nice.
always jealous

My club's pro moved over to Witch shortly before they announced the tournament, and I truly don't think he knew about it. I spoke with one of the members, and he said they didn't let members know until RIGHT before the public announcement. Many aren't happy about it.

It was a lot of fun watching the Korn Ferry guys play Witch. Amazing what they can do.

Did you birdie 18? That's got to be the easiest hole on the course. I agree, overall Sheep is probably the easiest out there.

Actually no, I was just off the green on the left. Lag putt from off the green left me like 8 feet. No good.

Old Mac - 37-43-80

No birdies, 2 doubles.

Started with par on the first 6 holes. A bit of the winter wind in the am although it was not a ton. Went 3 wood, 3 wood to #4. Somehow doubled 7. Hit the ball great off the tee but didn't manage to score.

Bandon Dunes

40-42-82

1 birdie, many doubles

Hit the ball terrible all afternoon long. Couldn't get off the tee and irons were below par. Wind switched and kicked up in the afternoon out of the West Northwest. Strange wind for there.

Tomorrow am is the Preserve and Pacific in the PM.

We made the executive decision to bag the Thursday am round as it looks truly miserable, so I have $240 in credit to use in the pro shop.

still jealous.
you could also keep that credit and apply it to a future trip

Par on 4 at OM with any sort of southern wind is substantial.

Where’d you miss on 7 that made for a double? Back bunker?

yeah, i think i've made par on OM 4 once, and that was with minimal wind and one of the best drives i could hit. one of the toughest holes on property.

Maybe it's different down south, but here on the North Coast (and in Portland) NW wind is prevailing starting right about now and through the summer. Nearly every day it starts low and slowly builds as the day goes on.

(I have a love/hate relationship with it....I don't like wind for golf, but when I lived in Portland my other hobby was sailing; the summer NW wind was perfect for a nice lazy sail up the river, then a wild ride into the wind late afternoon).

That is for sure my first par on #4.

On 7, lol

Hit a good tee shot up the left side about 30 yards short of the bunker. Have wedge in hand on a downhill lie. Proceed to blade it into and then out and barely on top of the bunker. I literally have no stance to hit it. First feeble attempt moved a couple inches. Second feeble attempt basically didn't move it. The divot actually opened up and the ball fell below it. I gave up after that.

When checking into the am round today they ended up cancelling the Thursday tee time with no charge.

Bandon Preserve

+2 - 41

2 birdies, 1 double

Double I think was on #3. Pin in back and I hit the right edge of the false back and it went bounding into the native area.

The birdie was on 13 to win a lot of skins which doubled with the birdie. Did take putter after our normal shots. Other two hit the green and were closer than their regular shots. Me failed miserable and putted it into the sand about halfway down the hill.

Pacific Dunes

37-40-77

No birdies or bogeys.

They finished aerating the greens in the am. We were actually second time out post-aeration at 12:20p. They are the smaller holes but putting was basically impossible. The one hole that was close to a double was #4. Hit tee show way left and it was literally hanging by one piece of fescue above the bunker. All I could do was putt it into the bunker. 3rd with a hybrid barely clears lip but grabs in the rough and nearly went in the Pacific. 4th shot from 88y I hit it to 15 feet and make for the double. That was literally my only made putt outside of 4 feet today.

Post Script on the trip.

Going with two others was fun, first time I have done that. We never made it to the punchbowl and I was kinda looking forward to it.

Chrome lake lofts are decent. Calling for shuttles to get places I think I waited no longer than 5 minutes ever.

The punched greens at Pacific they gave us a 25% discount on the round which was nice.

Playing 36 a day is just too much for me these days. I'm not tired at the end but my feet and hands get beat up pretty fast. Playing 1 days of 36 is fine but consecutive days, too much.

Lucked out with weather for 3 days. It rained before we got here and it's supposed to rain pretty good for the next few days.

Next time I think we will AirBNB it. The place where one guy stayed was 4br right on the beach and $400/nt. After cleaning fee it came to like $450/nt. If I commit to just playing one round a day then it can work really good.

Ray's grocery store on Bandon is crazy expensive. $8.50 for a 12 pack of soda. Caddy said there is another grocery store on the south side of town that is cheaper.

There are NO PIZZA DELIVERY places in Bandon. Closest was Coos Bay.

Table games at the casino do not open til 1p on weekends and 4p during the week.

KJ, i'm curious to know the line your brother would recommend off the tee in general (understanding player skill changes the strategy).
i've played that hole twice with a caddie in the group and both times their suggestion was to the right where there's lots of room and a seemingly better angle into the green.

scott, thanks for making the effort to share your trip with us, and that's a bummer about the Punch Bowl.

i agree with your review of the chrome lake lofts. they've seen a lot of mileage over the years and need a facelift, otherwise they have a solid layout and the shuttle service is top notch.

when you're deciding between airbnb or staying at the resort, remember to add the on-property vs off-property greens fees into the equation. they're discounted when you stay there.

as for grocery establishments in Bandon, we usually bring 95% of what we need on the trip from home, and stop in Coos Bay at the local Fred Meyer (Kroger) for what we forgot. we've also had pizza delivered from Pastrie's in Bandon, but it was for 20+ people and arranged ahead of time. if you want pizza at the resort, McKee's has really stepped up their individual pie game lately.

Yep next time I will be stopping in North Port for groceries. Did have pizza 2x at McKees to satisfy that fix.

Also I managed to go 4-0 in CCR on the trip. I think lifetime I am around 12-0. Amazing run.

I drove my RV up from Monterey area after playing Pebble and Spyglass. Stayed at a little family owned park for $60/night and played 4 days. Highly recommended if that route is available to you.. especially for single golfers.

Funny - every caddie I’ve had or been in groups with sends everyone way left. Like left rough better than to the right of the ridge

I can see the angle maybe being better up the right. You can avoid the centerline bunker and run it up, yeah?

this is a view looking due west, winter winds from the left, summer the right

i understand why leaving the ball left might seem desirable because it results in the longest amount of available green, but the left-right dispersion is tight and the wind is going to do what the wind does. in the winter if you're left the wind typically helps at a quartering angle left to right, in the summer it hurts. either way your shot depends on your ability to correct for the wind

***interlude***
would you rather have the wind be at an angle to help or hurt the distance of your shot, or would you rather have the wind be at an angle to help or hurt the left/right distribution of your shot when the distance is close to constant?
***end interlude***

i honestly don't know what the GTO decision is here. does it end up as personal preference?

I would thing better players would like the hurting wind. One thing the pic doesn't do justice is how much uphill that shot is. Calculating that, and wind, is tough no matter the direction.

Edit: Next time I am going to try the right side. The downhill lie staring at the bunker is no bueno for me.

yeah, on average it seems to be a 2x club elevation change
a fantastically frustrating golf hole

lol I was traveling and thought we were talking about 4

7 yeah all the caddies send everyone right. I think a slightly harder shot but it takes the huge number out of play as you don’t sometimes pull/hook it into the gorse

My best scores on 7 are from hitting it left and then having a slightly short and what I think is better angle in.

i agree OM 4 is left to find the speed slots, and likely further left than what your eye thinks is comfortable from the box

US Junior Am starting today out at Bandon. Bandon and Trails for stroke play and BD for the match play starting Wednesday.


Looks like some TV coverage on Golf Channel Friday and Saturday (3-5 PST)


My brother is on the bag for a kid from NJ - hoping they make match play.

thanks for the reminder. i hope they show more of the courses than the handful of holes they covered during the US Am.

temps in the low 60s and some interesting winds predicted for later in the week
https://www.windy.com/43.188/-124.39...58,7,m:eQ7acHQ

what a wonderful opportunity for many kids to experience links golf for the first time

they have quite the schedule coming up, especially hosting both Men's and Women's competitions the same years.

As soon as those walker cup dates get announced I’m booking a house or hotel. Oooooh baby.