A Fan's Photo Tribute to Old Macdonald - Hole #16 Commentary in progress

[Tom_Doak]

The day I asked Mr. Keiser if he wanted us to put the green up on top of that dune was the last piece of the puzzle in elevating Old Macdonald to the same quality as the other courses in Bandon.  It was the first or second day of construction, and we thought the routing was set with #7 green down by #8, because it never occurred to us that it would be okay to make a twenty foot cut on the top of the dune to build a green up there.  Even if Mike was okay with that, I didn't think the local Indian tribe would go for it, in case we might be digging through something untouchable to them.

Mike just wanted the halfway house somewhere up there with an ocean view, and I said there was no way people were going to walk all the way up there from the bottom of the dune just to get a hot dog, so maybe we ought to put a bunch of fill at the base of the dune and build the green halfway up.  But when we walked up to the top, I could see how narrow the ridge was, and that there was a shoulder on the ocean side (just below the left green side bunker today) that we could tie into ... we could not have done it if the dune went straight down off the cliff on the ocean side, but it didn't.  So I asked if we could really do that, and Mike said yes, and we started digging the same day, I think.

But we might never have considered it if we weren't looking for the halfway house.

P.S.  There is a small back tee for this hole off the back right of #9 green, which makes the hole 415-420 yards I think.  We never put it on the card because Mike thought the hole was just too hard from there in the summer wind.

[Jim Adkisson]

Jim- it is larger than PD bunker. No ( bummer) no outdoor urinals. The halfway house at OM is good and bad. It's good after seven for a pitstop while you wait on the par 3 8th green to clear. But I don't like that golfers feel the need to use it after 15. It's a farther ( opposite direction) distance from the 16th tee and is needlessly contributing to slow play.

Thanks Ted...it does look a bit extravegant....though the view must be awesome...bummer about the lack of exterior urinals...one of my favorite features of the other relief stops on the resort...what about sight lines from the course?...one of my peeves with the expanded PD clubhouse is that it is visable from a number of spots on the courses...

[Jim Adkisson]

Mike just wanted the halfway house somewhere up there with an ocean view, and I said there was no way people were going to walk all the way up there from the bottom of the dune just to get a hot dog, so maybe we ought to put a bunch of fill at the base of the dune and build the green halfway up.  But when we walked up to the top, I could see how narrow the ridge was, and that there was a shoulder on the ocean side (just below the left green side bunker today) that we could tie into ... we could not have done it if the dune went straight down off the cliff on the ocean side, but it didn't.  So I asked if we could really do that, and Mike said yes, and we started digging the same day, I think.

But we might never have considered it if we weren't looking for the halfway house.

Amazing,that one of the most spectacular greens at the entire resort could have been the site of a structure that would have been visible from so much of the property...seems a far different philosophy than making sure the lodge wasn't out on the ocean where the 16th hole of BD resides.

[Tom_Doak]

Jim A,

The halfway house is not visible now from any of the courses, and I am sure it would have been hidden by the top of the dune if we had nit built #7 green up there.  Mr. Keiser certainly wanted everyone to enjoy the ocean view from there (Mr. McKee thought it would make a great restaurant site, and permitted it as such), but both of them were sticklers for keeping the golf experience free from distraction just as much as I am.

[Jim Adkisson]

Jim A,

The halfway house is not visible now from any of the courses, and I am sure it would have been hidden by the top of the dune if we had nit built #7 green up there.  Mr. Keiser certainly wanted everyone to enjoy the ocean view from there (Mr. McKee thought it would make a great restaurant site, and permitted it as such), but both of them were sticklers for keeping the golf experience free from distraction just as much as I am.

WHEW!  It's truely one of the joys of Bandon to not see any structures while on the courses....

[Jim Adkisson]

How far from the tees are the fairway bunkers?....Does it make more sense to play long right towards 8 if there is wind off the ocean to play directly into the wind vs. playing shorter left off the tee and into the wind if its from the north?

[Tom_Doak]

The wind almost never comes directly off the ocean.  I think I have seen that once in my 100+ days in Bandon, and only for part of the day as it shifted from north to south.  For that reason, I would generally prefer to keep my tee shots left and have the straightest angle into the green that I can get ... But you don't want to hook it into the gorse or reach the fairway bunker, so you have to hedge right.

[Ted Cahill]

Jim- it is larger than PD bunker. No ( bummer) no outdoor urinals. The halfway house at OM is good and bad. It's good after seven for a pitstop while you wait on the par 3 8th green to clear. But I don't like that golfers feel the need to use it after 15. It's a farther ( opposite direction) distance from the 16th tee and is needlessly contributing to slow play.

Thanks Ted...it does look a bit extravegant....though the view must be awesome...bummer about the lack of exterior urinals...one of my favorite features of the other relief stops on the resort...what about sight lines from the course?...one of my peeves with the expanded PD clubhouse is that it is visable from a number of spots on the courses...

Jim- you are correct, the view is awesome.  The first time I played OM, I played 36- on my second round there was a back up on the 8th tee and my legs were barking at me by then, so I just collapsed on the nice outdoor chairs they have at the halfway house and stared out at the Pacific and inhaled the breeze and considered myself a lucky man......

[Gary Daughters]

I had some luck playing down the extreme left side of the fairway and then sneaking a mid-iron onto the left front portion of the green.  From the right side of the fairway I had the misfortune of leaving the approach short and had it roll back down onto the ledge just below the green.  That is not where you want to be.  I found this to be the toughest hole out there.

[Mike Hamilton]

This is indeed a climax to a great stretch of holes and one spot where nature just overwhelms the golf.  I walked the Front 9 with my 10 year old the evening before my first round after the last groups had played through and we just hung out up there up on the snack shop terrace for almost an hour taking it all in and enjoying the views just before sunset.

It's almost a shame that spot is between holes....

[Tom_Doak]

Mike,

That is the truth.  I took my son Michael out there in May; he is 19 now and pretty blasé.  But when we walked up the hill to the seventh green he just sat down on the back of the 8th tee and caused me to do the same thing.  It's one heck of a spot.

[Terry Lavin]

Mike,

That is the truth.  I took my son Michael out there in May; he is 19 now and pretty blasé.  But when we walked up the hill to the seventh green he just sat down on the back of the 8th tee and caused me to do the same thing.  It's one heck of a spot.

It is indeed a splendid spot.  It's yet another example that there is such a thing as an "instant classic".  If the halfway house has a world-class view, you know you're somewhere special.

[Sven Nilsen]

One feature of this hole that I loved was how the green looks like a sliver from down in the fairway, but in reality has a ton of room from front to back (and from left to right).  We played into a summer wind from the tee with a back middle pin.  With a longer iron in your hand, the prospect of trying to hold the green seems impossible while standing over your approach, but climbing the hill and seeing how your shot finished can be the most rewarding moment during a round at OM.  

Strike that, there are two many potential rewards on this course to single out one as "most" rewarding, including:

-climbing the sahara to find the result of your drive
-watching your tee ball find the right portion of the green on 5
-clearing hell bunker
-holding the back shelf on 8
-finding the fairway after taking an aggressive line on 9
-reaching the green on the road hole
-finding the slot on the redan
-seeing an approach catch the perfect slope on 14
-getting on 15 in 2
-walking around the mound on 16 for the big reveal
-watching your approach catch the slope on the left side of the 18th green and funnel all the way to a left side pin

I could go on.  The course is just too much fun.

[Sven Nilsen]

Mike,

That is the truth.  I took my son Michael out there in May; he is 19 now and pretty blasé.  But when we walked up the hill to the seventh green he just sat down on the back of the 8th tee and caused me to do the same thing.  It's one heck of a spot.

It is indeed a splendid spot.  It's yet another example that there is such a thing as an "instant classic".  If the halfway house has a world-class view, you know you're somewhere special.

Its a ton of fun to sit on the 8th tee and watch the action down on biarritz below and the approaches coming in to your right from the next group on 7.  As mentioned, its a great spot to look back and reflect on the opening stretch while getting a peak at some of the adventures to follow.

[Brett_Morrissy]

Why do my pics sometimes not display? I loaded two pics above, displayed when I loaded. Even for over 24 hrs, but now they are just non displaying gifs?

Any advice, my images are on me.com ?

[Tim Bert]

Tom Doak - Thomas Dunne wrote a really nice article about Spion Kop holes. When reading his work, I couldn't help but think that the Ocean hole has some similarities to a Spion Kop. Have you ever played any of them?  If so, even if you wouldn't call #7 a Spion Kop template, do you think it has some similarities?

[Jim Adkisson]

Why do my pics sometimes not display? I loaded two pics above, displayed when I loaded. Even for over 24 hrs, but now they are just non displaying gifs?

Any advice, my images are on me.com ?

Brett, I looked at your code and looks like it should work...you might want to look at the URL for the photos on me.com and make sure that they didn't change the URL address code...

I tried to copy the URL and paste it into a new tab....the webpage came up "Unathorized"...so possibly you need to log into the me.com in order to view the photos?

[Brett_Morrissy]

Thanks Jim, I may have used pics URL from inside my log in instead of public access!

[jonathan_becker]

With the wind being downwind on the approach, this back and somewhat left flag location can be difficult to manage.  My partner and I hit first and then I walked up to the green to see our competitors hit their approaches.  Before they hit, I noticed that our shots were on the back fringe and I was surprised that they ended up where they did considering I thought I flew mine short of middle.  

So both hit good shots with sand wedges and both flew the ball a few paces short of pin high right (8-10 feet right of the hole), but then both balls took a huge first hop off of the slight downslope.  Both shots tried to check, but ended up rolling over the back and into the bunker.  That back center bunker is not where you want to be as my partner and I won the hole with 4.  

I would love to sit on 8 tee and watch a ton of downwind approaches just to see how the ball reacts based on where it lands.

[Doug Wright]

#7 is a very fine hole. It reminded me of #4 at Apache Stronghold, which features a similarly uphill shot (perhaps not as much uphill) to a fine skyline green cut into a hill/dune. What I like particularly about #7 at Old Macdonald is that, like many holes at OM, the tee shot does not have definition. You have to select the line to play. I apparently chose wrong all three times I played the hole last month because I never hit the green in regulation, instead finding the brutal right greenside bunker twice and the only marginally easier back bunker once. My failing was going too far right on the fairway that is, what, 100 years wide? That left difficult long irons or even a 5 wood into a strong north wind, with poor results. 

And I agree with the comments about the views from #7 green/#8 tee. While there, you need to stop for a minute, take a deep breath and appreciate life.

[Morgan Clawson]

What a great post.  Thanks for the great pics and commentary from everyone.

The thing that I love about #7 (and I haven't played it) is that the player is rewarded with a tremendous view once they reach the green.

On the tee, they know the ocean is waiting for them at the greensite and they will get to see it soon, but they have some serious work to do before they get there.

I can't imagine how great it would feel to birdie or even par this hole and then just enjoy the view while your friends putt out.

Terrifc psychologically rewarding hole!

[Richard Choi]

OK, let me swim against the grain here a bit...

#7 was not one of my favorite holes at Old Macdonald. Not that the greensite is not spectacular, it certainly is. However, I see very little risk reward here. There is no advantage that I can discern from attacking the straight line approach to the left close to the bunker compared to hitting a longer drive to the right where there is plenty of room (which is all blind from the tee). I think the rise from the fairway to the green is quite steep and abrupt and breaks the wonderful flow from #1 to #6 and feels like it was shoehorned in.

Am I the only who feels this way (I am okay with that BTW)?

[Doug Wright]

What a great post.  Thanks for the great pics and commentary from everyone.

The thing that I love about #7 (and I haven't played it) is that the player is rewarded with a tremendous view once they reach the green.

On the tee, they know the ocean is waiting for them at the greensite and they will get to see it soon, but they have some serious work to do before they get there.

I can't imagine how great it would feel to birdie or even par this hole and then just enjoy the view while your friends putt out.

Terrifc psychologically rewarding hole!

Good point, but #4 at Bandon Dunes is even better. You round the bend at the corner of the dogleg and the ocean is right there behind the green. C'est magnfique.

[George_Bahto]

I spent a considerable amount of time at Bandon this spring, pre-opening day, nearly all of it at Old Macdonald (this aside from the construction time).

The Ocean hole is one of many outstanding holes on the course but even without the Ocean at the green, I think if this hole were built on similar terrain inland, it would be an outstanding hole there as well and I am NOT a fan of blind approaches to greens (!!!).

I guess, to me, one of the more exciting features is that you are faced with an approach that if not well struck will have your ball come bounding back some the hill and you are faced with virtually the same shot again.

During my stay in may, pre-opening day, my four daughters came to Bandon for a couple of days. (I think they wanted to see what I had been up to out there for the past couple years    :-)). They are non-golfers and they wanted to walk the course. I thought it would be pretty punishing for them to have to start at hole #1,  walk all the way out to #7 and sort of drift around on the way back to the Old Macdonald proshop, so I had them shuttled up to the 7th to start there and work (basically) downhill for the rest of the walking tour.

They were blown away with that great view of the Pacific and we stayed up there for a long time just taking in the view of the ocean on one side and the view of much of the course in the opposite direction.

For a number of reasons I’ve hardly played any golf for the past two years - none the year before - but during May 2010, I played 5 rounds over the Old Macdonald course and finally playing over what was planned over the previous couple of years was such a thrill for me.

I had spent many hours putting on the Old Macdonald greens during various visits during construction and that too was some of the most fun I have had over the past few years.

I’m thrilled to have been a part of it.

[Jeff Taylor]

Thank you for your memories and your hard work Mr. Bahto.
I count the days until I get to play Old Macdonald next September.