I just made my fourth trip to the land of the tufted puffin. I don't have any great, new insights, but I wanted to share a few observations that relate to subjects raised in various past threads.
First, even if I get no further information from this website (not likely), I owe it and its posters a great deal because of Sheep Ranch. What a place. I loved it--absolutely fantastic. We had a blast out there. We played the Bally Bandon routing (I know, purists will scoff), but we wanted some structure, especially as the Heinekens were kicking in. It looks totally primeval out there. And, there are some great golf holes. In fact, there could be hundreds. Even if you're skeptical about the place, go play it--it will exceed your expectations.
I hadn't played Bandon Trails before this trip. We played it twice, both times in the afternoon, but the winds were different. I was impressed. I wouldn't have guessed that the land on which Trails was built had so much up and down movement. The final three holes playing into the wind are brutes, especially 16 and 18. Trails has some great holes--right now, I would nominate 4, 14, 15 and 17 as some of my favorites. It's kind of easy to pick on 11, the water hole, as being one of the weakest, but I think that's accurate. No. 1 didn't do a whole lot for me either. On the whole, though, a very good course and a great complement to the oceanside courses.
I had the pleasure of meeting Tom Jefferson, albeit briefly. Thanks Tom for making a point of introducing yourself. You are a lucky man.
Regarding a point Tom Huckaby (perhaps among others) has discussed, I noticed that the clientele at Bandon had changed quite dramatically from just two years ago. There were more non-golfers, less people playing 36 holes a day, and more people playing social golf. While I think all sorts of people could and should enjoy Bandon Dunes, I wouldn't say this change is a good thing.
Regarding Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes, the new #1 on BD looks pretty benign. I'll reserve final judgment until I play it (it looked to be pretty much done, but not in play yet), but I don't see how it won't be a bit of a step down from the current green, with its uphill approach. I'm scratching my head more than I used to at BD #17. I suppose there's a shot to the left but it's such a crapshoot with the pot bunkers and the prevailing wind from left to right. I see it more as a lay-up hole and that can mean two long iron shots. Nothing verboten about that, I guess, but not my favorite.
Pacific Dunes is a marvel. It really does feel like you're entering a fantasy land as you tee off at Pacific, and I love every bit of the place. I remember a discussion about #18 and someone (John Kavanaugh?) suggesting that hitting it in the sandy waste left of the fairway wasn't very penal. I thought about that comment as I tried to figure out how I was going to reach the green in 3 after driving it in there and looking at a shot from fine, wet sand directly into a 3 club wind. It's not where you want to be.
Sorry about the rambling. I need to take a bit of a break from Bandon and see some other courses, but it's one heckuva place. When there, there isn't any other place I'd rather be.