Par 3's at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort

[Josh_Lesnik]

As you've read/heard, Mike is planning to build a par 3 course at The Resort (South of BD #17/18 and West of back first tee at Trails).

Just for some casual (and fun) research, while it might be fresh in some of your minds, I was wondering if you would share your favorite Par 3's from the four courses at Bandon Dunes with us.   

So, if you care to, please list your top 3, top 5, top 10 or rank all 17 in order of favorite.
 
Thanks in advance for your time.

Josh

[Jud_T]

I'm partial to this one...Finally conquered it when the wind laid down:

[Mark Arata]

2 and 5 at BT
2, 5 and 8 at OM
11 and 17 at PD

[Morgan Clawson]

Great photo Jud!

Which hole is that?

[Mike Nuzzo]

There are plenty of beautiful ones to choose from.

I like the fun interesting ones at Trails: 
The bold green - 5?
The long one with hump on the incoming 9.

Pacific:
The 11th

BDunes:
The 2nd

[Jud_T]

Great photo Jud!

Which hole is that?

Pac Dunes #11

[Michael Robin]

Here goes nothing:

1 - 11 PD
2 - 15 BD
3 - 2 OM

4 - 8 OM
5 - 17 BT

6 - 12 OM
7 - 10 PD
8 - 5 OM
9 - 5 BT
10 - 2 BT

11 - 17 PD
12 - 14 PD
13 - 6 BD
14 - 5 PD
15 - 12 BD
16 - 12 BT
17 - 2 BD
 
Honorable mention to the Owners Tee on 17 BD - Top 10

What's amazing is that I love to really like all of these holes. Calling one of them the 14th best at the resort is misleading. Guess that's the problem with lists.

[Tom_Doak]

I won't choose among them.  But, I never noticed until Mike listed them all like that, that at none of the courses are the 3rd or 4th holes a par-3 ... even though probably 85-90% of the world's courses have a par-3 in one of those two slots.

Three of the four courses have the second hole as a par-3.  Pacific Dunes waits until the fifth hole for its first short hole.

[Wyatt Halliday]

1 - 11 PD
2 - 17 BT
3 - 14 PD

4 - 15 BD
5 - 5 BT

6 - 17 PD
7 - 12 BT
8 - 10 PD
9 - 12 BD
10 - 5 PD

11 - 2 BT
12 - 2 BD
13 - 6 BD

All have their merits, but I've always questioned the difficulty of #2 at Bandon. Every time I've been there play has been held up while we watch players go back and forth across the green. I'm okay with the hole itself, just not very fond of its location so early in the round.

[Anthony Gray]

  17 at Trails is a fun one and comes at a nice time during the round. Perfect setting.

   Anthony

[Cristian]

Few people have mentioned 17 PD, and not much love for OM 12 either, I notice.... little love for the Redan's? My top 5:

1. OM 8
2. BT 5
3. PD 17
4. BT 12
5. OM 5

[Pete_Pittock]

 1  PD 11
 2  BT 17
 3  BD 12
 4  PD 17
 5  PD 14  

 6  OM 8
 7  PD  5
 8  BD  6
 9  OM 12
10 OM  2

11  BT  2
12  OM 5
13  BD 15
14  PD 10

15  BD 2
16  BT 5
17  BT 12

[Sven Nilsen]

Excluding OM which I have yet to see:

1 - PD 17
2 - PD 11
3 - BT 17
4 - BT 12
5 - PD 10
6 - BD 12
7 - BT 2
8 - PD 14
9 - BT 5
10 - PD 5
11 - BD 15
12 - BD 6
13 - BD 2

Honourable Mention for 3 1/2 pars - BD 16 (summer wind), BT 8 and PD 8 (when the pins in the middle of the punchbowl at the back of the green)

[Kevin Pallier]

1 - 11 PD
2 - 2 OM
3 - 17 BT
4 - 15 BD

5 - 2 BT
6 - 8 OM
7 - 5 OM
8 - 17 PD

9 - 12 OM
10 - 10 PD
11 - 5 BT
12 - 14 PD

13 - 6 BD
14 - 12 BD
15 - 5 PD
16 - 12 BT
17 - 2 BD

The highlight for mine is that OM's collection of P3's are the best on the property

[Tim Bert]

Why don't you just have me rank my kids while I am at it?!?  The list is an impressive one.  The only thing I can guarantee you is that if I ranked them again tomorrow the list would change but BD 2 would probably stay at the bottom and PD 11 would probably stay at the top.  

PD - 11
PD - 5
OM - 2
BD - 12
PD - 10
BT - 17
PD - 14
PD - 17
BT - 2
BD - 15
OM - 5
OM - 8
BT - 5
BD - 6
BT - 12
OM - 12
BD - 2

[Ronald Montesano]

Haven't played Old MacDonald, so here are my top two from the other three courses:

Trails--5 and 17, in that order.
BDunes--15 and 2, in that order.
PDunes--17 and 14, in that order.

[Michael Dugger]

PD 17
PD 10
PD 11
PD 14
BT 17
BT 5
PD 5
BT 2
BD 2
BD 15
BD 12
BD 6
BT 12

[Rob Miller]

Josh- It seems like there is a lot of variation already but if there are a few consensus favorites when this thread runs its course, it would be interesting to do a quick summary.

BT - 5
OM - 5
PD - 14
BT - 2
OM - 8

[Joe Bentham]

top 4 in descending order:
4-#12 OM
3-#17 Pacific Dunes
2-#17 Bandon Trails
1-#12 Bandon Dunes

Why? A couple of reasons.  #12 was the first hole built on the resort, and for that reason alone I love it.  It isn't hard on the eyes and after 6 years of full time looping it is still a hard club to pull and 'feel' 100% about it.  My only complaint is the devolution of the bunker.  When I first seen it it was a sod walled masterpiece, but sadly over the years it has changed.  And while it isn't an ugly bunker, its current state is much less menacing and a whole lot more playable (really not a bad place to miss now).

[Ally Mcintosh]

I won't choose among them.  But, I never noticed until Mike listed them all like that, that at none of the courses are the 3rd or 4th holes a par-3 ... even though probably 85-90% of the world's courses have a par-3 in one of those two slots.

Three of the four courses have the second hole as a par-3.  Pacific Dunes waits until the fifth hole for its first short hole.

Although there is always a lot of talk about "don't route a par-3 in the first three holes" for slow play reasons, it's noticeable on how many great courses this is not the case. I know that Forrest Richardson advocates a Par-3 as opener for regulating tee-times but I wonder if the first 3 hole thing is just an old-wives tale.... Bill Yates?

Obviously it's all compromises and this one likely falls low down in priority... But sometimes I wonder if it exists at all...

[Ronald Montesano]

Ally,
That's a parameter I would hate to have enforced.  Slow play will happen, regardless.  I played in a 4-some yesterday and we all had trouble, it seemed, individually and consecutively.  As a result, someone was always struggling and holding up the group, and the ones behind, as a result.  We all had scores between 78 and 90, so bad numbers weren't the cause.  If you imagine that this happens to at least 1-5 groups on a given course, per day, slow play can happen quite naturally.

[Ally Mcintosh]

Slow play will happen, regardless. 

I'd have to diagree with you on that one. Slow play can be as much to do with design as it is with the players.

However, I'm not talking about "enforcing" it. There should be no rules and if there were, this one would be low down on the priority list of a good routing. What I'm wondering is if it is true at all. It is often stated but I'm not so sure.

Bill Yates and his flow monitoring is probably the only person who can give a close to definitive answer.

[Bill Brightly]

1 - 11 PD
2 - 2 OM
3 - 17 BT
4 - 15 BD
5 - 2 BT
6 - 5 OM
7 - 5 BT
8 - 17 PD
9 - 12 OM
10 -  8 OM
11 - 10 PD
12 - 14 PD
13 - 6 BD
14 - 12 BD
15 - 5 PD
16 - 12 BT
17 - 2 BD

[Adam Clayman]

Baxter Spann built the extra nine holes at Marty Sanchez in Santa fe. All but one hole is a par 3. What's interesting is how different he made these to the existing course. Due to the clientel he could get radical on the 18 hole course but that freed him up on the added nine. Point being it seems reasonable to allow Mr. Coore some latitude so that the new par 3 course have holes that are competely different tyhan what the resort already offers.

[Anthony Fowler]

Bandon Trails might have the best set of par 3's in the world, let alone in southwest Oregon.  Without having seen OM, I would say that 2, 5, and 17 at Trails (in that order) are the best three one-shotters at the resort.  12 is not too shabby either. 

Name any course in the world with a better set of par 3's than Bandon Trails.