It’s tough to actually watch golf at the U.S. Open

Chambers Bay is hilly, slippery and difficult to watch actual golf at. We knew this from the U.S. Amateur in 2010, when looser rope rules led to fans sliding off hills and suffering injuries. The USGA learned from five years ago and was more conservative about where fans can be when roping the course this time -- safety is the reasoning and it’s the correct reasoning.

But that doesn’t mean that fans who came to Chambers Bay to watch the U.S. Open understand or are happy with the decisions regarding the spectator area.

In an effort to mitigate the impact on fans, the USGA set up more grandstands, including a monster at 18. There are more places to sit near teeing areas and greens, but those grandstands are filling up early and staying packed to the gills. Even the huge, stadium-style grandstand at 18.

Holes like the 12th, a drivable par 4 tucked away on the far end of the course, are almost impossible to see. Either come early and get a spot in the small grandstand behind the green or … well, there is no “or.” That doesn’t mean fans weren’t trying to find alternatives.

This is from when Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson and Angel Cabrera came through on Thursday morning. That hill with spectators dotting the skyline? It’s roped and supposed to be empty. Fans pushed through the walkway rope nearest the hole to get a viewing area on a hill, and even climbed a hill behind the green to get a view.

After the group left, some corralling and herding cleared the area out, but the tension in the air got worse. Fans yelling at volunteers* about the roping policies, some yelling “I paid a lot of money for this and can’t even watch golf,” led to tense situations throughout the morning.

*Please don’t do this. The volunteers working these events are wonderful and kind and doing their best to accommodate everyone within reason and following the guidelines laid out by the USGA. There’s simply not enough room, and the terrain combined with slick, dry grass makes for legitimate safety issues.

Mickelson noted how dedicated the fans trying to follow groups are, while saying his wife couldn’t even get out on the course to watch. “Amy wants to come out and follow and she simply can’t, she just can’t come out and first of all see,” Mickelson said before giving credit to the USGA and volunteers for the work they’re doing. It’s simply impossible to follow a group hole-to-hole, especially when that group is full of stars.

And those people on the hill to get a view of the morning’s marquee group? They had to come back down. They did, and many of them came down in a hurry once Phil’s group finished up on 14. Watching people tumble down the hill was the most action some fans had seen all day.