[Jim Nelson]

I'm headed up to Bandon next week for their tournament which is played on the four courses in two days.  I have my thoughts about the opening holes on each course and am curious about the views of others.  Of course, everyone approaches it from their own POV and preferences.  Here's my take.  Interested in yours.  What have I got right?  Wrong?

1.  Old Mac
Probably my favorite.  Why?  I like to hit driver on my first hole, as that's the long club i'm most comfortable with off the tee.  Wide open it is but the second shot does have its challenges.  I still consider a par to be a good score for me on this hole, but it is doable.  If you drive it too far and to the left, that little bunker in front prevents a bump and run.  Stay back and to the right and it's pretty easy to leave it short on the high side of the hole requiring good touch before you are quite ready.

2.  Bandon Dunes:
A close second but I always am right between a driver and three wood off the tee.  If I could dependably fade that driver…  but i can't.  I usually still hit the driver and take my chances.  Usually end up left and have to hit a long club in.  Green is receptive so a well struck shot is usually rewarded.  Green is not crazy.  A well placed tee shot makes this probably the easiest of the four, a nice hand shake to start the round.

3.  Bandon Trails:
I actually feel comfortable off the tee here without my driver, usually hitting a three wood or hybrid depending on the wind.  The hole tends to sucker me into heading left which is death if you get in the bunker.  Well struck tee shots tend to end up in a similar place which is a wedge of some sort into the green.  Here's where the fun starts for me.  A bit of a turtleback, the green is no easy two putt and tends to repel shots.  Tight lie in the fairway, tricky green, lofted club… well you get the idea.  I'm a little shaky and don't have the feel yet to bump and run fearing short or long.  A par here always feels good. 

4.  Pacific Dunes
Not sure what to hit, so I take a club and hope.  Can't see the green with the waste area between you and the hole.  Second shot requires more precision than I have on the first hole.  For me, the toughest of the four, the one with which I am least comfortable on all four (hopefully) shots.  Never quite sure how to play it.  Definitely not a friendly handshake for me.  Not sure that is the intention, but for most, I think that is the result.

[Tom Ferrell]

I was in Bandon last month and had a very interesting experience with the opening hole rotation.

Round One - Pac Dunes:  This is an awkward tee shot for me as well, Jim.  My plan was to stay well left and just hit a solid hybrid into play. Solid shot with tailwind - got a big kick and had just 20 yards or so to the green.  Middlin' chip to 15 feet and made it for BIRDIE.

Round Two - Old Mac:  Took me a couple of plays to appreciate the subtly of this opener.  I love it now.  Hit a big drive that settled on a downslope, leaving a very difficult (for me) pitch from the firm turf over that fronting bunker.  Hit perhaps the best pitch of my life to three feet and made it for BIRDIE.

Round Three - Bandon Dunes:  I like this hole.  The approach is interesting, and the angle of the green presents plenty of strategic options.  Pulled the drive left.  Hit a little knockdown 8 in the wind that settled about 20 feet from the hole.  Drain it for BIRDIE.

Round Four - Bandon Trails:  Okay, now I'm thinking birdie-for-the-cycle.  How could you not?  I like the Trails opener as well - fits my eye.  Hybrid right down the pipe.  90 yards to the hole.  Been hitting those little pitches really well.  Perfect, crisp contact.  Ball bounces once and jerks to a stop less than three feet from the hole.  And with the cycle seemingly in my grasp, I MISS THE &$^%ing PUTT and make par.  GRRRRRRR. 

[Bill_McBride]

Last time I played #1 at Bandon Dunes I bounced my tee ball off McKee's.   Not a happy start!

[Matthew Essig]

The four openers together are an awesome set of golf holes. WAY too hard for me to rank them. I love them all equally.

[Gary Sato]

The four openers together are an awesome set of golf holes. WAY too hard for me to rank them. I love them all equally.

Agreed but I would have to give a slight edge to the first 5 at Bandon Trails.  It went down hill from there but to me it's the first 5 are the highlight of the course.

[Scott Weersing]

So, we are asked to rate the opening holes of the four courses.

1. Bandon Trails- It is the best opening hole because of the great views, the great looking sand traps, and a simple green that gets the round off to a good start. You don't want a hard hole that takes 20 minutes to play.

2. Old Mac- The second best because of the wide fairway and the best of the greens of the four opening holes. This is a great start of fast and firm as drives can roll a long, long way.

3. Pacific Dunes- The hardest of the opening holes and does not require or even need a driver off the tee. Difficult green side bunker and you need to stay below the hole. I like holes where you can see the green from the tee but not so much on the first hole.

4. Bandon Dunes- I like the target bunker that you can hit into when downwind in the winter. I also like the large green but not really very interesting green compared to other holes on the course. I would also rate this hole as difficult as I have seen people be +2 or +3 because of the elevated green.

[Jim Tang]

1.  Bandon Trails - A wonderful golf hole with a great site for the green.

2.  Old Mac - Wide open which affords freedom on the first shot of the day.  It's gentle so you have the chance to get off to a good start.

3.  Bandon Dunes - Several lines off the tee are available and the green site is interesting.  Do not like the threat of OB right.

4.  Pacific Dunes - I've always felt confined on the tee.  There isn't a lot of room out there and the tee shot is awkward, for me.

[Mike Bowen]

The only one I don't prefer is Bandon Dunes.  I think it's a really good hole but find it too demanding for the first hole of the day.  Pac is awkward but doesn't really require that great of shots.  Both Trails and Pac have larger landing areas than what it looks like from the tee.

[Sean Leary]

The only one I don't prefer is Bandon Dunes.  I think it's a really good hole but find it too demanding for the first hole of the day.  Pac is awkward but doesn't really require that great of shots.  Both Trails and Pac have larger landing areas than what it looks like from the tee.

Pacific Dunes from the back tee into a summer Wind might be the hardest tee shot at the resort....

Whatever happened to the alternate green at Bandon's opening hole...?

[Mac Plumart]

Bandon Trails...classically good opening hole.  Easy enough to get you off, but interesting enough to make you think and play right away. 

Pacific Dunes...a bit confusing and quirky.  I've been around twice on this course, maybe over time I'll appreciate it more.

Old Mac...neat hole.  It gets you started and off with little stress off the tee, but making birdie takes some skill.

Bandon Dunes...really cool approach shot.  I like it a lot.

[Brad Tufts]

Last time I played #1 at Bandon Dunes I bounced my tee ball off McKee's.   Not a happy start!

My first tee shot at the resort during my only trip to Bandon was similar.  After making jokes about how many times the stained-glass puffin had been replaced by hammerheads hitting it off the first tee...I proceed to half-shank a 3-wood off McKee's roof, watching it skitter up and back down the roof back into play among the mounds at the corner.  From there I Mickel-hacked a punch 5w to the front of the green from about 195, and made the 40-footer for birdie  .

And Real Leary...I think that alternate 1st green experiment was to avoid my story above and people hitting the buildings, but the response was that people liked the hole playing "out from town" like TOC, and the hole really didn't slow down play much anyways.  It was all seeded and growing in when I was there in 2006...but I don't think it was ever used regularly.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Jim,

As Mike Tyson said: "Everyone has a plan, until they get hit."

By the way, "Happy Birthday Mike"

Doesn't club selection on the first tee depend upon how you were hitting the ball on the range prior to tee off, combined with your perceived tempo and mental state ?

It would seem that anything less than driver on the first tee is a concession to uncertainty, lack of confidence and defensive play.

Don't you really have to make the call, based on how you feel as you reach into your bag on the first tee ?

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