Unconventional Golf Courses

Chambers Bay Golf Course, University Place, Washington
Giant sand dunes, rumpled fairways, coastal breezes, stunning sea views. Where are we? The surprise answer is Washington State, specifically, Chambers Bay, 45 minutes south of Seattle. Planted atop an old gravel mine, this walking-only municipal layout slotted to host the 2015 U.S. Open boasts many distinctive features. Among them are the shared fairway between 1 and 18, the par-4 5th called "Free Fall," that plummets 80 feet and offers two possible greens 150 yards apart and the par-5 18th that plays alongside 40-foot-tall concrete structures that in a former life were sorting bins for the gravel operation.