First Trip to Bandon

[Bill_McBride]

Greg,

1) Listen to your caddies
2) Hit a ball into the ocean on 16 tee at Bandon Dunes
3) Drink three different kinds of Scotch, slowly, outside in the elements if they'll let you take the glass outside
4) Stare at 15 green at Bandon Trails and chuckle at why everyone loves C&C so much
5) Stare at the tee shot on 6 at Pacific Dunes and chuckle at why everyone loves Renaissance Golf so much.
6) Find way to get over to the Sheep Ranch.  Spend four hours hitting the ball around, having a beer or two, and visiting with friends.  And God please don't keep a score!
7) Play the preview at Old Mac, and smile for two hours straight. 
Eat the meatloaf
9) Hit shiny white Titleist NXT Tour balls at the range.  Wish that your local course had a practice area as good as Bandon's.
10) Have a few too many, and at midnight, walk down 18 and 17 to the 16th green at Bandon Dunes and go scream at the ocean and the wind.  Realize how powerless you really are in the face of that incomprehensibly big ocean.

But if you do none of those things.  Do this one.  Enjoy every moment.  There is no place on earth like it.

If they don't use that as a marketing piece at Bandon they're crazy.

If they do they owe you royalties for a long time.

Good stuff.

[Bryan Bergner]

Keep it low, and enjoy some time in the town of Bandon.  The people are great. 

[Jud_T]

bill,

no reason to leave the resort...I'd say play bandon dunes only once, play as much pac dunes and old mac as possible...

[Anthony Gray]

  Greg,

  I am happy for you. From one person from Harrison County to another have a great time, you have earned it. Seize the day my friend.

  Anthony

 

[Pete_Pittock]

One of the problems of using a walking cart at Bandon was the construction of the cart paths with railroad ties. They have been (almost?) completely replaced with gravel or firm sand/dirt. You can pull the rickshaw carts across greens, but don't stop or make hard turns on the putting surface.

[Anthony Gray]

  Bandon is more about the experience than the golf. It is "Dream Golf". Enjoy the town, the caddies, the isolation and your friends. In many ways it is an escape. The golf is the best in the world.


  Anthony

 

[Sean Eidson]

The best piece of advice I got at Bandon is "Have fun, hit some good shots.  Remember the good shots and forget about your score.  Nobody asks you what you scored when you go skiing, they just ask if you had fun."

Seriously, i worked my butt off to play the best golf of my life at Bandon, lots of extra rounds, lots of extra exercise, and lots of extra practice.  All of that kind of went out the window when faced with the cool temperatures, strong wind, and 36 holes/day.  I lost 2 shots on my handicap.  My golf just sucked, when you look at it from a pencil and scorecard perspective, but there were pieces that I'll take and treasure for the rest of my life, and especially as I plan my return trip.

Have a great time.  If you haven't left yet, stop by Barnes and Noble and pick up a copy of Extraordinary Golf to read as you migrate West.  In lieu of reading that great book, take heed of the admonition on the first tee at Black Mesa - "It's not how you play, it's how you handle how you play - Brad Klein"

[Will MacEwen]

A friendly bartender once said to me that he estimated that 50--60% of the players he spoke to broke out brand-new golf shoes for their "epic trip" to Bandon...and the vast majority were hobbling after 9 or 18 holes, putting a severe damper on their ability to go round and round.

He was amazed that guys presumably smart/successful/astute enough to GET to Bandon and pay for the whole experience, were so dumb as to take brand-new shoes right outta the box...so the moral of the story is:  Wear golf shoes that are well broken in!

I have probably posted this before, but with new shoes I like to wear thick wool socks and plaster my feet with vaseline.  It really works well for the break in period.  The only downside is having your wife ask you why you are packing a quart of vaseline for your golf trip.


The advice about playing off the green is good.  Get comfy with the putter or a hybrid and stick with it.  BD is still a very good course and it is somewhat less demanding, which is nice to have in the mix.  BT and especially PD (for me) can draw blood.

Walking dow to the beach with beer is a nice suggestion. 

[Bill Brightly]

I have probably posted this before, but with new shoes I like to wear thick wool socks and plaster my feet with vaseline.  It really works well for the break in period.  The only downside is having your wife ask you why you are packing a quart of vaseline for your golf trip.

Laugh out loud funny! And thanks for the advice!

[Jim Adkisson]

5.3 Magnatude earthquake this morning just west of Bandon... http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/11/moderate_quake_strikes_off_ore_1.html ...doesn't look like a tsunami will wipe out the oceanside holes...I can't wait to get there on Saturday, Bandon Crossings on the drive-in day, USE a buggy, save the legs for daily doubles on the main entree...Lot's of good advice so far...I'd add Salmon Hash for breakfast and Meatloaf for dinner one night...Drink Oregon beers when in Beervana!

[Kalen Braley]

5.3 Magnatude earthquake this morning just west of Bandon... http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/11/moderate_quake_strikes_off_ore_1.html ...doesn't look like a tsunami will wipe out the oceanside holes...I can't wait to get there on Saturday, Bandon Crossings on the drive-in day, USE a buggy, save the legs for daily doubles on the main entree...Lot's of good advice so far...I'd add Salmon Hash for breakfast and Meatloaf for dinner one night...Drink Oregon beers when in Beervana!

Jim,

You got the Beervana part right...let me know if you want some recommendations, although I'm guessing the resort selection will be limited. 

[Kevin Pallier]

Big Tip: Make sure your camera battery is fully charged and your memory cards are empty. There's some cool pics to be had at all 4 courses.

[GBoring]

Played my first round today at Pacific Dunes.  We were very lucky by the fact that it rained most of the day except for the time we were on the golf course.  However the wind was anything like I have ever seen before.  Sustained winds of 45 mph was the norm with gusts above 55.  And honestly I have never had that much fun playing golf.  Manufacturing shots throughout the golf course was magical.  I hit several 110 yard 7 irons.  I recieved great advise from putting from off the green.  I dont play much so my short game benefitted from being able to utilize the putter from off the green.  I get to experience Bandon Dunes tomorrow.   I will elaborate more when I get more time. 

 

[Dan Herrmann]

Greg,
Let us know how #15 played into the wind!

(PS - The back 17th tee at BD is one of my favorite golf locations in the world)

[Jud_T]

Greg,

have fun! sounds like the winds we had at Turnberry...It is a load of fun, in a survival of the elements kind of way....

[Mike Demetriou]

Ben, the To-Do list below qualifies in my mind as one of the all-time greatest posts on GCA. Has there ever been a thread ranking the 10 or so best posts on GCA? [Caveat, I've only been here for three years...]

Greg,

1) Listen to your caddies
2) Hit a ball into the ocean on 16 tee at Bandon Dunes
3) Drink three different kinds of Scotch, slowly, outside in the elements if they'll let you take the glass outside
4) Stare at 15 green at Bandon Trails and chuckle at why everyone loves C&C so much
5) Stare at the tee shot on 6 at Pacific Dunes and chuckle at why everyone loves Renaissance Golf so much.
6) Find way to get over to the Sheep Ranch.  Spend four hours hitting the ball around, having a beer or two, and visiting with friends.  And God please don't keep a score!
7) Play the preview at Old Mac, and smile for two hours straight. 
Eat the meatloaf
9) Hit shiny white Titleist NXT Tour balls at the range.  Wish that your local course had a practice area as good as Bandon's.
10) Have a few too many, and at midnight, walk down 18 and 17 to the 16th green at Bandon Dunes and go scream at the ocean and the wind.  Realize how powerless you really are in the face of that incomprehensibly big ocean.

But if you do none of those things.  Do this one.  Enjoy every moment.  There is no place on earth like it.

[Jud_T]

Mike,

3 years and 55 posts?! That equals 1 post every 477.8 hours....

[GBoring]

Dan,

Lets just say on the 12th hole I hit driver, pw over the green in two. I believe it played 529 yards from the Black Tees.  On 15 I hit a good drive, decent hybrid, another decent hybrid and a 9 iron punch shot from 100 yards.  15 played 539 from the Black tees.  I have never seen wind become that much of a factor before.  Closest thing I have ever seen is the Ocean Course at Kiawah. 

[Ross Waldorf]

Greg:

Sounds like an interesting day! I think as long as people have more than two or three rounds in Bandon, then a crazy wind day is really fun because it's so different than what most of us are used to. Actually, we get those with some regularity at Rustic Canyon, but not usually the 45 mph kind. I remember an afternoon at Bandon Dunes where we got to the 6th tee (which was about 155 that day) and I said to myself, "this looks like a knock-down three wood . . ." That's just fun.

Also, what did you think of Pacific Dunes 15? I always felt that was an underrated hole -- in fact it's actually a favorite of mine. There's just something about that hole that I always enjoy -- probably a lot of it has to do with the fact that I really like that severe mound at the front right of the green. It's a great feature. Also, I two-putted from about 75 yards there once, so I have positive memories. Having said that, I've certainly had my share of watching more than one green-bound shot leak unfortunately right and then pinball off that fricken thing.

Great golf course.
R