Jon’s Week at Bandon Dunes

You can find a million things written about Bandon Dunes on the internet.  Do we really need more?  You bet we do.  This will not be another standard course review or piece talking about how to prepare for a buddies trip (the simple answer is “buy all the GoreTex, bring good shoes”).  Instead, we’ll walk you through a first timer’s (me!) experience and talk about some of the specific moments of brilliance and emotions the resort brings out of you.

Getting There Ain’t Easy

Unless you’re a west coaster, there are some considerable challenges to overcome just to get your you-know-what to the resort.  I’ve heard the comment that for folks in the east and Midwest, it’s easier to get to Ireland than Oregon.  That might just be true!

Bandon Dunes is located in southwest Oregon, and the nearest airport is roughly 45 minutes drive time away.  It’s tiny, and while convenient, it carries some risk too.  My mid-January flight from Chicago planned for a brilliantly booked connection in San Francisco and a short layover.  Then, fly into the North Bend, Oregon airport, and arrive at the Bandon Dunes practice tee by about 2pm.  

Didn’t work out that way…

Rain in the Bay Area delayed the start of my flight from O’Hare and of course, panic ensued.  The flight landed with enough time for me to deplane and sprint to the gate, only to find out that the connector was pushed back too.  True, there was wind and mild rain, but I guess that’s a dealbreaker when you’re set to hop in a tiny, 30-person airplane.  It took several hours at the airport for the airline to decide that was cancelled too, and I was now at real risk of missing my first day at Bandon.

The San Francisco Improv Scene is Legit

There were no legit good options to rebook.  I then shared some annoyed glances with a half dozen other newly stranded golf guys.  You can tell, because they all wear the “uniform” – the Peter Millar ¼ zip pullover with some golf logo.  Anyway, there’s only one remaining option.  Rent a car and drive.  Google told me it was about 8.5 hours from San Francisco to my little motel in the town of Bandon.  Off we go.

Apparently this is a scenic, beautiful drive.  I had enough daylight to get a bit north of Napa and Santa Rosa, but it was all pitch black going up the 101.  For about 400 miles.  And it’s endless winding, windy roads that if you missed one curve, you were kissing a redwood – fun!  Somehow, likely pure golf adrenaline, this drive went by easily.  I made it through a couple snow storms and rolled into town at about 1:30am.  Plenty of time to catch a nap and make it to the first tee of Bandon Dunes at 8am.  Not the ideal way of starting my solo trip, but at least I got there.

Operational Perfection

In my day, I’ve been to plenty of large golf resorts.  I’ve visited golf “meccas” like Pinehurst, Streamsong, Kiawah, and Sand Valley a bunch of times, but it’s hard to describe the scale of Bandon Dunes.  It’s a true small town.  Navigating around the place is easy considering you’ll spend hours scouting the resort map before you get there anyway.  The staff are so experienced in efficiently navigating people around, it’s incredible. 

Normally I’m a clock watcher and will freak out a bit if I’m not where I need to be on time.  The coordination among the pro shops, the transport people, and the starters and rangers is off the charts.  I noticed not a hint of bother about getting people through their rounds, even on short January days.  I think in seven rounds played, each one was between three hours and forty minutes and four hours exactly.  That’s a lesson in efficiency to be taught to dozens of courses and resorts everywhere.

Within seconds of pulling up near the lodge, I’m meeting the legendary Bob “Shoe” Gaspar.  He’s a greeter, a tour guide, and a Bandon Dunes icon.  He, of course, nailed it with “this is your first time here, isn’t it?”  Yup.  “Will make sure I recognize you on your next trip!”  I know he will.  He got me set up and on my way to the practice facility.  By the way, shipping my clubs to the resort saved my ass this time.  While I love flying with my gear, I knew there were risks with my travel plans and sent them out a week ahead.  Next time I’ll likely bring them with me and try a bigger airport, but having my sticks waiting for me with no worries was a real win.

Balls in the Air at Bandon Dunes

After my week at the resort, my recommendation would be to start with the original David McLay Kidd designed Bandon Dunes course.  It’s sentimental, it’s where it all started, and the only way to do it in my opinion.  As a single, you never know who you’ll be paired up with.  I got sent out with a group of two native Oregonians on their fifteenth trip and a younger guy on his first trip who lives like two miles from me in Chicago.  Go figure.  Fast friends, and I’d end up playing with the Bandon veterans for two full days.   

The first three holes on Bandon Dunes are gentle intros.  A par four, a three, and a five.  The playing areas are wide, yet you can clearly tell this is links golf.  Roll is a factor, and angles are immensely important.  

Holes 4, 5, and 6 are of course, all-world and high drama golf holes, and it took you a mere hour to get to it.  Four’s a beautiful dogleg right that introduces you to the Pacific.  Five is shockingly flat, however there are many obstacles in your path to the narrow green.  Six plays games with your mind on which club to hit as it’s incredibly exposed to the coastal wind.

What Do You Learn at the Turn?

Bandon Dunes really excels in pacing.  As I mentioned the first few holes build up to the excitement of 4-5-6, and the middle of the course is filled with solid, interesting, testing challenges too.  These are mostly inland holes and get you ready for your next go with the ocean on 15, 16, and 17.  

Sixteen of course might be the most photographed hole on the property.  A true risk/reward short par four with a two-tiered fairway and a horizon green.  It’s awesome.  I was stricken by how narrow the lower fairway was and how much it seems like erosion is creeping in.  Coastal Oregon can be a violent place…  This day, I smoked my drive to the upper tier (way more room long and left there than you’d think) and played in safely.

I consider the 17th a brilliant golf hole.  Fairly flat fairway, but real danger of catching wind and rolling it off the cliff on the right side or the bunkers to the left.  I over-thought it and hit a weak hybrid, leaving…another hybrid in.  Very wild, very exciting green.  The anticipation of the end of the round is close, and this is a tough golf hole.  Eighteen is a gettable par five.  Get it, then scamper off to Tom Doak’s Pacific Dunes as fast as you can.

Pacific Dunes – The Real Deal

Debates on the subject can last hours, and there’s merit in all of them, however I feel Pacific Dunes is objectively the “best” course on the property.  Is it my favorite?  I don’t know.  I need to get about twenty more rounds out here in all sorts of conditions to make up my mind.  Even then, it’ll change day to day.  I tend to really like Doak’s work, so I was really excited to make this my second of the day.  Our group needed to really push the pace to finish, but we’d decided to play until they dragged us off.

Side note: even though you often need to plan far, far in advance for your Bandon trip, there’s very much an air of spontaneity here.  The staff can wiggle you around pretty easily, depending on how the day works out.  I was originally set to play Bandon Trails (and not Pacific) on day one.  The team in each pro shop can help you kind of wing it though.  It’s normal for them.  Surely the lighter mid-January tee sheet helped, but it’s entirely impressive in action.

Afternoon Round at Pac

I love how Pac starts off with a tiny par four that should be easy, but can smoke you if you’re not careful.  No idea where the best play off the tee is.  I was a bit frazzled for sure.  Combine that with the fact the starter absolutely shot down my bad joke about rolling my drive into the feet of the slow players ahead of us.  (I would never hit into anyone, come on…)  All of us were yukking it up and then this guy’s tone stops on a dime.  He told us of one person that did hit his ball into a group ahead.  The guy was apparently escorted/kicked off the property like DJ Jazzy Jeff on The Fresh Prince.

Pacific is wilder, bolder, and harder than Bandon.  Add to that my first exposure to “wind”.  It can get intense, so layer up, GoreTex up, and hold onto your Rikshas.  The fifteen-year Bandon vets said this was pretty bad (they estimated 30-35mph) but nowhere near legendary level wind.  I got lucky that this stretch (roughly from hole 4 to 7) was the worst I saw all week.  

The ocean views on the 4th hole, the short but volatile volcano that is the 6th, and the challenging and complicated 7th standout for me.  There is endless variety.  You truly need every “golf shot” to get around.  Tap ins can be as common as triples.

The double-greened 9th, the epic par-three 10th, and the epic-er par-three 11th both test your game and give you some iPhone panoramas that will make your friends back home jealous.  Don’t forget to hydrate and eat.  These amazing, energy boosting jelly beans always do the trick.  

Pacific’s Closing Stretch

Some of the best holes at the resort were on the back nine at Pacific Dunes.  Thirteen might be my favorite.  Only a mid-length par four, there’s the ocean on the left, a wide fairway, a speed slot that could run you into a bunker, and possibly the largest sand dune out there.  Incredible.  

I really liked the variety of challenges to close out the round too.  Fourteen’s the “postage stamp” par three, and where I made a sick up and down from short left.  Fifteen a birdieable (if the wind lets you) par five.  Sixteen a tricky short par four with deceiving humps and bumps.  Seventeen an epic Redan-like long par three.  And 18, a beastly, dramatic par five.  We were the last group and made it in under the last glimmer of daylight.  Perfect.

Wrapping Up a Long Bandon Day

Let’s talk about making real memories now.  My second round at Pac I got paired with a guy who, let’s just say, was working through some things.  Baseball grip, delofted like his driver face was pointing at the ground, and all around unconventional swing.  He mentioned he wanted to play a few balls off the tee and regretted not going to the range before in the morning.  Long day ahead, right?  Well, from the 9th hole on, this guy was sticking EVERYTHING.  He had birdie putts from no more than 15 feet on 9, 10, 11, 13 (cashed it), 14, 15 (eagled it, no big deal), and 17.  Absolutely bonkers.  I’d never seen someone who was in reality probably a 15+ handicap go on a run like that.  One of the highlights of my trip was watching some other dude play the round of his life.  That’s Bandon for you. 

Now, let’s grab a burger and a beer at McKees.  You earned it.  Lots more ahead of us tomorrow!