OM, BD, PD, BT
would love to hear why you ranked them this way Mac, thx
Hey Paul...
Old MacDonald is my favorite due to the "adventure" golf vibe to the course, the uniqueness, the routing makes the round feel like a journey, and fun aspect of the challenges. And, if playing a match, the closing holes are some of the best match play holes I've ever seen. Some people may bag on this hole or that as they don't fit in the with the templates perfectly, but I couldn't care less. All I want is fun golf with unique challenges. And Old Mac delievers in spades. Quite simply, I'd travel far and wide to play a course like this...as I can't get what it has anywhere near my home.
Bandon Dunes is a great mix of links golf meets American golf. It is linksy enough to be something different, but still "comfortable" enough not to throw you totally out of whack. So, I am at ease while playing...but with really neat tee to green challenges. And then comes 16...WOW!!!!! I think the placement of that hole, in all its maginficence, is perfect and then to follow it up with 17 is ideal...and then while still awed and amazed by those two holes, you are eased out of the round bewildered and stunned. Really cool stuff IMO.
Pacific Dunes' back nine is out of this world amazing. 11, 13, 14, 17, and 18 knocked my socks off. But I was a bit underwhelmed with a few of the holes, notably 1, 2, 7, and 8. I am unsure if 7 and 8 are great in every wind. But then you get a hole like 6, and you are totally blown away again. I guess it was hit or miss with me and my, to date, 2 plays of the course. However, I think if I've missed something while playing and evaluating a course...I might have missed something at Pac Dunes. Like I said, I've played it twice...but I feel like I need to get back out there again for another round (or two). BUT, I've felt this way before about other courses and then on the follow-up visits I felt the same way. Regardless, I'll be back to try it again.
Bandon Trails I LOVED holes 1-13. Then the vibe shifted on hole 14 to something completely different from the first 13 holes...then the vibe at 15 was right back to the same one that existed before hole 14...then 16 had another odd feel to it that wasn't congruent to any of the other holes...then 17 was freakin' world class but by this time my head was spinning from all the shifts in vibes of of the holes...and then 18 was another odd feeling hole. This back and forth in sentiment regarding holes ruined it for me. I really liked the course, I think it is really good, but in my mind it doesn't compare to the other courses as I feel the course doesn't fit together like the others do.
Of course, these are just my thoughts (as you requested). I'm sure others have differing and very valid opinions. After all, that is what makes the Discussion Group so entertaining.
To add to the entertainment...
For a fairly extensive and detailed post on the resort, I find there is little that Mac said the I can reconcile with my own opinions of the four courses at Bandon.
In no particular order:
1. I'm not sure what you mean by "adventure" golf. If its a sense of discovery with the play of each hole, that is a feeling I've had on each of the four courses. If anything, that sense of discovery for me may have been less at OM, as it was the course I knew the most about the first time I played it. The course that provides the biggest wow moments is probably Bandon Dunes, but I don't think the actual play of the holes measures up to the anticipation created on the tees. Bandon Trails offers the greatest sense of a journey, the routing presenting the most diverse range of atmosphere. Pac Dunes is the most disorienting course (in a good way), with the weaving nature of the routing, the switchbacks and the crossovers working very well as you rarely see another hole on the course while playing. I also find it slightly ironic that you label a course comprised primarily of template hole adaptations as unique. Perhaps you were referring to the size of the greens, or the open nature of the holes in the middle of the course, but without a bit of color as to why OM is unique I'm left wondering what exactly you meant.
2. I'm a bit confused by the statement that Bandon Dunes is "a great mix of links golf meets American golf." To make this claim does a disservice to the Scottish features that were worked into the course. The pot bunkers, the width, the gorse lined fairways and the ocean reveals are elements that suggest nothing to me of the typical "American" course. If anything puts me at ease on Bandon Dunes its that its the most straight forward of the four courses, but this has nothing to do with features that I would associate with golf on this side of the pond. In the Old Mac section you stated you can't find a course like it near your home. I'd be hard pressed to find a course like any of the four anywhere near where I live, even the one's with Scottish sounding names.
3. You have stated in the past that you like the closing hole at BD as it eases you out of the round. To me it is the most bland hole at the resort, and to have it be your last memory of the round leaves a sense of disappointment. I guess I'm in the crowd that likes a course to close on a high note, and there's little about this hole that creates this feeling. I find it interesting that you note the match play nature of OM as a plus, yet the same analysis doesn't play into your opinion of Bandon Dunes. If there's a hole on the course that presents little drama when coming down the closing stretch, its the 18th at BD. Hopefully your match ends 3&2 or 2&1, in which case its a moot point. As for 16 and 17, in my opinion they pale in regards to the combo of 4 and 5. Perhaps this is part of the reason why I wasn't as impressed by the closing stretch at Bandon Dunes as you were, as I felt the real high point of the round had occurred on the front nine.
4. Either our tastes for golf holes is extremely different or you as you suggest you did miss the boat when playing the 1st, 2nd, 7th and 8th holes at Pac Dunes. I would be interested to get your reaction after having played the course at least a few more times. For what its worth, the 2nd, 7th and 8th are three of my favorite holes on the course, whatever direction the wind is blowing.
5. Bandon Trails is the most polarizing course on the property, and the stretch from 14 to 18 is a large part of the divergent opinions. I happen to really like the closing stretch, and feel that the precise shots required on 14 are demanded at the perfect point in the round. 16 is a great example of the puzzle nature of the course as a whole. There are features on the hole that make it play easier, and knowing how to use the slope on the right side of the fairway or that a putt from the wrong spot on the green may be near impossible is part of the key to solving the problem. As for the 18th, as mentioned in 3 above, I don't mind a challenge on the last hole and feel that asking for a precise drive again at this point in the round is not too much to ask. The closing stretch in general, is the toughest section of the course. C&C are asking you to play your best golf at the point in the round where you have no excuses for not being warmed up, and when your swing should be grooved. If you struggle coming in, you probably struggled all day.
6. Bandon Trails is a journey, from Dunes to Forest and back to the Dunes. The 14th is a key point in the journey, you've emerged from the trees, standing at the highest point on the course (from what I recall this is the spot where Keiser determined the Bandon property was where he wanted to make his mark, but I could be wrong on this). Its a hole unlike any other on the course, and I can see how it could be jarring. It wasn't for me. I also know that on repeated plays its a hole that lurks in the back of my mind during the earlier parts of the round. There are other holes like this on other courses, including the 7th at Barnbougle Dunes, the 12th at Skokie, the 16th at Sleepy Hollow and the 17th at Sawgrass. Knowing that the challenge of the 14th lies ahead of you seems to make it fit into the routing as a mid-round crescendo. The benign appearance of the 15th (a hole that can have a bit of bite) pairs perfectly with the bite of 14, and is a brief respite before charging back to the clubhouse.
7. As for the fun factor, in my mind there are different factors that play into the determination. If I'm looking for a casual end of the day round, Bandon Dunes would be my pick. If I want to play a course that feels like unlocking a puzzle, I'd go with Bandon Trails. If its time to test the game, Pacific Dunes is the play. Old Mac presents the opportunity to use the ground game the most of the four and there are a bunch of fun shots that can be attempted (including the drive on 3, the tee shot on 5, the approach on 13 and the approach on 18). But I'm not sure if I think its the most fun of the four when combining all of the factors that go into that analysis for me.
Just as the four courses are different, each golfer that plays them walks away with a different take. I have friends that refuse to play Trails, and schedule their extra rounds on BD. I also have friends that would play Pac Dunes every round on their future visits without setting foot on any of the other courses. In my mind, all four courses are excellent. My preferences seem to change after each visit, with Bandon Trails being the rising star of late.