U.S. Open (Golf) Fan Guide 2015

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10 1 1 5 T H U . S . O P E N C H A M B E R S B A Y WEATHER OUTLOOK Friday, June 12, 2015 • Thenewstribune.com/Entertainment The sun will peek out off and on through the week, with highs in the low 70s. Bring hats, wear sunscreen and stay hydrated at Chambers Bay. Monday: Pleasant with clouds breaking High: 77 Low: 49 Tuesday: Mainly cloudy and comfortable High: 71 Low: 49 Wednesday: Times of clouds and sun High: 70 Low: 49 Thursday: Mostly cloudy with a shower in spots High: 70 Low: 49 Friday, June 19: Clouds with limiting sun High: 71 Low: 51 Saturday, June 20: Mostly cloudy High: 73 Low: 55 Sunday, June 21: Cloudy with sun breaks High: 76 Low: 55 *Monday, June 22: Mostly cloudy High: 78 Low: 55 * If playoff needed. Source: Accuweather CRAIG HILL Staff writer Physical therapist Trevor Pettingill finds plenty of uneven terrain at Chambers Bay. Slopes like these will be off-limits to spectators during the U.S. Open, but Pettingill says spectators should still be prepared for walking on uneven ground. Be prepared for hilly walk at Chambers Bay Undulating layout at Chambers Bay will present challenges for fans attending US Open; appropriate shoes a must BY CRAIG HILL | Staff writer As we finished our round at Chambers Bay in late April, I found myself face down in the fairway fescue eating my words. As the U.S. Open approached I was mystified by all the chatter about how hard it will be for players and fans to walk the course. “It’s going to favor the younger golfers,” Fox sportscaster Joe Buck said. See WALK, 11
1 1 5 T H U . S . O P E N C H A M B E R S B A Y 11 WALK From 10 “It’s more of a hike than a walk,” Chambers Bay general manager Matt Allen said. How hard could it really be, I thought. If you can hit the ball straight, a round-trip at Chambers Bay is 6 1 ⁄2 miles with 1,000 vertical feet of climbing. On the 1-to-5 scale The Mountaineers outdoor education organization uses to rate hike difficulties, it would most likely score a 3. “Moderate: A good workout, but no real problems.” So, I decided to run a little experiment. I rounded up playing partners with various fitness levels and headed to Chambers Bay to see what kind of toll the course would take. My foursome: Stacia Glenn, 33, the undisputed fittest reporter at The News Tribune and an avid outdoor athlete who’s climbed multiple 20,000-foot peaks. Scott Oberstaller, 61, a News Tribune copy editor who describes himself as being “in golf shape.” And Trevor Pettingill, 38, owner of Elite Physical Therapy and participant in the 2004 Olympic Trials for the marathon. I’d serve as the guy in the middle. The one in decent shape, but with a sketchy back and knees. Oberstaller and Pettingill golf regularly. Oberstaller usually expects to break 90. Pettingill is happy to break 100. Glenn and I don’t play. I hadn’t played in at least two years. This was Glenn’s first round. But golf prowess was beside the point. I wanted to know how they’d feel after the round. Three of us carried our bags. Oberstaller used a push cart. We weren’t particularly fast, but we weren’t slow, either. We finished our round in 4 hours, 40 minutes, right at the pace Allen likes to see golfers play the course. Not bad, I thought, considering some of us weren’t exactly hitting the ball straight. I ran a GPS-tracking app during my round and found I chased my ball 8 miles around the 6 1 ⁄2-mile course. The course undulates with plenty of uphill to test your fitness and downhill to test your knees. The walk from the third green to the fourth tee is enough of a climb that course marshals offered to shuttle us in a golf cart. We declined. “If you’re not in good shape, that’s going to exhaust you. That’s a pretty good climb,” Pettingill said. He and Glenn weren’t even breathing heavy on the hill. Oberstaller was, but it didn’t affect his game. In fact, moments later Oberstaller scrambled up a dune and was breathing heavily as he examined a terrible lie. He CRAIG HILL Staff writer Stacia Glenn, an avid mountaineer and outdoor athlete, had no problem walking the Chambers Bay Course as a first-time golfer. She went rock climbing and trail running after her round. calmed his breathing then lofted the ball onto the green to set up a par putt. He’d do this on several occasions. Oberstaller wasn’t particularly happy with the 94 he shot, but it was the best Scott Oberstaller score in our group, 11 strokes ahead of Pettingill. I shot 120. Glenn didn’t keep score. The course affected us each differently. For Glenn, it was little more than a warmup. That evening she went Trevor Pettingill rock climbing near North Bend, followed by a trail run up Rattlesnake Ridge. Pettingill, who usually limits his rounds to nine holes in the interest of time, worked a full shift that afternoon. He was surprised the Stacia Glenn next morning to find he had a sore hip flexor. Oberstaller said he was tired that evening but otherwise felt fine. I, on the other hand, was face down on the fairway by the final hole. The combination of the uneven weight of my golf bag draped over my right shoulder and swinging clubs for the first time in two years had aggravated my surgically repaired back. I dropped to the fairway to do a press up (think cobra pose in yoga), an exercise Pettingill recommended for relieving the pain. I was so stiff, Pettingill placed his foot on my lower back so my form would be correct. (It was about this time PGA pro Brad Faxon started making his way up the fairway. As he passed, he gave me an inquisitive look.) The pain relented enough for me to go on a short bike ride that evening, but it wasn’t completely gone for a few days. I was surprised to be taken down by the pretty course and gentle game. Suddenly, the idea of doing this every day for a week — even just walking the course as a spectator — seemed a little harder than I expected. Pettingill wasn’t surprised, however. When it comes to handling the course, what our bodies are used to doing is as much a factor as our fitness levels, he said. So it make sense that Glenn wouldn’t have problems. She spends much of her spare time hiking with a heavy pack for long distances and over hilly terrain. And it makes sense that Pettingill, playing twice as many holes as he’s accustomed to, had a sore hip flexor. And while Oberstaller may have been tired because he’s only in golf shape, it turns out that when you’re playing golf, that’s good enough. Pettingill said he expects the course to affect people in a variety of ways during the U.S. Open, too. “I don’t think it will be a problem for the pro golfers because this is what they do,” Pettingill said. “Fans not used to walking might feel a little challenged.” Craig Hill: 253-597-8497 A GOOD WALK UNSPOILED Golf asks more of its fans than most sports. Football or basketball fans aren’t typically required to do anything more physically demanding than find their seats. Golf fans, however, might walk as far (or farther) than the players, depending on how they choose to watch the tournament. Chambers Bay is especially demanding. Following your favorite player around the entire course would be a 6 1 ⁄2-mile walk with about 1,000 feet of elevation gain, course general manager Matt Allen said. The U.S. Open’s official spectator guide states: “Be conscious of your physical limitations.” “If you don’t do a lot of walking, you probably want to take a few walks over rolling hills to get ready,” Trevor Pettingill, owner of Elite Physical Therapy, said last month. With practice rounds set to start Monday, there’s not really enough time left to get in shape for a week of walking the undulating course, but here are some other tips for making the U.S. Open more enjoyable: PICK A HOLE: Nobody said you have to walk the entire course or follow your favorite golfer. “I would suggest picking a few spots you can walk back and forth between,” Pettingill said, “especially if you are going to be out there four day in a row.” There are 18,000 grandstand seats, Allen said, “so you only have to walk as far as you want to.” FIND SHADE: “You might make one of those (viewing) spots near a tent where you can get out of the sun for a little bit,” Pettingill said. And don’t forget the sunscreen, Allen said. HYDRATE: “You need to have plenty of fluid on a hot day,” Pettingill said. “Exerting yourself on those hills, you’re going to run out of energy a little faster and get dehydrated a little faster.” GOOD FOOTWEAR: The uneven ground of Chambers Bay is a bad place for heels, flip flops and unsupportive footwear. The first safety recommendation in the spectator guide states: “Be sure to wear appropriate footwear.” craig.hill@thenewstribune.com Friday, June 12, 2015 • Thenewstribune.com/Entertainment
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U.S. Open (Golf) Fan Guide 2015

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