Chambers Bay: From gravel pit to major venue in eight years

For the students at the nearby high school, it was simply known as the "Sand Pit," the landmark two miles down the road where they would run as part of gym class.

For the passengers on the train between Seattle and Portland, Oregon, it was a moment to look out the other windows of the train car and take in the waters of Puget Sound. Looking the opposite direction meant staring into the teeth of the ugly old gravel and sand quarry hugging the shoreline.

A decade ago, that was the property now known as Chambers Bay. It was sand, and gravel and old concrete pilings. An eyesore. That’s when the metamorphosis began, and it transformed from a sandy blemish into a swath of greenery cut through man-made mounds and dunes unique to American golf and, specifically, the Pacific Northwest.