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John Kirk

  • Karma: +0/-0
The approach shot to the 18th hole plays very short.  With a 5-10 mph following breeze, 170 yards to the hole might be a 9-iron.  It's downhill, the green slopes away, the ball bounds off the firm turf readily onto the green.  As a result, that recessed left greenside bunker is always a consideration.
   

Ash Towe

  • Karma: +0/-0
Tim,
Thanks very much for this thread.  It has been one of the highlights for me on GCA.
I look forward to the other 2.

Cory Brown

  • Karma: +0/-0
Sorry I missed #17.  Anywhere left of that green is dead.  With no wind my shot caught the left bunker and I nearly made a miraculous up and down.  My brother's shot was heading straight for the hole (I have a great picture of him posing like he's just hit the shot of his life) only to have it roll all the way down left of the bunker.  My dad's shot was a low slice that I thought had no chance and it ended up rolling tight.  Short right is clearly the play with no wind.

Again if anyone could direct me to link for how to post pictures I have couple of outstanding ones of the fairway bunker on #18 from the time I spent in it.

Richard Boult

Again if anyone could direct me to link for how to post pictures I have couple of outstanding ones of the fairway bunker on #18 from the time I spent in it.

just type in: (img)http://www.url.com/filename.jpg(/img) <<< but replace ( with [ and ) with ]

Kyle Henderson

  • Karma: +0/-0
Great thread, Tim. And thanks to all for providing such vivid commentary. I can't wait to see the course come November.
"I always knew terrorists hated us for our freedom. Now they love us for our bondage." -- Stephen T. Colbert discusses the popularity of '50 Shades of Grey' at Gitmo

Tim Bert

  • Karma: +0/-0
Cory,

I use PhotoBucket, which makes things easy.  You just upload your photos to the site, then there is a handy-dandy image link under each one that you copy and paste into the test here.

If you can't make it work, you are welcome to email your pictures to me and I will post them.  You can link my email with the icon on the left side of my posts.

Will MacEwen

Great thread and tremendous contribution by Tim Bert.

I have only played Bandon in the winter months.  In the winter wind, 18 is a most demanding three-shotter.  It seems to take a great drive, followed by a thoughtful but still long second shot.  A five will usually win the hole.

Despite the demands, the hole is still fun.  It is just honestly tough.  It is a great way to finish up 36  - makes you feel like you have earned the cold beer that is moments away.

Tim Bert

  • Karma: +0/-0
In the summer finishing up 36 means it is time to head to the first tee to play the evening foursomes!

David Botimer

  • Karma: +0/-0
By the time we played Pacific recently (me on the bag, summer tailwind out of the north) I had the trust of my player and simply handed him his 130 yard club.....from 180 yards.  He had about 15 feet left, so as we were walking down the fairway I asked, "would you have hit that club if I told you you were 180 to the flag?"  The answer of course was "No!" and therein lies the LAST challenge of 18 at Pac.

The tee shot is deceptive in the accuracy required.  Balls can bound both left and right into trouble.  The 2nd shot then over or past the dune on the left is VERY directionally exacting (with a sloping fairway willing to lead balls into trouble right), leaving an approach shot to the green for which yardage seems almost irrelevant.

Suffice it to say, the approach shot is links golf at its best, with the sloping runway approaching the green on the left from 40 yards out used as the landing area and the ramp between the two bunkers long / left as a backstop if necessary.

PHENOMENAL finishing hole!

Tom_Doak

  • Karma: +3/-1
My favorite feature of #18 is one that David B. alluded to just above, but not specifically -- there is a big roll in the right-center of the fairway, right about at the landing area for a drive.  If you just aim down the middle, that roll kicks you down to the left, so you have to hit over the big bunkers for your second.  You have to aim down the right side, just a bit too close for comfort to the hillside, unless you are confident you will clear the roll.

David Botimer

  • Karma: +0/-0
This is a general question about the course for Tom Doak.....there are a few "Tournament" tees on the course; do you have any other holes on the course, which if necessary for a high caliber tournament you could build an additional tee to stretch the hole further?

Tom_Doak

  • Karma: +3/-1
David:

We've done the research, but my take on that has always been that it would make the course LESS appealing for the majority if we put in some more back tees for the minority.  If they want to have a tournament they can always play the other courses ... including Old Macdonald.

Tim Bert

  • Karma: +0/-0
A few views from around the course to wrap things up...

















To be continued...











Hope you all get a chance to experience this some day.  The pictures and the commentary don't do it justice.


Tim Bert

  • Karma: +0/-0
I have one last picture to post.  Cory Brown sent this nice image of the view from the ferocious 18th fairway bunker...




Wyatt Halliday

  • Karma: +0/-0
Patrick's favorite thread um...thread prompted this bump.

Tim Bert

  • Karma: +0/-0
Looking at that last picture of #18 fairway bunker, I have to ask.  Is that a human skeleton in there?  Has anyone ever been reported missing on the course?

Patrick Kiser

  • Karma: +0/-0
Holy hole in a donut Batman!  We're on the 18th already!

What happened?

I snooze for a day and bang ... we're gone from 1st gear to NOZ.


Tim,

You in a hurry or something?

Oh wait a minute ... wrong thread.  This isn't Kingsley...

Man I need to lay off the juice I think. 
« Last Edit: December 08, 2008, 09:34:30 PM by Patrick Kiser »
“One natural hazard, however, which is more
or less of a nuisance, is water. Water hazards
absolutely prohibit the recovery shot, perhaps
the best shot in the game.” —William Flynn, golf
course architect

Tim Bert

  • Karma: +0/-0
You either slept for 6 months or you've got the wrong thread, my friend.

Patrick Kiser

  • Karma: +0/-0
No Tim.  Just plain dense on my part  ::)

That's the second dense moment in as many months.

Both you and Mike Benham have first dibs at slapping me silly the next we bump into each other.

Geez...


You either slept for 6 months or you've got the wrong thread, my friend.
“One natural hazard, however, which is more
or less of a nuisance, is water. Water hazards
absolutely prohibit the recovery shot, perhaps
the best shot in the game.” —William Flynn, golf
course architect

Tim Bert

  • Karma: +0/-0
Since we're here, what do you think of the skull, rib cage, and leg bones in the bunker on the 18th?  The more I look at that photo the creepier it gets. 

Joe Hancock

  • Karma: +0/-0
Since we're here, what do you think of the skull, rib cage, and leg bones in the bunker on the 18th?  The more I look at that photo the creepier it gets. 

The details are a bit hazy, but I swore she followed me out of there that night......
" What the hell is the point of architecture and excellence in design if a "clever" set up trumps it all?" Peter Pallotta, June 21, 2016

"People aren't picking a side of the fairway off a tee because of a randomly internally contoured green ."  jeffwarne, February 24, 2017

Richard Boult

Having played this hole twice in my life, I would have to say it is the hardest short par 4 I ever played. I was fortunate to play with Ari Techner and he knows the course very well and he told me the smart play up the right side. I hit a perfect drive and what I thought was a good second shot. I walk to the green to find a ranger dressed in orange standing 30 yards behind the green looking at my ball :(  I hit another shot that  I thought was perfect and it runs off the front.   I learned that this green is not very deep and veryyy firm.  The next time i really screwed myself and went left. With no chance of holding the green I sucked it up and went over the green to a wall of hell. I dont think i ever played a hole that looks so easy yet play so hard. What a great hole!!

I was just at Bandon with fellow GCAer Reef Wilson. Our threesome at Pacific Dunes was asked if we'd mind being joined by a single. Of course not, we replied... Our single turned out to be none other than Ari Techner -- on his way from Eugene to Scratch Golf's new facility in Chatanooga. Like Matt shared above, Ari's course knowledge was invaluable. Pretty good game too, especially with 6 clubs - all hickory.