Bandon Dunes and Caddies

« **on:** March 22, 2006, 06:24:08 PM »

I have just scheduled a trip to Bandon Dunes Aug 26-28. we will be playing each course twice.

I will be calling BD back in the next couple of days to request my caddies. For those who have played Bandon Dunes I would like to have any recommendations on any specific caddie or caddies I should request.

Thanks,
Martin

« **Reply #1 on:** March 22, 2006, 06:54:10 PM »

Request Vegas Brad and Bro

« **Reply #2 on:** March 22, 2006, 09:40:53 PM »

Mankato Andy from Minnesota. Very good golfer and good guy. Superb caddie, saved me at least 4-5 shots per round. Very professional.

"Big Ed" looped for a single who played with us, and he was also very good. A former dryland farmer from Eastern Oregon, he has a good sense of humor and really knows the courses.

« **Reply #3 on:** March 22, 2006, 09:50:20 PM »

I thought Sasha looked pretty good.

« **Reply #4 on:** March 22, 2006, 09:55:47 PM »

You're right about the gals that caddy. Laura and I played PD on a Wednesday afternoon, and we were very pleasantly surprised by the number of female caddies that took advantage of caddy free golf tee times. Pretty darn good swings too

« **Reply #5 on:** March 22, 2006, 11:32:52 PM »

From the original bunch is a guy named Rack. He's great!

« **Reply #6 on:** March 23, 2006, 12:49:23 AM »

Big Joey; or any of the female caddies.

« **Reply #7 on:** March 23, 2006, 03:02:22 AM »

never had a bad caddie there

« **Reply #8 on:** March 23, 2006, 09:10:08 AM »

Sasha is an excellent caddy. BTW -- if you end up getting her to loop for you bring a bag of beef jerky or some peanuts for her. She needs something to snack on. You can tell her they are from me. (Background -- she was caddying for me and I could tell that her hands were all shaky. She said that she was hungry so I dug out a bag of jerky and a bag of peanuts that she quickly devoured.)

Nestie is also an excellent caddy. And he's a Bengal fan too. How could you go wrong?

« **Reply #9 on:** March 23, 2006, 10:25:43 AM »

I have no idea how many caddies I have employed in my life. I can't remember any of their names. Am I missing an important part of the golf experience?

« **Reply #10 on:** March 23, 2006, 10:46:52 AM »

Quote from: John Cullum on March 23, 2006, 10:25:43 AM

I have no idea how many caddies I have employed in my life. I can't remember any of their names. Am I missing an important part of the golf experience?

Are you saying that you've had so many caddies you can't remember their names, or that you've had so few caddies you can't remember the names of the good ones?

Caddies, IMO, are one of the best ways to enjoy a round of golf.

« **Reply #11 on:** March 23, 2006, 10:47:50 AM »

Timely thread - some friends and I will be going April 11-16 and we were just discussing the caddie issue yesterday

Seems the "senior" caddies are 100 each and are required to double-bag

The junior caddies are 50/bag and you get your own.

Anyone have strong feelings either way on this? Obviously, its more hit or miss with the junior caddies, but I spray the ball over the planet...cant imagine the caddie with my straight-hitting friends bag on one shoulder and mine on the other will be liking me that much, or overly helpful anywhere other than the tee and the green...

« **Reply #12 on:** March 23, 2006, 10:54:31 AM »

Ryan:

You can DEFINITELY do without a caddie at all of the Bandon courses. In terms of fatigue, use the pull-carts. In terms of course knowledge, the yardage guides will do just fine. This being said, it is still very fun to take one though, and it is the best way to play - but consider it a luxury. If you are thinking about the cost at all, don't do it - it won't be worth it. If money is no object, of course take them every round.

TH

« **Reply #13 on:** March 23, 2006, 10:58:40 AM »

I won't be taking caddies on my next trip...of course I will be going in the winter when walking is always much easier. note: If my caddie sees this message...I loved you guy..It's not you, it's me..

« **Reply #14 on:** March 23, 2006, 11:13:30 AM »

Quote from: Tom Huckaby on March 23, 2006, 10:54:31 AM

Ryan:

In terms of fatigue, use the pull-carts.

Personally, I did not like the pull carts. I found them to be distracting. Since they have only two wheels you have to constantly pay attention to keeping them balanced as you are walking along. I much prefer the three wheeled "Speed Cart" style.

« **Reply #15 on:** March 23, 2006, 11:15:56 AM »

John:

The three-wheel speed carts are better for sure; but at least as of last June though, they were not offered there. Those huge rickshaw ones did work pretty darn well going over all the railroad ties, sand, etc. In any case if one is playing more than one round a day, they did serve very well for fatigue-fighting.

TH

« **Reply #16 on:** March 23, 2006, 11:16:42 AM »

I've seen pictures of Sasha . . .
I don't think that I'm mature enough to have a caddy who is that beautiful.

-Ted

« **Reply #17 on:** March 23, 2006, 11:19:47 AM »

Go with one of the gals. I didn't and am upset I didn't. I saw some pretty attractive girls carrying. I bet I would have played better too

.

« **Reply #18 on:** March 23, 2006, 11:38:31 AM »

Quote from: John Pflum Jr on March 23, 2006, 10:46:52 AM

Quote from: John Cullum on March 23, 2006, 10:25:43 AM
I have no idea how many caddies I have employed in my life. I can't remember any of their names. Am I missing an important part of the golf experience?

Are you saying that you've had so many caddies you can't remember their names, or that you've had so few caddies you can't remember the names of the good ones?

Caddies, IMO, are one of the best ways to enjoy a round of golf.

I agre that caddies make a round of golf very enjoyable. I just never burned their names or personalities into my memory banks. I direct most of my focus to playing the course in as few strokes as possible, enjoying the time with my fellow competitors, enjoying the beautiful surrounds, etc., and individual caddies just don't enter into the experience that much. Most have been very pleasant, and done a fair to good job, and I take no issue with them.

« **Reply #19 on:** March 23, 2006, 11:40:06 AM »

Quote from: Tom Huckaby on March 23, 2006, 11:15:56 AM

John:

The three-wheel speed carts are better for sure; but at least as of last June though, they were not offered there. Those huge rickshaw ones did work pretty darn well going over all the railroad ties, sand, etc. In any case if one is playing more than one round a day, they did serve very well for fatigue-fighting.

TH

Tom,

Agreed. Did you notice the genius who designed the various sets of steps made out of rail road ties? They made the edges of the steps the EXACT width so that you could easily roll the rickshaws up and down the steps.

Just one of the little things that makes Bandon so nice.

« **Reply #20 on:** March 23, 2006, 11:41:01 AM »

John - agreed - that is a very nice touch, one of many. They miss very few tricks up there.

« **Reply #21 on:** March 23, 2006, 12:35:16 PM »

Huck - not so much considering the caddie versus no caddie dilemma, but rather the following-

we have pretty well decided that we will take caddies for one round at PD and one round at BD...just for the experience.

So, with that in mind, is it worth the extra cash for the expert veteran knowing full well that they are double bagging, or is the apprentice caddie going to be good enough to "contribute to the experience" or is he just gonna be a North Bend High School golf teamer sucking drags off a butt between nines?

« **Reply #22 on:** March 23, 2006, 12:38:33 PM »

Ryan:

My experience was that even some of the high-priced caddies weren't all that great. But some were... I'd say if you can get a specific one that one of these other guys recommends, it might be worth the extra $$$. But that being said our group also took some of the apprentice/lower-end caddies and if anything they worked harder... No one who did that came away disappointed.

Note also you can do a single bag - double-bagging wasn't required, at least not when I was there. But of course that ups the price quotient.

TH

« **Reply #23 on:** March 23, 2006, 01:50:04 PM »

One of my more memorable caddy experiences was at East Lake. He was a neighborhood kid about 13 or so. He wasn't a golfer, couldn't read greens, and was pretty quiet. His appearance was well kept and he was polite. I thought he was just about exactly what I want a caddy to be. I don't remember his name.

« **Reply #24 on:** March 23, 2006, 02:20:21 PM »

Quote from: ShivaSchmidt on March 23, 2006, 02:05:34 PM

I feel strongly about single vs. double carriers. I abhor taking caddies who double and would rather carry my own than that. Nothing drives me nuts more than being ready to hit a shot and standing around tapping my toes waiting for the caddy to come over to my ball second so I can grab a club. I hate that, especially because most of them are spoiled and know they really don't have to hustle for you, so they just take their sweet time and sachay up to your ball. When I caddied doubles, literally the second I had two players hit balls in different directions, my very first thought was "how am I going to be able to have clubs and me there for both guys when they're ready to play?"

That often included running ahead and putting both bags on the ground then running back to the first guy and then running over to the second guy so that they'd both have a bag there when they wanted a club and a person there when they wanted advice. You just never see that in doubles anymore. Sadly, sometimes there's nothing you can do when 2 guys spray it different directions. But you can at least TRY. Thats' what I don't see.

Oh, BTW, let's memorialize this Sasha gal:

Courtesy of a post on BSG.com . . .
http://www.pbase.com/dgs/image/51696223

-Ted

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