The ultra secret Sheep Ranch exposed

[Joel_Stewart]

I took the time on Thursday to check out the course that doesn't exist, the owners private course, the ultra secret Sheep Ranch.  I would appreciate if after you read this, you erase it from your mind.  Ha.

The truth of Sheep Ranch is that if you ask Shoe or any of the staff and Bandon Dunes, a quick phone call is made and anyone can play it.

The fact is the course is now maintained by a staff of 3, the greens and fairways are cut and watered.  There is a scorecard with a suggested routing and you have to pay a $75 green fee.

The course sits on a 200 acre lot directly on the Ocean.  It is not owned by Mike Keiser, but Mikes partner in the card business.   It may or may not become part of the Bandon Dunes resort.

There are 13 huge greens with spectacular undulations.  The greens on Thursday were in as good as conditions as the greens of Pacific Dunes which we played in the morning.  There are a few bunkers (maybe 10) and four or five holes directly on the ocean.  


The most famous hole is the one that sits on a point directly over the ocean.  The hole plays in one direction at 327 yards with the ocean on your left.  You later play back to the hole with the ocean on your right as 135 yard par 3.  You are required to play a shot over the ocean to the green.

All in all its a nice place to play if you enjoy complete solitude.

[Tom_Doak]

Alex:  Our original concept for the scorecard was a "mileage chart" with the distance from every green to every other green, so you could play the holes any way you want to.  Of course, if there are very many people out there, it could be dangerous, although there aren't many blind spots.

It's hard to rate a golf course when you will play as many holes as you can fit in before dark.

[Mike_Cirba]

I think Joel undercredits the Sheep Ranch and perhaps it's due to the recent formalization he mentioned where even a "suggested routing" appears.  

All I know is that is the most FUN I've had playing golf since I was a kid!!

When we played, there were 12 of us and we all started from the same tee near the dirt "parking lot" and our 3 foursomes each played off in different directions.  

Picture the delirious looks of glee on the faces of little kids on an Easter Egg hunt, only now put them on a bunch of dowdy, middle-aged men and you'll get some idea of this little slice of heaven.  

[ed_getka]

Mike,
  If they ever want to market Sheep Ranch, they need go no further than that post. Have fun on Monday.

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

I concur with Mssr Cirba. I was part of that 4 some. I am actually sorry to hear of a score card and green fees etc. I liked picking holes based on the moment or whoever won the hole before picking the next green to go for. I was and is as much fun as you can have playing golf. It like many things may not be as good as it was but i bet it is still great fun for anyone lucky enough to be there.

[Mike Erdmann]

Joel, have they "formalized" the bunkers?  When I played the Sheep Ranch nearly two years ago, the bunkers had a lot of stones in them and were pretty rugged.  I'll be back down there playing the Sheep Ranch on June 2nd, so looking forward to seeing if it's changed much in a couple years.

[Dan Herrmann]

I'm heading out there in August, and they told me not to set expecations to play due to the lack of irrigation and the dry spell that the NW has been under.

They told me they closed the Ranch last July to protect it - playing when very, very dry would have damaged the property.

[Geoffrey Childs]

The Sheep Ranch was as Mike said, going back in time to when you played as a kid for the shear joy of it.

In addition to the "holes" Joel mentioned I recall playing (with Mike C and David M all lefties sharing a single bag!) an approximately 450 yard hole going north and hugging the coastline.  It was world class.  Going in the opposite direction southward and playing perhaps a more spectacular slightly longer hole was Bill V and Paul T.  Their tee shot going towards us was from a point hanging on to the cliff. WOW!

Orienteering golf.

[Steve_Roths]

T.Doak,

I am not sure where you are on the Making of Pacific Dunes, but would you consider doing an abridged version to include your work on Sheep Ranch?  I am sure its not possible, but a lot of us would love to see the before and after.  As well as some of the things that no one knows such as the mileage card versus the current scorecard that they are using.  

[Michael Dugger]

I felt lucky to be there and have considered scanning the crude scorecard the caretaker gave me for all to view.  

We took a bucket of rangeballs from the BD practice area and blasted them out towards the rocks off of the tip of the property.  It felt very Seinfeld--Kramer lodging a ball in a sperm whale.

We were told one day the course would be turned into a full 18 and it would be a super duper exclusive club made up of....who knows, celebrities, Asian businessmen....nobody I probably know or will ever rub elbows with.

With that in mind, it may not be forever that we can play the sheep ranch in the current configuration.

Damn cool  

[Joel_Stewart]

Joel, have they "formalized" the bunkers?  When I played the Sheep Ranch nearly two years ago, the bunkers had a lot of stones in them and were pretty rugged.  

Don't know, I didn't come close to any of the bunkers.  They looked fairly clean to me, at least from the fairway?

[Joel_Stewart]

Here is a little photo of one of the great greens in the world sitting out on a point.  You can play it from the North or the South.  The North is approx. 130 yards, and the grren is huge.

[ed_getka]

Joel,
   It isn't "public" accessible yet. I was speaking with a reservationist last week about something else, and it occurred to me to ask her if I could make a tee time for the Sheep Ranch course. From her response and subsequent questioning I am confident she doesn't even know the course exists, let alone is accessible.