I suppose I should share why I was disappointed with Sandpines.
* Sandpines is located on a beautiful piece of Oregon dunesland, about 1.5 miles from the ocean, just north of Florence, Oregon. The ground is naturally lumpy, and was probably covered with quite a few shore pines before construction. Unlike Bandon, there is no gorse.
* There are three man-made lakes on Sandpines. The first small pond guards the front left of the 2nd green. The second lake hugs the right side of the par-4 4th green, and then creates an all-carry tee shot at the 180 yard 5th hole. The third lake is often photographed. This very large lake guards the left side of the 200 yard 17th hole and then is used as thye primary hazard on the cape-style 500 yard 18th hole. The 17th plays into the wind, while the 18th playts downwind on the tee shot, and crosswind on the approach.
* Massive containment mounding is used to define holes 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 18. With one or two exceptions, the fairways are quite flat and smooth inbetween the lines of mounds. There were no centerline hazards on tee shots, and only a few fairway bunkers that even merited attention. The one fairway bunker I drove into, I couldn't see it from the tee.
* The bunker construction was quite unusual, mostly natural sand pits that collected balls. They were deep and recessed into the landscape. They were very interesting as a group, but would have been more effective if the grass was shorter around them, instead of 1 - 1.5 inch primary rough.
* The greens were very flat, spongy and slow. The only short grass around the greens were the standard fairway approaches, and they were slow and spongy. Virtually all short shots around the green were lofted pitches from 1.5 inch rough. The ball usually sat up on the top of the rough.
* Only a few greens sported greenside bunkers that guarded a significant portion of the green..
* There were three short par 4s that could be considered driveable. Unfortunately, two of them were holes 1 and 2, before the typical player is ready for such a challenge. The third one, hole 16, required a long drive over three right-side fairway bunkers. Unfortunately, the bac of the third bunker was covered with rough, instead of short grass to help propel the ball the last 40-50 yards to the green.
In summary, there was one strategy off the tee; hit the ball in the fairway. There were no clearcut instances where a shot shape was preferred. There was one strategy from the fairway; fly the ball onto the green close to the pin. There were no clearcut instances where a shot shape was preferred. There was one strategy around the green; pitch the ball at the hole with the proper rollout to stop a the hole.
To be fair, the course is pleasant enough, and an easy walk. Unless you are sophisticated about golf, the course is likely not to disappoint. Holes 11, 14, and 15 stand out as good golf holes.
In conclusion, Sandpines is a thoroughly conventional layout which offers very limited strategic interest for the golf enthusiast. Virtually all of the life has been drained out of this sensational piece of golfing land. A tragic swing and a miss at a pitch right down the middle.