Would you rather:Bandon or England

[RE Blanks]

Go to Bandon play for 4 days or:

Fly to London, train to Sandwich - play 36 Deal, play 36 R ST George, train back to London, play Walton Heath, go to a real pub, play St Geroge Hill, fly home?

becasue if you live in the US you can do both for about the same $ price

[Andy Hughes]

RE
What do you base that on?  What is the price breakdown for each?
Thanks
Andy

[ForkaB]

Agree it's a no-brainer, but I wonder why so few choose it over the Bandon option.  Are we Americans really so insular?

[Paul_Turner]

One great aspect of GBI golf, that often isn't factored in , is that a day ticket (36 holes+) usually ain't much more than 18 holes.

[RE Blanks]

4 nights at both -
First lets look at Bandon Dunes:
Golf :  $175 green fee + 90 replay = $265 per day
        so $265 x 3 = $795 for 3 days of golf(108 holes)
Hotel - Cheapest double split 2 ways - $150 x 4= $600
Flight - for example - from Atlanta - $438
Rental Car and gas  - split 2 ways - $185

All together - golf, hotel, flight, and car = $2,018

Now England
Golf :
   Deal 36 holes - 105lbs
   Royal St George 36 holes - 130lbs
   Walton Heath - 18 holes - 75lbs
   St Georges Hill - 36 holes - 80 lbs
   Total 390lbs
Hotel :
   2 nights Kings Arms (Sandwich) 48lbs
   2 nights London (split double) 120lbs
   Total 168lbs
Train from London to Sandwhich and return - 26lbs
   Total for Golf, Hotel, and Train - 584lbs

584lbs converted to US Dollars - $1,097.39
Plus flight - $451
   Total $1548.39

Bandon -  $2,018
England -  $1548.39

Remember 108 holes at Bandon vs 126 in England.  For the east coast golfer I can see almost no reason not to play in the UK.
   

[Steve Lapper]

Try getting on Deal, Sandwich and Royal St. Georges for 36 on a weekend...

Can you?

[Andy Hughes]

RE
Thanks for the breakdown. Interesting stuff.
Andy

[RE Blanks]

Steve
must be a member to play RSG on a weekend, so the trip would need to be during the week.  Princes is also adjacent to RSG and can be used for an emergency 9 or 18

[Robert Thompson]

I find Mr. Blanks comments about pricing interesting, cause I've never found the UK to be that inexpensive, especially since the Americans are witnessing their dollar get destroyed these days.
Gosh, the Web site for the Kings Arms says 40 pounds a night for single and 78 for shared. So that's hardly 48 pounds for two nights. Maybe in off-season, however....

I did not find Bandon cheap, but neither is the UK or Scotland. Great golf is rarely inexpensive. Were both worth the cost? For sure.

If you want cheap golf, go to Florida or Myrtle Beach in the summer. But you get what you pay for. Want a great experience? Head to the UK or Bandon at the same time.

Golf in North America has never been an everyman's sport -- it is largely expensive and often great. That's just the way it is, with a very few notable exceptions.

Robert

[Bill_McBride]

Eric, beer and caddies in England would equalize rapidly!

But the real question is......(drum roll here)...why not both??  

[Steve Lapper]

Steve
must be a member to play RSG on a weekend, so the trip would need to be during the week.  Princes is also adjacent to RSG and can be used for an emergency 9 or 18

RE & Sean,

Boys...the point is that these are private clubs and most, if not all would not look kindly on 36 hole days at their course unless it is the (way) off season. This little hypothetical question has some very fatal flaws!

[RE Blanks]

Sorry Robert if I missed by 40 pounds.  My intent was not to find cheap golf but to point out that for less than what it cost for a trip to Bandon you can:
1. Go to a different country
2. Experience a differnt culture
3. Play two former Open links courses
4. Have some real beer
5. Change the way you hit approach shots

[RE Blanks]

Steve, why does RSTG have a 'Day Ticket' option listed on their web site?

 Green Fees  
 

All green fees are paid in full prior to playing. Credit and Debit cards are accepted, with the exception of American Express and Diners Card. Foreign Currency is not accepted. Green fee charges are as follows:

 From January 2004
18 Holes £95
Day rate £130
Society Package £150
Corporate package  £210
Winter Rate (Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb) Including 2 course lunch in the snack bar.  £65

[George Pazin]

Head to the UK or Bandon at the same time.

Man, if I could figure out how to do this, I could get SO much more done!

[ForkaB]

Steve

Your arguments too are guilty of some flaws:

1.  The "high" season for golf in the South of England is NOT in the summer.  That is cricket time.  Golf is played in the fall, winter and spring.
2.  In the height of summer, the sun rises at 4:45 and sets at 9:30 in Kent.  This, tied with the fact that a 3 1/2 hour round at a place like Deal is considered to be painfully slow means that there is ample time available for visitors, on most days.  You just need to plan in advance.
3.  As RE says below, there is no comparison between the overall ambience of Bandon and Kent.  One is Myrtle beach on Valium, the other is a kinder, gentler world......

Cheers!

[Steve Lapper]

RE,

  Okay then, RSG allows them but I'm still unsure about Sandwich & Deal.  Assume they allow it for the off-season..then use the Bandon off-season rates...you'll see it get tougher to make a "compelling case."

  I've played in parts of the UK and no doubt, it's fantastic and the cultural experiences you cited are well worth it, but if you like your beer cold, your food warm and tasty, your caddies available and knowledgable, no private club attitude, and your approach shots hit the SAME WAY ...then Bandon works just a little bit better!

[Paul_Turner]

36 holes would never be a problem mid week, I've done this lots of times without an intro.   A letter can often get you on at weekends, but I doubt Sandwich is easy.

Steve

RSG=Sandwich,  I think you're thinking of Rye??

PS

Got to factor in taxis/trains for the London area clubs.  Some aren't exactly close to the West End!

[ForkaB]

Sean

In the good olde days, no self-respecting golfer would play golf if the chance for willow on leather was available.  Why do you think that the President's Putter and the Halford Hewitt are played in the winter months?

Slainte

[Bill_McBride]

Rich, everybody knows the PP is played in January because of the English public school boy's masochistic tendencies!  

[Buck Wolter]

Maybe Paul Casey is right about us!

[ForkaB]

Sean

In my youth I played rugby with Cambridge Blues and an All Black Captain, amongst others.  We drank, not argued, with each other.  In those days, rugby was a civilised game......

[Buck Wolter]

Sean-
I happened on this controversy about Casey , who fashions himself a golfer of some sort and dares call the USofA home thinks of us ugly Americans. Casey was quoted saying about the American Ryder Cup team: "Oh, we properly hate them. We wanted to beat them as badly as possible." He also said that "Americans can be bloody annoying," and that "the vast majority of Americans simply don't know what's going on. They have no concept of the UK, for instance."
http://www.cybergolf.com/index.asp?newsID=2527

I say up yours with a meat pie you limey bastard! I'm off to Bandon.

[Keith Durrant]

Whooaah ! Are the gloves already off for the GCA Ryder Cup?!

I believe Mr Casey retracted his remarks, and was overheard saying how much he loved all things American, including his girlfriend

Incidentally, I spent Xmas on the Berkshire/Surrey border and it is quite amazing how many wonderful courses are within a 15 minute drive:

Swinley Forest
The Berkshire (red and blue)
Sunningdale (old and new) - 175 GBP for 36 holes
Wentworth (West etc.) - expensive.
Woking
West Hill
Worplesdon
West Byfleet
Camberley Heath

St George's Hill & Royal Mid Surrey are not much further. Walton Heath & Addington are maybe 45 minutes.

If one had 3 days for a visit, which ones would you play?

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

I find 450 a bit low for me to get to London anytime but November to Feb. The lodging at Bandon is superior as is the natural beauty of the land. However as much as I love pacific dunes and like Bandon, sign me up for England anytime.

[Brian_Ewen]

Guys
Paul Casey never made any such remark and had nothing to retract .

Of course if you read the original article in the Sunday Times you would know this and there would be no need to jump on the Tabloid S**t Stirring Bandwagon .

Brian