How to Prepare for Pacific Dunes

[Jim_H]

I played Bandon and Pacific Dunes last Fall--and loved them, especially Pacific Dunes.  But it was windy (normal according to the local staff--about a 3-4 club wind after 10:30 am), and I played terribly (I'm a 5 and used to Texas wind, but I shot in the 90's).
I'm going back in late July for a tournament and wonder about any helpful hints on how to get ready--mentally and shot-wise.  Any tips on what I should work on between now and then?  How should I approach the courses differently?

[cary lichtenstein]

Bring the following:

Hot chocolate, snug ski cap, hand warmers

[billb]

I'm a 5 and used to Texas wind, but I shot in the 90's

Jim,
What was so different about the Oregon wind from your Texas wind? And if you are a 5, I assume you can hit a low draw shot?
Bill

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

Use the ground Laddie, use the ground. It is the same ole stuff, take an extra club, widen your stance and swing easy  within yourself. Oh and do not park your trolly with or against the wind or for that matter on a hillside. lol Cirba almost lost his assets on 10 to the ocean due to a small breeze. The wind is great stuff. Oh by the by Texas does not have a normal 5 to 7 club wind every day lol

[Dan King]

Many years ago I made a great discovery about playing in poor weather.

I was playing in this fierce wind in some little border town near California, Arizona and Nevada border (I think it was Kingman, Ariz.) The wind was howling. Playing with a friend who was about equal ability, we were both fighting the wind, trying our damndest to reach pars in regulation.

Around seven or eight holes into this round I came to the realization that if par has any value at all it can't be a stagnant value, it must be flexible. A four on a hole in calm weather can't have the same value as a four on a hole into a 40 mph wind.

After that I put numbers out of my mind and just played shots. I learned to enjoy the value of the shot for the pleasure of performing rather than for the numbers it would translate to.

Following the round my buddy was miserable and he couldn't understand why I was so happy.

Since then, I've come to care very little about the numbers. Numbers are never again going to make or break my day of golf. I'll enjoy golf for the game, not needing to wait for addition to decide if I enjoyed myself.

Dan King

The advantage of a bad memory is that one enjoys several times the same good things for the first time.
 --Friedrich Nietzsche

[THuckaby2]

That is sage advice for normal golf Dan, and very sage advice for someone wanting to have the most fun at Pacific Dunes.

BUT....

Jim is playing in a tournament there, which I assume he wouldn't do unless he cared about his result.  In these competitive rounds, the numbers do matter.

So I would just slightly change your advice to this:  oh yes, by all means, throw par out the window - it's not gonna mean much given the wind.  Don't base your happiness on the numerical result also, for sure, as the wind may well wreak havoc.  If competitive success will make you happy, just remember all the others are playing in this also, and judge relative to them, not to par or any preconceived numerical expectation.

I doubt this is what Jim is looking for... I just felt compelled to point out the difference between regular golf and competitive golf... it's a difference I experience quite a bit.

Re how to play... heed Tiger's words... use the ground.... not much more to say than that.

TH

[Bill_McBride]

In the wind ---- swing easier!  (Wish I could remember this   )   Use three or four more clubs into the wind.  It really howls down the coast at Bandon Dunes!  

[Tim_Weiman]

Jim H:

Dan King and others are right. When playing in tough weather conditions, just play the best you can and try to enjoy it. Don't try to compare it to 80 degree, sunny wheather with no wind.

Probably the best round of golf I ever played was a 91 I shot at Turnberry years ago when nobody else in three groups shot better than 130.

Most were single digit players, but that was the best we could do in 70 MPH wind.

Hell, just standing up wasn't very easy.......that break at the lighthouse was awfully nice.

[Mike_Cirba]

Prepare to hit shots as low as humanly possible.  Hitting a punched, 3/4  4-iron for my third shot on #4 at PD from 80 yards after a solid drive and 2-iron to about 10 feet remains one of my greatest golfing memories.

Oh..and chuck the scorecard.  Have a fun match against your playing partners and keep the hole score in your head.   

[Tim_Weiman]

Mike Cirba:

You are exactly right. The only reason I was able to shoot a score so much better than my playing partners on that day at Turnberry was the low height of my shots. Hitting 80-100 yard long irons was key.

I'll never forget a good friend of mine who played to about a 5 handicap. He ripped into a three wood.......and watched in horror as the ball wound up about thirty yards behind him.

[Tom_Doak]

Jim:

When I was younger I played golf occasionally with some of the better college women golfers in the country.  They would often hit two clubs more than I did from the same spots in the fairways, but they hit every damn green, much like Ms. Sorenstam did today.  They pretty much ALWAYS hit it solid.

I try to swing like that when I'm playing in the wind at Pacific Dunes.  Into a 25-mph headwind I may well take a 3- or 4-iron for a 120-yard shot, gear down just a bit, and make sure I hit it solid.  Same for downwind shots -- be sure to take plenty of club and hit it easy, as Hogan said.

The worst thing you can do is try to hit it hard.  It's not just psychological.  Putting more spin on the ball will cause it to react more to the wind conditions.

Remember at both Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes, there is plenty of fairway width except at a couple of holes (#5 BD, #7 PD approaches), so don't worry about missing shots.  But do keep the ball on the ground around the greens, especially when playing downwind!  (In fact, try not to miss on the windward side of the hole.)

[ForkaB]

One of the key mistakes people do when playing in high winds is to change their game.  If you are a high ball hitter, don't try to hit worm burners into the wind.  You will be surprised how far a "high" ball can go into the wind if you strike it properly (by swinging within yourself, as Tom Doak and others recommend) and how much trouble you can get into if your quail high shot scoots off in the wrong direction.  Alternatively, if you hit it low, don''t try to sky it downwind--your trusty controlled hook will go just as far as a moon ball, probably farther.  By all means try out some new stuff if you are just playing for fun, but don't expect that you will get better results--just a bit of experiential learning, maybe, which is cool too.

[TEPaul]

There's some excellent wind advice on this thread particularly hit it low and try not to make a double or worse. When you do that in something like a 3-4 club wind strategy takes on a whole new meaning. Into a 3-4 club wind just forget about GIRs and keep the ball in play treating long par 4s like 5s. Play it back in your stance a little, grip about half way down the shaft, lighten up on your grip and hit it low all day. And also spend about three times more than normal practicing your short game--that's what can really help your score in severe wind. If you can manage to do all that all day you might even develop a Scottish or Irish accent by the end of the round!

[Dan Herrmann]

It sounds corny, but stop and smell the salt air - realize how fortunate you are to play at such an awesome facility, and relax.

The good scores will follow..

I had my best round of the year at Pacific Dunes in 2001 just by relaxing, and having fun...

Getting a caddie wouldn't hurt either!

[Jim_H]

Thank you--all great advice!!

[TEPaul]

Jim H:

Just one last word of advice. Whatever you do, by all means, DO NOT go out there and try to remember all the great advice you've been given on this thread!

[billb]

Jim:
I have only played PD once, and have never played BD. My one round at PD was in early April, BIG wind, rain off and on, in other words a fine day for links golf!
As the eminent Mr. Doak stated in his post, there is quite a bit of fairway room. What he failed to mention is how severe the hazards are. My round was spoiled earlier by a quad at the "easy" 3rd hole. I tried to get greedy with my second shot, left myself in the wrong place for the 3rd, dumped a lob wedge in a bunker, and took 3 to get out.
I spent the rest of the round being very careful to avoid the bunkers and the long grass, managed to do so, scored well for the conditions, and had a blast!
This entailed numerous conservative plays, lots of lay ups, thinking about where best to "miss" a green in order to leave a easier chip shot. The green complexes are awesome, and creativity in chipping is a requirement.
My advice: keep it on the short stuff and practice your "boomp and roon".
Bill

[JohnV]

A couple of other bits of advice.  Practice putting from long range, possibly as long as 50 to 75 yards.  Don't ground your club if the wind is really howling.  Having your ball move in strong winds is always a possibility and you don't want a penalty stroke because you had addressed it.

[Pete Lavallee]

John V;

If you sole your putter on the ground initially then lift it and then the ball moves due to wind, what is the ruling? Thanx.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Jim H,

It's always difficult to alter your game to suit someone elses game under a variety of conditions.

In addition, the suggestion or advice to play the ground game is absurd.  Try playing the ground game on #'s 1, 2, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16 and 17 at Bandon Dunes and #'s 1, 5, left side of 6, 7, left side of 9 to upper, 10 upper, 11, 14, 16 at Pacific Dunes and you'll find that you have grounds for litigation against those giving you such advice.

One of the things I objected to at Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes was the caddy's handing me a club or telling me how to play to the green, or off the tee.  They didn't know my game and what I felt comfortable hitting as the shot at hand, and you and you alone must decide what you feel comfortable with, and what you feel you can and can't execute.

In each and every case I rejected the suggested club, choosing instead to play it my way.  I also found that this practice created doubt, which I had to eradicate prior to playing the shot.  On many occassions, despite protestations to the contrary, I selected clubs and punched, or hit 3/4 or 1/2 shots with 2-irons from 150 yards, 4-irons & 5-irons from 130-135 yards, 7-irons from 100-110 yard, 3-woods and drivers from under 200 yards.

The suggestion to practice long putts is a good one since the greens at Bandon Dunes are very large and sometimes it's better to be on the green with a safer shot, leaving you with a longer putt, then gamble on the riskier shot.

Use the force Jim, use the force.

Don't go with any preconceived notions,
just go and enjoy the golf courses, the elements and the vistas, it's a special place for golf.

If the forecast is for cold, really cold, rain and high winds, consider bringing a female companion as a viable alternative to golf    

[tyelder]

I'm playing in two weeks for the the first time. The suspense is killing me. Where else should I play in the Portland area?  

[ForkaB]

ty

Portland is as close to Bandon as Southampton is to Madagascar.  Just stay there, lay back, close your eyes and think of England........