Matt:
Some day there will be an issue on which we agree. I sincerely believe that. It's happened before and and it will happen again.
But today is not that day.
1. If you'll recall, Bandon Dunes was trumpeted HUGELY in here, in the outside world, and in all magazine ratings as if not the best, than among the best public courses when it was built. Didn't it debut at #2 or something on one list? In any case, to say it's been HELPED by the emergence of Pacific Dunes seems just plain wrong to me. How can it be helped when it's done nothing but go down in such rankings since then? How can it be helped when so many see the "far superior" course right next door and then spend all sorts of time and effort praising Pacific and either ignoring or denigrating Bandon? Man I just don't see this one. If there was no Pacific, all people would talk about would be this awesome course in remote Oregon that you HAVE to see. As it is, all the talk is about Pacific and Bandon is just a "play it also if you're there, but don't take time away from Pacific." That's HELPING Bandon? How? Just because more make the trip? But didn't you also say it gets brownie points for the remote location? This is making no sense to me.
2. Of course it receives mega brownie points becauwse of the coastal setting and the rest - but then again so does Pacific. And why shouldn't they? Such things exist, do they not? Or are we going to argue AGAIN about the worth of evaluating "golf courses" v. the worth of evaluating "design?" If you are trying to evaluate the golf courses, then obviously these things count. If you want to evaluate design, then Tom Doak himself said that maximizing views matters in that as well. Careful....
3. No contest between Pacific and Bandon? Interesting. Ask 100 golfers and I'd guess 55 prefer Pacific, 45 Bandon. That sounds like a contest to me. The constant arguments at the bars there about which is the best course attests to this contest as well. I do believe Pacific is superior on the overall, but "no contest?" That's taking it way too far.
4. If you are basing this on bang for the buck, then oh yes Black Mesa defeats each course at Bandon, as well as damn near all other courses in our nation, with really only Wild Horse or perhaps a few others giving a good fight. But is this really what you are asking about?
5. So you like the first 6 holes and 16 and the rest is just so-so? Fair enough. I find a lot more to like in the remaining holes, but we need not debate it that much. In the end, I think the course has plenty of beef, enough to justify every ranking it has received, as well as all accolades. I think 7 and 8 are darn fine holes, as is 10, 11, 15 for sure... hell I can find something to like about every hole there. So you do not. So where do you think it SHOULD fall? Outside the Top 100 public?
TH