It was a dark and stormy night. Friday in Gold Beach. Saturday morning I drove past the Pistol River site to some great scenery, particularly Natural Bridges turnout. Then back up to Port Orford and the meeting. The Pacific Gales project is on the agenda of the Curry County Planning Commission on the 23rd and they had scheduled two meeting for county residents in the northern portion of Curry.
http://www.co.curry.or.us/publicservices/publicservices.htmlBeing good neighbors is important. In fact the first questions were was this going to be another Bandon resort. The more people on your side, the better your chances.
The LLC is still in the permitting process and were circumspect on what they said and probably will remain so until they receive a green light.
Location - Just south of the bluff which drops down to the Elk River bottomland. The beach cliffs are about 100 ft high, similar to Bandon. Slightly under 60 acres of dunes on the west side and the rest of the golf course is on silty clay and sandy loam.
Access - Along Knapp Rd. Diagonal down to a reception area and parking. Players will be shuttled to the clubhouse, offset back from the cliffs, which will overlook the 9th and 18th greens. They are trying to minimize the footprint.
The course will be fescue, a blend of creeping red and chewing in the playing surfaces and rough of American sheeps and hard fescues. They will have carts and caddies, and walking will be encouraged. Morning and evening loops are possible
They are looking for a golf/town symbiosis, such as seen at Ballybunion and Lahinch. Port Orford is only a couple of miles away. The hope is that others will upgrade accommodation and dining opportunities there.
The course will have four or five holes fronting the Pacific. With the current routing proposal the north nine will have a counterclockwise loop and come back along the northern bluff. The south nine has a coastal finish with the interior holes having an eastish-westish orientation. There will be full practice facilities. The nines may alternate depending on the wind so the finish won't be into the wind.
Timing - is totally dependent on the permitting process. Like Bandon figure one spring season of construction, one fall season of construction,
a period of preview rounds and another winter of grow-in before the hard opening.
As I mentioned before, Curry County is economically depressed with a low tax base because of the O&C timberlands. They depend on recreation and tourism. Pacific Gales could be an important anchor for the northern portion of the county.
Earlier in the thread, and in the Jim Haley interview, there is plenty of evidence that many people think the site should produce a very good golf course. It will draw some people from Bandon. It is only 15 minutes south of Bandon Biota and Bandon Crossings. It will likely be priced somewhere between them.