Case Study

Chambers Bay: 

Creating a destination public golf course to fuel economic development

Opportunity

Pierce County set its sights on transforming 930 acres of mostly depleted gravel quarries along the shores of the Puget Sound in Washington into public recreational use land after decades of closure.  To add to the challenge, County officials recognized that an economic stimulus would be needed to fuel this development and be a magnet for people to live, work and invest in Pierce County.  Realizing that they had a five-star property, Pierce County set a goal to build a unique, world class golf course designed to attract golfers from around the world and capable of hosting a national championship. KemperSports was selected as Pierce County’s pre-development and operations partner following a national search. 

Action

KemperSports’ experience with other nationally acclaimed golf properties, including Bandon Dunes Golf Resort and high-end municipally-owned Desert Willow Resort, brought confidence to the development team.  Together with architect Robert Trent Jones II, KemperSports set a plan to realize Pierce County’s goals.

KemperSports understood the importance of putting the needs of the County and constituents first and integrating the golf course into a master plan that included access to other park areas, a walking trail system, and an amphitheater.  KemperSports reached out to the local community to overcome concerns and to implement environmentally friendly practices that aligned with community values, including reclaimed water irrigation systems, organic fertilizer and certification from the Audubon Society as a Silver Signature Sanctuary. 

To meet Pierce County’s goal of attracting a high profile golf event, KemperSports, working with Robert Trent Jones II and Pierce County officials, tapped the USGA for guidance during property development, including grass selection and grandstand locations.  KemperSports provided key input and financial analysis during both pre-construction planning and the construction phase, including comprehensive pre-opening budgets, pro-formas and detailed individual department plans. KemperSports helped plan the dining and kitchen layouts and developed a contemporary menu aimed at broad appeal and maximum revenue generation.  On the marketing front, KemperSports leveraged its media expertise to generate early and consistent exposure from local, regional and national publications.

Results

Tee times at Chambers Bay sold out for the first month prior to opening.  From the start, Chambers Bay was viewed as a top tier facility, attracting the attention of both local residents and out of county visitors. In its first year, more than 100 articles have been written about Chambers Bay.  Accolades have included the Best New Course of 2007 from GOLF Magazine, the 2007 Daily Fee Development of the Year by Golf Inc., and the #2 Best New Course for 2007 from Golfweek.  In its first 12 months of operations, Chambers Bay hosted the Big Ten/Pac 10 Challenge, the WCC Championship, and the BMW Northwest Charity Skins Game. In addition, the course exceeded goals for budgeted rounds in the first year of operations. 

Far exceeding expectations, Pierce County realized its goal of hosting a national championship decades ahead of schedule.  Less than eight months after Chambers Bay debuted, the USGA awarded the golf course not only one but two championships -- the 2010 U.S. Amateur and the 2015 U.S. Open.  This achievement makes Chambers Bay the first golf course in 45 years to be awarded a major tournament within its inaugural year and the first new U.S. Open Golf Course to open since 1972.