i just returned from BD travelling with a large group. I marvel at how well they operate. In five days I don't remember seeing a food or any other delivery and they push a lot of product out nor did I see mantenance underway on the course; they dont overcharge( $7 for pancake breakfast at the lodge).
+1. Even aside from the golf, Bandon separates itself from every high-end golf facility I've experienced by getting every little detail right, and delivering value. It's an expensive place to stay and play, but there's no nickel-diming and every dollar you spend returns something tangibly excellent.
Most of the fellow travellers did not place Old Mac on high on their list as I feared would happen; I had even sent this site's course review out to some of them in vain.
I sense that ranking the courses boils down to a personal style preference; most of these players are country clubbers and Trails is probably the closest thing to what they expect to see on a course so it got a lot of positives. I had previously preferred PD but after this trip and my second playing of OM I just truly feel a connection . The creativity of the greens and the refined use of wonderfully flowing features and the pacing are things that separate it for me.
BTW the NLU episode on Sweetens Cove is HILARIOUS and well worth the watch
This part of Ward's post gets me thinking about another thing that separates Bandon from other facilities in its class: the courses take risks rather than trying to appeal to everyone, resulting in more interesting debate and more varied personal preferences.
Consider Pinehurst. Everybody loves #2. People also like #4 and #8. And there are other courses located at the facility.
What's the most beloved course at Bandon, though? LOTS of people love Bandon Dunes, and LOTS of people love Pacific Dunes. There are probably fewer of us who rate Trails #1, but we're passionate enough about it and there are enough of us to at least make our opinion one worth engaging with and debating. Old Mac is probably the most polarizing of the original four and maybe the most fun course out there to discuss, given that people who have heard of Mackenzie Walkers tend to be awed by it while people who have never heard of a Mackenzie Walker tend to hate it because the greens are too big... that's the conversation I've had a half-dozen times since my visit last year, anyways.
Bottom line: the courses at Bandon take risks that won't appeal to everyone, but that will appeal to many and stoke passion for some. And that's WAY more interesting than, like, Kohler having one pretty unanimously heralded course, one that's pretty great but maybe a little too weird in the middle, one that's boring for 9 holes before getting excellent but pretty tough on the average resort player for 9, and one that's just weird AF.
And honestly, Kohler is probably the WORST example to use - it's not nearly as "try to please everybody" in ethos as most multi-course facilities, but it doesn't come close to Bandon in terms of willingness to get outside the box and risk being polarizing if it means building something that's special and unique and that creates real passion.