[Tim Bert]

I'm on a 6AM flight tomorrow.  18 holes tomorrow night, 54 Tuesday, 36 Thursday, 54 Friday, and just hope to be walking by the end of the week.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the weather holds up and that the golf clubs make the transfer.  

I can't wait to see Trails for the first time.  I'm also anxious to see how Pacific Dunes (and Bandon Dunes to a slightly lesser degree) compares to my memory (and the photos) of my first trip to the resort in 2003.

[Bill_McBride]

Tim, I know the replay round is a pretty good deal, but what do they charge for the 3rd round??    Are there enough daylight hours?  Are there enough feet?

Have fun!

[David Kelly]

The great thing about Bandon is if you are up for it you can play for free for the rest of the day after your second round.

[Tim Bert]

Rate:  As noted, it is free after the second round (hard to beat that deal, even if you just want to stroll back out on the course to be at the ocean holes for sunset.)

Daylight Hours:  That's why we plan our trip on the 21st of June.  Longest days of the year.  We have the first tee time at 6:30, and the sun doesn't go down until almost 10:00.

Feet: Last time I tried this, the feet were the biggest barrier.  The uneven terrain, combined with the fact that you end up walking about 20 miles a day, really makes for some sore feet.

Time to get to the airport!

[Sean Leary]

A friend of mine was part of a twosome that were the first to play all three courses in one day.  When word spread that they had done this (and were the first ones), their room and dinner were comped and supposedly a plaque is going up somewhere noting their "achievement".  Pretty cool..

Gotta be hard on the feet...

[Peter Pratt]

Can anyone give me gudiance on how far in advance one should book reservations and tee times for Bandon? I'm assuming that it's not too early to do so for June 2005. Thanks!

[THuckaby2]

I assume you mean June 2006?  You're gonna have to hustle if you mean June 2005 - just a few days left.  

So regarding booking approximately a year in advance, I'd say that's not necessary unless you are talking about a big group trying to take up a large block of weekend times.  Assuming it's not that, well... just remember June 2005 meant the opening of a new golf course, so rooms and tee-times were booked WAY in advance this year.  There's no new course next year, so things should calm down.

That being said, demand to play these courses is always pretty high, and likely will grow even more as more word gets out about the Trails course and accolades start to come in for it.

So don't dawdle too much... but the pressure for June 2006 isn't there right now, I'd have to guess.

TH

[Peter Pratt]

Tom, yes, I did mean 2006. Thanks for the counsel!

[ceHufnagel]

i just booked a march 2006 trip - foursome, 3 days/36 holes per day - and had no problem getting the tee times/rooms i desired.  

of course march isn't june either, but i can't imagine you should have that much trouble right now.

[Tim Bert]

We just got back, and we all had a great time as expected.  I enjoyed both Pacific and Bandon even more than I remembered, and I thought Trails was a great addition as well (though everyone in our group put it at 3rd best.)

We started with an evening at the Sheep Ranch.  It was in much more refined condition than I expected, though obviously not quite in real golf course shape.  We were the only 4 on the property, and we had a great time.

Day 1 at the resort was a 54 hole day - Bandon Dunes followed by 2 rounds at Pacific Dunes.  Day 2 was our easy day - 36 at Trails.  Day 3 was 54 more - Pacific, Bandon, Pacific.

The last time I went, I remember being in much more pain when I left.  This time, I was actually feeling pretty good when we walked off the course the last evening.  In fact, I posted a 41 on the back nine of my final round at Pacific, which was my best nine of the trip (I'm a 14 index, though probably a bit higher after this trip!)  I could have done one more day of 36, though a final 54 would have probably done me in.    

As for 10 rounds at the 3 courses, I think I'd split mine up 5 at Pac, 3 at Bandon, and 2 at Trails.  In terms of how much I like the courses, I'd probably go 6-3-1 or 5-4-1, but I like the idea of playing Trails more than once if I'm out there again.

I thought the course was in great shape considering the official opening was only 3 weeks ago.  I enjoyed holes 1-5, and thought it was a great opening stretch.  I was a little disappointed with the wooded sequence, just relative to my expectations.  All in all, I thought it was a great course.  It would be a nice flagship course at just about any resort, and in my mind it makes for a fabulous 3rd choice.  There's just nothing there (or anywhere that I've played) that can stand up to the 10-14 stretch at Pacific, or the 4-6 stretch at Bandon.  

As for booking the trip, we booked June 2005 in September 2004.  We were able to get the 6:30 tee times (which were the first of the day) that far in advance.  I'd guess that demand would be less in June 2006 than in 2005 (due to the new course opening) but who knows.  If you are already certain that you are going, then there is no harm in booking well in advance.

[Chris Holcombe]

Sounds like a great trip. Did you take caddies for all your rounds? Any rounds?

[Tim Bert]

We took caddies for our core 36 each day, and pull carts for the 3rd round when we went back out.  If you don't play there often, the caddies are a great help.  Ours was a 2 index, so he has scored on all the courses, and really had some great advice on where to hit the ball and what type of shot to play.

[Chris Holcombe]

Sounds like a good plan. Any course pictures to post?

[Tim Bert]

We took about 200 pics, but I didn't plan to post them here for a couple reasons:
a) I figured no one wanted to see tons more pictures of courses that most of the folks here have played, and
b) I don't know how to attach them here if I wanted to.

If anyone can tell me how to attach them, and you'd like to see a few then I'd be happy to share.

[Chris Holcombe]

I would like to see a couple. I played BD a while a go before the other courses were built.  Plus, never too many pictures of good courses.

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