Bandon vs Traditional links courses

[jeffwarne]

I would add to Tom's list:

In Bandon you get great food.

Mike,

you need to get out more....The food was the ONLY thing at Bandon that wasn't absolutely first class IMHO....I'll take the menu and wine list at Turnberry over Bandon's any day....(particularly the Haggis!)...

I have to say that in the past 5-6 visits to Scotland I haven't had a bad meal.
If you're going to ANY links golf destination for the food, you've probably missed the point anyway.

It's a bit of a shame that this is a pissing contests between a RESORT and a country.
Bandon     has 4 + great courses-if you like the stay in one place thing it's hard to beat.
Scotland has hundreds of courses and certainly several dozen great ones and many good ones.
I enjoy the touring, but my guess is I'd enjoy touring around Oregon as well.
I really enjoy the culture and spirit of the golf in Scotland, but I'm sure I could enjoy Bandon

I'd say the biggest difference between the two destinationa is about 8000 miles.
 Bandon is a beast to get to from the east coast.
For a New Yorker, Scotland is simply easier to get to (nothing better than sleeping on the plane and teeing it up the next morning)
Scotland is a beast to get to from the West Coast.

Certainly the logistics of planning a Bandon trip are simpler, but I enjoy the planning process as well.

edit-  what Joel said is true for me

[Jud_T]

Brian...

I would love to meet up with you in Scotland.  I fully expect to tear up more than once on the trip.  I'm not afraid of it!  

Here is what I am trying to line up...

Muirfield is already set...and fyi, I've got a twosome booked but thus far it is only me playing...so I've got a spot open.

St. Andrews Old...I would like to play it at least twice (hopefully more).

Musselburgh (old)...for the history.

And then I am trying to set up a few days trip to The Machrie and Askernish.  I don't have this worked out yet, but I am really compelled to go there.  Those places just seem like great places to play golf.

If you or others want to join me...that would be AWESOME!!!  But I am not afraid to go as a single either.

Also, I probably won't get to Bandon Dunes this year...but maybe next...so I won't be able to directly compare for a few years.  But I am pretty sure it will be worth the wait.

Mac,

Sounds like an awesome trip...For history, don't forget Prestwick if possible....

[Emil Weber]

Haven't been to Bandon, but I would think the placement of hazards is more strategic and considered than at the traditional links. On links in GBI, it seems like bunkers just evolved here and there over time, yet at Bandon, every bunker is where it's supposed to be and was thought about well before it was dug. That gives the bunkering in GBI more uncertainty and irregularity ( in placement). Correct me if im wrong

[Kalen Braley]

Jeff,

On the flip side, if you live in the West, GB&I is a beast to get to and Bandon is way more doable.  After reading dozens and dozens of threads on this site, I'm convinced the only way to do Scotland right is to move over there for a couple of years so you can most everything as well as work in a few side trips to Ireland.

On that note, here's to hoping the house next to Melyvn is empty in a few years when I make the move.  We can drink Guiness into the wee night hours and debate topics like "Golf Carts: The Wave of the Future" and "Distance Aids: You aren't playing golf unless you got one in the bag"   

[jeffwarne]

yet at Bandon, every bunker is where it's supposed to be

What does that mean?
I'm sure that's not true, but if it is ,that may explain why I haven't been to Bandon (and did't even know why)

[Thomas McQuillan]

yet at Bandon, every bunker is where it's supposed to be

What does that mean?
I'm sure that's not true, but if it is ,that may explain why I haven't been to Bandon (and did't even know why)

Some of the bunkers on GB&I's favourite links courses may look out of place because of increases inn distances rendering them obsolete.

[Tim Pitner]

Some interesting comments.  In my view, a trip to Bandon should not be viewed as a substitute to a trip to the Auld Country.  There isn't the history, the atmosphere is completely different and, thankfully, Bandon does not try to replicate that and doesn't trade on nostalgia.  It's modern.  

My links experience overseas is limited to a few courses in Ireland (which I loved), but I would say that the turf at Bandon feels almost exactly like the linksland I played in Ireland--firm but springy, a sheer delight.  

One difference that I would say favors Bandon is its location--on the blue Pacific Ocean (not the gray/grey Irish Sea, Atlantic Ocean or North Sea), specifically on the Oregon coast, one of the most beautiful and pristine stretches of coastline in the world.  The natural beauty at Bandon is very impressive.  

[Jud_T]

Bandon, with the inclusion of Old Mac, is simply the best golf resort in the world...And until the Euro and the Pound break the buck, can't be beat for the U.S. traveller....I love the GB&I classics as much, and probably more, than the next guy, but it's hard to justify spending more time, money and jetlag to go overseas than a 4-day trip to the Oregon coast....

[Joel Zuckerman]

This last point is also relevant...currently it costs a bit more than a buck-and-a-half to purchase an English Pound, so the cost to golf/visit in Scotland carries an automatic 50% increase owing to the poor currency exchange rate for Americans.

[Tom Huckaby]

Well.... how much anything is worth in terms of money and time is always going to be up the the individual.

I will just say this:  there is nothing like the real thing.  And as great as Bandon is - and oh my lord it is great - it is not the real thing.  Links golf is played in the UK and Ireland and precious few other places.  If you want the real thing, go there.  If finances or logistics only allow it, of course Bandon is a fine substitute; "best golf resort in the world" is not a stretch.  Just don't ever confuse it with the real thing.

TH

[Jason Topp]

I have found the turf at newer "links" courses such as Bandon to be different in feel from the links courses in Scotland and Ireland.  The newer courses feel more like concrete while the older ones have a very pleasant springy feel when you walk.  I am not sure that the ground plays any differently.

Do others notice the same difference?

Could it simply be due to age?

[Tim Pitner]

I have found the turf at newer "links" courses such as Bandon to be different in feel from the links courses in Scotland and Ireland.  The newer courses feel more like concrete while the older ones have a very pleasant springy feel when you walk.  I am not sure that the ground plays any differently.

Do others notice the same difference?

Could it simply be due to age?

On my first visit to Bandon, I noticed a definite difference in the turf between Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes because PD was quite new then (one year old).  In my experience, the turf at each of the courses at Bandon is now not at all like concrete and has the springy quality you mention.  Is the turf at older courses even springier?  Could be, but I didn't notice the difference between Bandon and Lahinch or the other Irish courses I've played.

Tom H,

I have to disagree with you somewhat.  To me, Bandon offers an authentic links golf experience.  It just doesn't offer anything resembling a GB&I golf experience and people shouldn't expect that.  Maybe I'm splitting hairs.

[Tom Huckaby]

Tom H,

I have to disagree with you somewhat.  To me, Bandon offers an authentic links golf experience.  It just doesn't offer anything resembling a GB&I golf experience and people shouldn't expect that.  Maybe I'm splitting hairs.

I don't think it's splitting hairs; I think we fundamentally disagree about what a true links golf experience is.

To me the true and real golf links golf experience can only be found on true and real links golf courses.. and as great as those at Bandon are, they are not that.  They're close, for sure.. likely as close as can be found in this country... but they are not real links.  And I don't mean to base this on the technical definition of the term; no, I base it on all that goes into the experience of playing real links golf.  So maybe it is splitting hairs after all, I don't know... but for me, the real thing remains overseas.

[Tim Pitner]

Tom,

It's hard for me to disagree with you because your definition of a links course is simultaneously vague and narrow--it's where one plays "real links golf" which, for you, apprently only occurs in GB&I and perhaps in Belgium and the Netherlands too. 

If you think about the playing surfaces, the presence of the sea and the wind and the availability of the ground game, I think it's tough to say that Bandon doesn't share these links characteristics.  If you're looking for some other intangibles, like history or being rough around the edges or salty caddies, Bandon doesn't have those. 

[Tom Huckaby]

That's just about it, Tim.  For me it comes down to this:  the courses at Bandon don't play completely like a real links (as one finds in those places where it meets the proper definition); but also, the intangibles are wholly different - and for me, authentic over there, a nice semi-reproduction at Bandon.

So yes, Bandon does have the presence of the sea, the wind, and the availability of the ground game, sure.  But lots of courses have those.  I think Doak hit on the key difference... at Bandon, the existing three courses anyway, on most holes there is a way to fly the ball onto a green and keep it there... as most US golfers are used to.  On the true links I am talking about, many times if not the vast majority of holes, that's not the case.  Therein lies a very key difference.

This is not meant to be any knock on Bandon.. as I say, all three courses I have played there are fantastic.  But the question here is about the differences from "traditional links" - and I do think such differences exist, and in fact are pretty fundamental.

[Jud_T]

at Bandon, the existing three courses anyway, on most holes there is a way to fly the ball onto a green and keep it there... as most US golfers are used to.  On the true links I am talking about, many times if not the vast majority of holes, that's not the case.  Therein lies a very key difference.

I assume when you're referring to flying a ball onto the green and keeping it there you're not referring to #6 at Pac Dunes or #14 at Bandon Trails...

[Tom Huckaby]

Well given I said "most holes" and that's also Doak's take, yes of course there are exceptions, like those two... both of which are very very great golf holes as I see things.