favorite hole at Bandon Trails?

[PThomas]

I'm headed there in July, haven't played there yet

for those who have, which is your favorite?  I have a card from the resort with a picture of 3 on the cover, which looks both VERY pretty and cool with fw bunkers in a few parts of the middle of the fairway

[Sean Leary]

I really like 15.....

[John Kirk]

I'll say 13.  Lots of good holes to choose from.

[John Kavanaugh]

I wish I had said...

Three of my favorite holes at Bandon Trails are three that no one talks much about -- the fourth, sixth, and fifteenth holes, all of them medium-length par-4's played into the prevailing summer wind.

The fourth and fifteenth are made by their end-of-the-valley green sites -- one of Bill Coore's favorite settings, and one which I have seldom managed to find on any of my own courses.  

The diagonal ridge in the fourth fairway is another wonderful feature.  Peter, it's important to note that the hole is not downwind often as you played it; and when it is into the wind the strategic choice is between a difficult line and longer approach from the left, or a shorter and more open, but blinder approach from the right.  I've had good results from the right side when I played the hole.

[John Kirk]

#4 is a very good call.  My other favorite is #7, which is a big uphill par 4.  Rewards the big hitter, which I think is a perfectly reasonable thing to do every now and then.

Bandon Trails is really nice.  I think it has a good chance to eventually pass Bandon Dunes in the GW modern course rankings.

[ed_getka]

I would say #15, closely followed by #4 (diagonal ridge is my favorite feature on the whole course), 13, 14.

[John Kavanaugh]

#4 is a very good call.  My other favorite is #7, which is a big uphill par 4.  Rewards the big hitter, which I think is a perfectly reasonable thing to do every now and then.

Bandon Trails is really nice.  I think it has a good chance to eventually pass Bandon Dunes in the GW modern course rankings.

If rankings were truly about architecture only it would already be ranked as the best course at the resort.  

[Sean Leary]

I think 13 has a very tough tee shot. You can easily run out of room right, and the bunker of the left is a magnet for golf balls I drove mine down the left center of the fairway, and it somehow bounced into that bunker.  A fairway bunker shot from that bunker to that green (with the brutal greenside bunker) is one scary shot.

[John Kirk]

"If rankings were truly about architecture only it would already be ranked as the best course at the resort."

I think all three courses have a lot to offer.  As you know, I like Pacific best.  Bandon Dunes is beautifully designed for windy days.

JK, your comment made me think the following:  If rankings were truly about architecture, than Friar's Head would be ranked ahead of Sand Hills.  I derive the opinion from Ran's writeups and a mere three rounds at the great Sand Hills, and I don't intend on defending that opinion.

So far, no one has selected 1 or 18 as a favorite at Bandon Trails.  I feel these two dunes holes are a little tight.

[Tom Huckaby]

As he is wont to do, JK got me thinking as well.  

But my take is this:  SHOULD magazine rankings be "truly about architecture"?  I think not.  Because that's not all that goes into playing the game at these wonderful courses.  Now if you want to make rankings of architectural skill, you guys may have a point, but I'd say only those doing it could really make the assessment.

Of course I've only made this point about 300 times over the years in here.  

So for magazine purposes, Pacific Dunes is ever so slightly better than Bandon Trails, and the rankings correctly reflect this.

Sand Hills is the greatest course on the planet, so sorry Friar's Head.  But of course I've never been to the one in NY, so I can't really say.  

Anyway back to the topic at hand here....

I wouldn't call 1 or 18 my favorites there either - and it's not that they're too tight - more that the other holes are better.

Call me a semi-Getka-ite.  I'd say:

14, 15, 4.  Honorable mentions to 5 and 17.

 

[Joel_Stewart]

1 thru 5 are world class, you'll be blown away.   IMHO the course than lulls you too sleep until 11 to 13 which are great.  14 is the very controversial hole and then 15 is great, 16 just OK, 17 spectacular and a so-so 18th.

Prepare yourself for an emotional rollercoaster.   You'll have your own analysis when you finish and thought about it for a few days (or months as Matt Ward).

[Nyk Pike]

Favorites depend on the day but I am continually amused by #5, #8, & #15.

# 5 is a short 3 par of 135 yards tops and has one of the most entertaining putting surfaces I have ever enjoyed. Green reminds me of a mutated Biarritz (sp?).

#8 is a drivable par 4. 321 yards from the back and another fun putting surface that is extremely deceptive.

#15 is a 410 yard par 4 set naturally upon the landscape. The way this hole sits on the site and knowing it is my last chance at a birdie before the tough finish cements it as a favorite in my book.

There are a lot of choices and like I said it depends on the day, the swing, the wind and the last thought Grant Rogers has put in my head as I head to the tee.

[Tom Huckaby]

Hey Nyk:

Good call re 8.  I like that hole also, even though it's not driveable for short-knocking me.  Given it's not, the club choice off the tee becomes very interesting, as does whatever 2nd shot is left.  And damn right, that green is a subtle killer.

Loaded question, as long as you're here... feel free not to answer if doing so could get you in trouble.  But I was curious about a guy like you who works there... how do you split your hard-earned playing time amongst the three courses?  Or is it just based on which is least crowded?

TH

[Jim Adkisson]

We played Trails twice on Tuesday...I love 4 and the sand ridge...I've previously extoled the virtues of 13 and its two massive bunkers...I'm ready to continue to argue about 14 (which I birdied in one of the rounds!)...but right now, I'm infatuated with 11...Great blind drive to the left to avoid the sandy waste on the right...long deceptive downhill second to a massive green situated at the base of the wooded hillside...but I do hope something can be done to the fake (irrigation basin?) lake to the right of the waste bunker...

[Nyk Pike]

Tom-
Play is pretty much dictated by openings. There are some employees that tend to only play one over the others but play is pretty even for employees. Many of the same debates on here take place during crew chow and I can tell you that the employees are just happy to be part of what is going on here.

The ridge on #4 does make that hole great and for C & C to leave it and make it such a part of the strategy impressed me from the first tour.

[Tom Huckaby]

Nyk - thanks - very cool - that's kinda what I expected.  Hell you can't go wrong with any of the courses, and damn right you are all VERY lucky to be a part of it.

Good call re 4, also.

TH

[PThomas]

just think Huck...when you and I retire we'll be working there and be able to play all 5? courses then...

[Eric Johnson]

Par-3: 5

Par-4: 14

Par-5: 3

Over all: 14.

[Tom Huckaby]

just think Huck...when you and I retire we'll be working there and be able to play all 5? courses then...

Good thought, dare to dream.  Of course given recent developments for me, there will never be such a thing as a retirement.

 

[Dan Herrmann]

I guess I'm goofy, but I really liked #1 and #2.  A couple of really nice starting holes.  They lead you from the dunes with a hint of what is to follow late in the round.

[Tom Jefferson]

I'll chime in with the other staffers at Bandon, Eric and Nyk;

Favorite hole overall........#4
Favorite green................#8, with a nod to #5
Most natural hole...........#15.......just lays there, unadorned and uncontrived.
Sleeper........................#10
Prettiest........................#3 in the late-in-the-day light.
Toughest drive................#4 in the summer wind
Best lunch item at the Trails End.....Fish Tacos, all the way.
Best sunset view.......Trails End.
Best tee complex............#13, with a nod to #5.

Tom H.....we tend to take the available time...I have no preference as to which course, although Bandon seems to most fit my receding game.  The upcoming Employee/Caddie match play event is...Bandon...Pac...Trails....repeat.  (the favorite in the handicap flight is Eric J., in the scratch flight Nyk Pike!)


Early spring weather....snow, rain, sun....repeat.

Tom

ps............Jim A; What's so wrong with the water on #11?
I don't get it. Is it one pond, or both?  Is it the shape of the hazard?  The line along the green?  Why do so many on this site thumb their noses at water on a golf course?  Doesn't Pine Valley have some?  If an irrigation reservoir is an essential, is it ok to have it integral to the course?  What are the rules of good design re: water?

[Eric Johnson]

Mr. President,
Easy on the whisky tonight, remember we gotta big match the next two days.......

[ed_getka]

Tom,
   Good call on #10 being a sleeper. That is a classic strategy hole, that gives you plenty of room right off the tee to hang yourself with, particularly when the pin is on the right half of the green.

Dan,
   Not at all. I like those holes just fine, they just aren't my favorites, but a case can certainly be made for liking those holes IMO.

[Tom Jefferson]

Eric.........Clos du Bois Chardonnay, with deli chicken! (sober now, sober on the first tee!).

This is an architectural site, so what is it about #3 that appeals?  Over the 16th...which I see as three difficult shots...the drive as influenced by the fairway bunker/massive manzanita, the second as influenced by the same, the third into a really difficult skyline green, with shot sucking mini-bunkers inhaling indifferent pitches on it's left.

Tell me, for the sake of this discussion, how the third is superior?

Thanks,

Tom

ps........or am I confusing 'best design' with 'favorite'?

[Mark Arata]

I really liked 13 a lot, loved the green and the fear that the bunker puts into your approach shot...

I know everyone here hates the retention pond, but I really enjoyed 11, I thought it was a fun hole to play.

Actually, there really isnt a weak hole on the entire back nine IMHO......