What's your preferred championship course at Bandon?

[Jason Thurman]

We've seen high level competition at Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes including the current US Junior Am. Seems like stroke play qualifying in those competitions often has included Bandon Trails. I can't recall high level competition on Old Mac. Sheep Ranch is definitely too new and probably too short to have hosted much decent competition play.


What's the best course at Bandon for hosting competition? Where would you most want to play a club championship, and is it different from where you do/would most like watching great players play?

[Sven Nilsen]

The men's 4 Ball was played on Old Mac a few years ago.


For high level amateurs, Bandon Dunes offers the most flexibility with respect to length.  There are tees out there that stretch the normal Black tee distance back quite a bit.

[Wade Whitehead]

There are back/USGA tees on Bandon Dunes that are pretty unbelievable.  Some players were hitting wedge into #9 during this week's US Junior, though, with the hole playing well over 500 yards.

I agree that Sheep Ranch lacks the elastic length required for a USGA event, and there really isn't any way (or reason) to "fix" that.

WW

[David_Tepper]

Just heard on TV that this USGA Juniors is the 8th USGA championship to be played at Bandon. That is impressive given how relatively young the resort is. All credit to Keiser & Co. for making the courses there available for championship play. 

[JLahrman]

The ol' Publinx used Old Mac, I want to say it was in 2014 or so when the men and women were there at the same time?


I feel like Trails is the toughest, if that's what's important for these USGA competitions. And if you've got rounds going all day seems like it is a little more protected from the wild changes in the weather/wind.


Bandon Dunes has a lot of fun match play holes on the back nine.


Those two seem to be a good pair, that's what they used both this week and for the US Am a couple of years ago.

[Pete_Pittock]

Bandon Dunes probably has the most ability to mimic the majority of golf courses because the fairways are not tilted. The ball pretty much goes where you hit it, which is not true at PD or BT. There is more of a comfort level for golfers.

[JohnVDB]

The ol' Publinx used Old Mac, I want to say it was in 2014 or so when the men and women were there at the same time?


I feel like Trails is the toughest, if that's what's important for these USGA competitions. And if you've got rounds going all day seems like it is a little more protected from the wild changes in the weather/wind.


Bandon Dunes has a lot of fun match play holes on the back nine.


Those two seem to be a good pair, that's what they used both this week and for the US Am a couple of years ago.

Both the Mens and Womens Public Links were played on Old Mac at the same time with Trails also being used.

[Matthew Galloway]

pac dunes and trails would provide the sternest test for a high level (mens) championship event.


at Pac possibility of shifting par on 3/12 and room for borrowing tees for some creative unfortunate length finding


the most recent us am at trails the first tee was set on 2tee from preserve.


old mac certainly with fun hole locations and conditions could create a very strong test as well. loads of possibilities

[jeffwarne]

Any of them.


Does chopping a shot off par on a hole determine a better champion?
Does a 500 yard par 4 (that "they hit wedge into" anyway) separate skill levels?
Would the better player not win that week at Sheep Ranch?
Would the best player not adapt and find a way to make the ball go where he intended , by realizing it may not end up "where he hit it"?


All the courses at Bandon are fantastic and would be fun not only to play, but to spectate live or on TV.


For once, it might just be fun to see an elite competition played somewhere they haven't bult/improvised a bunch of new back tees, or for that matter spent months/years modifying/prepping a place.


You know, like the retail client plays nearly every time.

[Ira Fishman]

Sitting in our room at Bandon as I write, I offer the following obvious observation: the wind is what makes it intriguing to watch even top players play here. Flighting the ball and judging the distances is such an unusual challenge on US courses. Having said that, I would not go as far to say that Sheep Ranch is a true championship test for top amateurs given its length unless the wind is really blowing hard.


What I have found educational about how golfers think about a trip here is that many who complain about the wind at home seem fully embrace it here (although we had a playing partner who is an exception). My only explanation is that very few of us in the US play on windy seaside courses that the unusual becomes the great at least for the days spent at Bandon, especially given the scenic setting. I do wonder though how many appreciate the routing and why their caddies suggest a particular way to play holes.


Ira

[ward peyronnin]

Depends on the championship perhaps; for a short game championship the Preserve is certainly a championship test
W/O getting into what all makes a "championship test" I would submit that while Pac Dunes seems to regularly be the top vote getter competitors seem to prefer less quirk but that is what makes Pac Dunes so appealing. I think BD presents a more conventional championship presence and then Bandon Trails. At least one Trails weakness for a championship  that I recall after only one play is that the holes are largely individual frames that do not tie together in many places and hence foster a sense of isolation.

[Tom_Doak]

It was a deliberate decision not to build "championship" tees at Pacific Dunes.  During construction, Mike Davis came up to visit and whispered into Mr. Keiser's ear that Pacific could host "any" event if it just had a few more back tees.  I laughed and said if they committed to a U.S. Open, I would find 300 more yards, but short of that it didn't need any.  Bandon Dunes was 7200 yards when they built it, and I volunteered that if they hosted the U.S. Amateur they would do it there.


I actually had to remind Mr. Keiser I'd said that a couple of years before the Amateur.  They were considering using a composite course of Bandon and Pacific, finishing on 13 at Pacific, and I thought that would be very strange and almost a sign of weakness.  Plus, often the final match doesn't get to the last hole, anyway.

[Kevin_Reilly]

Having said that, I would not go as far to say that Sheep Ranch is a true championship test for top amateurs given its length unless the wind is really blowing hard.

Ira, your comment brought to mind one of my rounds at SR.  We were three groups ahead of the guy who made this post on Twitter back in March 2021.  We were soaked and freezing!  Canceled our afternoon round and played cards instead!


https://twitter.com/EricAdams20/status/1373053699715600384?s=20&t=kOdVW-2LSd2q8cfpnPdC0A