Chambers Bay Scouting Report: Morning Drive Edition

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The Morning Drive gang went to Chambers Bay to scout out the course and record some pieces for the upcoming U.S. Open week. And since we'll take all the scouting advice we can for this little seen course, I got to ask the Gary Williams, Damon Hack and Cara Robinson their impressions. The most interesting insight: local caddies and the possibility for players to either employ them during practice, or for the week. Qualifiers take note!

Check it out:

If DJ Wins, Your (PGA Tour Superstore) Driver Is Free

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Here's a clever promotion involving Golf Digest's U.S. Open cover model, Dustin Johnson.

From the folks at TaylorMade who deserve some points for an imaginative stunt that isn't totally out of the realm given Johnson's recent form: DJ wins, you either get a refund on the driver you bought in the month leading up to the U.S. Open, or you get a free one for filling out the PGA Tour Superstore form.

All the details here.

Video: 30 Days From The U.S. Open At Chambers Bay

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Do I notice a little more green after the recent rains? Of course, when this feature 30 days out from local TV news cuts to the shot of Rory at Quail Hollow, Chambers Bay still looks wonderfully lean, barren, crunchy and other-worldly.

Chris Francis reports for KIRO TV on the various preparations, with updates from on-site man Danny Sink and footage of the repaving effort on that one road leading in that the golf world will get to know too well!

The Chambers Bay Scouting Begins...

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As the golf world wrestles with Mike Davis' declaration that those who do not pre-scout Chambers Bay rule themselves out of winning the world's most democratic major, a few players have either shown up at the course or talked to those who have.

The early reviews are guarded. Or worse.

Henrik Stenson ended up walking the course, reports Doug Ferguson in his AP notes column.

"I just felt like coming off six hours flying in the morning, to go straight out there and start playing when you don't know where you're going wasn't the best thing," Stenson said. "A lot of times, I feel you can get more out of walking. I'll have plenty of time to try it out in June."

Until he actually plays Chambers Bay, the Swede is reserving judgment.

"It was interesting," he said. "There is quite the elevation drops on a few of the holes. It looks like links with quite severe green areas and some big drop-offs. It could be fairly low scoring if the weather is good, and it could be brutal if the wind blows. It will be more easy to give a final say once I've played it."

Ian Poulter took to Twitter and was roasted for sharing what he'd heard from other players, which was unfortunate since Poulter made clear he had not come to a conclusion in subsequent Tweets.

Joe Buck On Fox's First Telecast: "It sounded like golf and it looked like golf.”

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Fox's Joe Buck talked about the first golf telecast last year from Fox Sports, which seems a bit more confident than the admirable "we're not worthy" homage paid to the other networks when kicking off last fall's Franklin Templeton Shootout.

Talking to Craig Hill of The New Tribune:

“Believe me, everybody was watching us — especially the networks that cover golf — and wondering what they were going to get from golf on Fox,” Buck said. “And I would submit to you that they came away really disappointed because it sounded like golf and it looked like golf.”

Buck said Shanks addressed the crew afterward and said, “That was the best launch of a sport we’ve had at this network.”

Fresh and innovative is the bar set for Fox by the USGA, which kicks off with the U.S. Four-Ball Championship in less than two weeks. Buck should probably leave the tech talk to Mark Loomis, the supervising producer whose team will inevitably deliver some fun stuff either this year or more likely, over the next few years.

Buck is excited to try new ways of covering golf, too. Fox Sports wants to use drones at Chambers Bay (it is awaiting Federal Aviation Administration approval), plans to have a leaderboard constantly displayed on the screen, is experimenting with cameras and angles in hopes of giving viewers a better idea of how the course plays and will use graphics to better show the contours of the greens.

Buck says Fox is also looking for ways to add more natural sound (including golfers’ conversations with caddies) to the telecast. It is sound he says he’ll be careful to not talk over.

And on some broadcast teams, that would be fresh and innovative!