Rustic Canyon vs. Pacific Dunes

[JakaB]

I could go see either this March at the same expense and trouble...so which is worth the effort and why..

note: seeing you guys at KPIII is a wash.

[THuckaby2]

So you're asking to base this just on the golf courses?  That is, the people/cost/trouble all have no bearing?

If that's the case, then it just plain has to be Pacific Dunes/Bandon Dunes.  Two great places with the same effort, plus the chance to see what's what re the new C&C course being built, and jaunt over to Sheep Ranch if you have conectiones or huevos maximos.  

That simply has to be better than Rustic Canyon... and Rustic Canyon is a damn fine golf course, very fun in all respects.

TH

ps - the caveat here is that at least for me, I'd sooner play San Jose Muni with all the fine blokes here than go to Pacific Dunes by myself... people trump courses damn near every time.  But that's just me.  

[Mike Benham]

I could go see either this March at the same expense and trouble...so which is worth the effort and why..

With Pacific Dunes green fees sky-high, how can you do so at the same expense?  Or is the travel expense the same?

Does your liver get a vote?

[JakaB]

I would no sooner play Bandon Dunes that I would play Pinehurst #7....and I play my own version of the sheep ranch all winter....(the creation of perpindicular divots is a worry)...this is strictly PD vs RC.

[Mike Benham]

I've edited my initial response to eliminate the evil word B@#$%* ...

Now you can answer the question ...

[THuckaby2]

JakaB:

Well then you are even sillier today than you sometimes get.  Bandon Dunes is a VERY fine golf course as well, and to go all the way there and not play it would be "Emperor-esque" in single-minded zealotry.

And seeing only what was published by Sports Illustrated, well, Sheep Ranch looks damn cool to me.  Then we also have the reality of a potential classic being built next door, and having a chance to see that in process, well that is cool also.

But then there are the financial issues... which are very real.  Each of the Bandon courses costs 3-5 times as much as Rustic, depending on when you play....

But I gather that NONE of this counts, and you just want which is the superior golf course, between these two?

Then ask such, my friend - don't couch this behind subtleties.

And if you ask, well my answer remains Pacific Dunes.  Just a little more "there" there than Rustic, although it is pretty close.  Note that I count such things as ocean views, links-like conditions, cool food and drink as mattering in this life.  Base it purely on "golf course architecture" and someone else is gonna have to answer, I remain unqualified to make such assessments and uninterested in such theoretical issues, as well.  But I think you asked which is worth the effort.  To me, Pacific Dunes is just a bit more so... and this is absolutely NO knock on Rustic, which as I say is a damn fine golf course.

TH

 

[JakaB]

Mike and Tom,

If two rounds at PD costs a total of $200 more that two rounds at RC...I just see that as not relevant to what ever additional costs I may incurr in L.A.

The food will be better at Rustic.
The scenery will be better at Rustic....I am dying to see the new L.A. Cathedral.
The companionship will be a wash....don't underestimate the generosity of potential Oregonian meet-ups.

So that leaves what....the architecture and the X factor....You are going to have to do much better to convince me Pacific is that good....everything I have read on this site convinces me that Rustic fits me in much the same manner Pajaro did.

[Michael Dugger]

Jakab

You crazy man!

Go to Bandon
play both courses
ask no more questions

Stay in a yurt if cost is an issue.  Rustic is probably a fine course too but it's not on the Pacific Ocean

This is a no brainer to me, but then again, your brains are suspect from time to time.  

 

[JakaB]

My god mdug...you can do no better than that.

I have never understood the ocean free pass...I prefer city-scape to ocean views everyday of the week.

[THuckaby2]

OK, gotcha. This is about which is better for YOU, not for the golfer in general.

Then enough said - if you believe the scenery and food to be better at Rustic than it is at Pacific Dunes, and you are excited to see cathedrals (I'm Catholic and from LA originally and didn't even know there was a new one!)  then end of story - Rustic is a WAY better fit for you personally, from what I know of you and what I read here, then would be Pacific Dunes.

You have no need to go to Pacific Dunes.  It will piss you off far more than it will jazz you - and that's not even close.

And oh yes, Rustic will fit you much much better - that too also isn't close.  It's the best damn example of down-to-earth, fun, exciting, strategic, easy on the pocketbook golf this side of Wild Horse in Nebraska.  The fact it exists in SoCal, bastion of all things NOT like that, makes it a must-see without a doubt.

Pacific Dunes is a rather expensive, trying to be down to earth but too expensive to really ever be so, golf resort.  That ain't you, and my bad for forgetting that.



TH

[Norbert P]

JakaB, you're putting too much pressure on yourself. Just do both and double your pleasure.  Triple it with Bandon Dunes.   Quadruple it with Gearhart Links, quintuple it with Ocean Dunes and finally take it down a notch with Sandpines to depressurize yourself so you don't get the benz when you go back to Indy.

[Michael Dugger]

If you want cityscape you best stop in at Moorpark as well.  A fine Peter Jacobsen design

[Michael Dugger]

Then play TPC Valencia!

[JakaB]

Slag,

My small sample would get sore at such an expansive undertaking.

Tom,

Of course its all about me...I'm not trying to educate anybody or change the world.

[THuckaby2]

Tom,

Of course its all about me...I'm not trying to educate anybody or change the world.

Darn right.  I should have gotten this straight from the start.

So get ye-self out to LA for TKPIII, will ye?  I want to see some more birdies on famous golf holes.

TH

[Scott_Burroughs]

Mike,

In the off-season (which for Bandon lasts from Oct-May), the rates are less, up to 60% less in January.

Non-residents of Oregon can play in March (JakaB's stated month) for $130 ($110 if staying at lodge) and $45 replay.  $180 total.  It's as little as $80($60 at lodge)/$30 replay in January.

[JakaB]

Ok...now I understand...For people like me who are not into "resort golf" and don't care about ocean views...Rustic C. should be the choice over Pacific D.

[Norbert P]

 The sea views are not the reason to go to Bandon but they are a feature that should be admired during those rare moments of life.  

[Mike_Cirba]

John;

Fly into San Francisco.  Drive the 12 hours to Pacific Dunes.  

Drive through the redwood forest and along the rugged coastline on your way there and you'll be as close to God as you'll ever be in this life.

Pac Dunes is stunningly educational as a golf course, with or without the ocean.

[THuckaby2]

Ok...now I understand...For people like me who are not into "resort golf" and don't care about ocean views...Rustic C. should be the choice over Pacific D.

Exactly.

But heed the wisdom of Mr. Cirba... he speaketh the truth...

TH

[Mike_Cirba]

and if the Sheep Ranch isn't Heaven, then it's definitely on the road to kingdom come.

I sincerely doubt I will ever have as much fun playing golf again.  

[Bill_McBride]

"The food is better at Rustic Canyon."  But what about the meat loaf at Pacific Dunes?

So why not go all out and do a triangular routing - LAX / Coos Bay International / home?

[JakaB]

Pac Dunes is stunningly educational as a golf course, with or without the ocean.

I don't get educational....please provide an example.  Is this where Pacific separates itself from Bandon....and while I've got you is Bandon anymore worth the effort than Pinehurst #7 or any other course at that resort besides the duece.

[JakaB]

"The food is better at Rustic Canyon."  But what about the meat loaf at Pacific Dunes?

So why not go all out and do a triangular routing - LAX / Coos Bay International / home?

Things are tough in akaBville...I gotta choose.

[Mike_Cirba]

"Educational"

John;

PD is a virtual treatise on how a talented architect builds a course that's fun, playable for all levels, immensely challenging, inspiring, thought-provoking, and original while maintaining a rugged, natural, earthy feel and tone.

While you're out there, think about each hole in different types of wind conditions, and imagine the variability.  Look at the generous avenues of play on each hole and see how a single bunker or grumply area of fairway can dramatically change playing options.  

Feel the power of nature and don't fight it...work with it.  Use your putter from 65 yards as I did on the 7th, or punch a 4-iron from 85 as I managed on the 4th.  Going the other way, launch your ball high and let the winds carry it to places you never dreamed.  Become one with the course and let yourself be transcended.  

Ok..I'm going off now, but you wanted spirituality, didn't you John??

Bandon is a very, very good course, but sitting next to a masterpiece it loses a little.  The difference is in the details, particularly around the greens.  It's much better than Pinehurst #7, however.

gotta run...trust me on this one.  

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