 in 2017, installing native poa annua on the greens. From mid-December 2018 to the end of March in 2019, the course closed to install new poa annua greens on all the holes, about six acres of greens surface in total. Poa annua, more commonly known as annual bluegrass, can withstand more extreme temperatures than fescue.
“If you have fescue, it’s just not growing right now,” Johnson said. “Annual bluegrass can grow at a lower temperature. It can take higher temperatures, as well. The big separators are the shoulder seasons and through the winter.”
The new poa annua surfaces are a marked improvement, both visually and in terms of playability.
“The issue with the greens is not an issue now,” Anderson said. “They were replaced. The leadership of the USGA has been here, played the course and has used very complimentary adjectives to describe its condition and the condition of the new greens.”
Putnam, who estimates he’s played the course a couple dozen times since the new greens were installed, said the improvement is obvious.
“It’s a huge difference,” he said. “They’re smooth. They’re still firm. They can control the speed of them better. They did all the right things to host another U.S. Open.”
The USGA will get a more thorough test run this spring, when the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball tournament will be hosted by Chambers Bay May 22-26.
As of now, the USGA hasn’t committed to Chambers Bay for another U.S. Open, leaving some to wonder if pursuing the PGA Championship makes sense.
“I think they should go after every tournament they get a chance to,” Putnam said. “I know the USGA and PGA don’t mix in their venue selection. If they have aspirations of getting another U.S. Open, maybe it’s not the best thing for them to do. But (the USGA) hasn’t committed to Chambers Bay.”
IS THE 2022 PGA CHAMPIONSHIP WORTH PURSUING?
That depends on who you ask. Pierce County Council Chairman Derek Young said he’s unaware of any official plans to pursue a bid for the major, but said he’s all ears if it were to be discussed.
“I’d certainly listen if there was a possibility,” Young said. “It’s intended to be a tourist attraction. If it meant we could get more eyeballs on Pierce County and the tournament revenue and all that comes with that, all the better.”
The 2015 U.S. Open generated $134 million for the region, according to a financial analysis commissioned by the USGA, The News Tribune reported in 2016. Those figures included $16.8 million in tax revenues - $10 million for the state and $6.8 million among Pierce, Thurston, King and Kitsap counties.
But this time around, Anderson doesn’t believe it makes sense for either Pierce County of the PGA of America. He also suspects PGA leaders pulled the 2022 tournament from Trump National with clear alternatives in mind.
“I’m pretty much convinced the PGA had a couple cards up their sleeve with respect to replacement sites in mind,” Anderson said. “It wasn’t a knee-jerk reaction. A lot of these things are unannounced but are carefully thought out. … They have options to plug in. It’s probably going to go to an established PGA course. We haven’t built a relationship with the PGA.”
The biggest consideration is timing. A shortened window for planning to host a major during normal times would be a big enough challenge, but the county is focusing the bulk of its efforts on lifting Pierce County safely out of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Tournaments like this take at least a two-year run-up to sell sponsorships,” Anderson said. “Not only is that time constrained, it’s economic, covid-environment strained. We have no budget for this. It would detract from our other efforts, with respect to response to the pandemic and other golf events in the future.”
In 2015, Pierce County officials just hoped to break even on the U.S. Open. The county netted $1.1 million after subtracting costs tied to hosting the weeklong championship, according to a financial summary presented to the Council at the time. That profit was believed to largely come from corporate hospitality sales, with corporate revenue surpassing projections.
Pursuing and hosting the major in today’s climate would be a risk, and in Anderson’s estimation, not a smart one.
“You go out on a limb; it depends on the PGA contract,” he said. “You know you’re shutting your course down to host it. You know your security costs have to be met. There’s a lot that goes into it. With advertising revenues down, corporate travel is non-existent right now. Is that going to recover in less than a year and a half? Some of those drivers are really uncertain. As a fiduciary of public treasury, it doesn’t seem like a good risk right now.”
Young joined the county council in January 2015, just before the U.S. Open at Chambers. He saw the amount of work that went into planning the event. Right now, he’s not sure that’s the best use of county resources.
“If there was a way to pull it off to not divert staff to that type of work, then maybe,” he said. “But we can’t afford any emergency management of anyone diverting attention from the vaccination rollout. It would seem tough.”
A shortened timetable would be a challenge, surely, but Ladenburg said he believes it would be an easier undertaking this time around.
“One of the reasons to bring (the 2022 PGA Championship) to Chambers is that we’ve done it before, so people know how to do it,” he said. “We know where the tents go, where the lines go. We know how to set it up better for the fans to walk through. … All the logistics behind the scenes have been done. We have the expertise; it was six years ago.”
The economic boost, he argues, would be worth the crunch.
“It’s just the thing to help the restaurants and hotels, to get something like that down the road,” he said. “It’s a big benefit. Right now, Chambers generates a lot of revenue that doesn’t appear on its own books. We built it as an economic development tool. Every week, people are staying at the (Hotel) Murano, eating out at restaurants around town.
“Even if it’s 20, 30, 40 people a week, it generates local revenue and taxes. All those people generate sales tax, hotel tax, car rental taxes. Our tax system is set up to take advantage of tourism, we just haven’t done it in Pierce County. Having another major tournament would be a big boost for the local economy.”
Whether the county pursues a bid for the 2022 PGA Championship or not, there’s no doubt Chambers is poised to host another major tournament at some point down the road.
“It’s perfect for a major venue,” Putnam said. “It’s got parking, space, land. I think they learned a lot from the previous U.S. Open with fans, traffic flow, how they can view golf. I think they learned a lot from that and I’m sure they would get that right the next time around. It’s a perfect location for a U.S. Open, especially being on the west coast, the TV ratings, merchandise sales. Everything was great. I expect at some point there to be another U.S. open or major championship there.”
