Oooh Sheep 1-11 reroute is a cool idea. I also will def see if I can fire the back at Bandon as a reroute if we somehow don’t get our round in.

Bought some waterproof FJ and been breaking them in walking the last 15 rounds or so. Bringing moleskin for the group for any blisters anyone gets, along with Gold Bond and lip balm.

The day we play Sheep gonna get breakfast there and warm up there for sure. Also gonna smash a pastrami sandwich at the fire pit on the patio after.

This thread has been a huge source of info and inspiration for sure!!

Red, when is your January trip?

All, any insight on group caddie tip? Website says for regular caddie $100/bag plus gratuity. Says for group caddie for group of 4, it’s $40/player, doesn’t mention grat, but feels silly not to but also seems like $200+ for group caddying is solid compared to $250-300ish for double bagging 18 holes. KJ, any insight from your brother on what is bad/standard/good?

this coming weekend for those going, which doesn't include me this year.
hopefully next.

Yeah for 4 people $40 per person on the group gig is kinda the minimum and then $50/person is solid and the caddie won’t be the least bit upset and $60+ is, and I quote, “let’s go”.

For a group caddie I’d feel good with $50 each and some on course/turn stand drinks/snacks and then bump it up if the caddie is awesome and an end of the trip bump is always nice too

Sounds perfect, thanks, appreciate the info!

Aces

fully understanding it's not my money, but i'd be interested to see what happens if you give your caddies full pay while standing on the first tee your first round.

and i'm not suggesting you stiff them, just give them an amount you think is fair for the experience you might want to have and let them know that's your thought process.

and the next day give them more than half as much again without even thinking about it because of the way those captains chose to steer your shaky golf ship around the bar during high tide.

and reassess on the third day to see if you might willingly double your opening day offering because you recognize how much happiness they bring to how you score around world class courses you're never seen before in your life.

how many times do you realistically expect you will return to Bandon?

the rest of the variables can only be plugged into your own equation

Aces -
congrats on the countdown...only a couple of days away now!

a couple of more tips (i've probably mentioned them before):
not surprisingly it looks like you're going to get wet, how much is yet to be determined.
two pair of rain gloves never hurts if it's really wet and you want to swap out mid-round.
no matter how much rain you get, take your clubs into the room every night and pull them out of the bag so they can dry. also open up all the zippers in your bag to let that dry as well.

can't wait to read your report...have fun!

Yes - drying everything out at night is key; as soon as golf is done get it back to the room and spread out to start the process; things dry slow in wet oregon weather. Turn the heat up a little while you're away at dinner.

Have or get a Ziplock bag for your phone, some cash and anything else you want to ensure stays dry

The gore-tex bucket hat is amazing when it's raining; we had awful weather this past April and the hat keeping water off your face and neck goes a long way

Non-cotton socks that you can change between rounds, etc.


Have fun!

and if the wind is up even a little bit an umbrella is pretty much useless.

so jealous for someone to experience it for the first time.

Thanks y'all, yeah can not wait! Can't stop refreshing the course cameras and the weather forecasts. Weather looks not optimal, but looks like the rain accumulations are projected pretty small, so should be intermittent/light rain, and looks prob windy Wed and Thu, then calming some.

Good points on the spreading stuff out to dry, do y'all never have Guest Services just keep your clubs until the next round? I thought I had read about that, but wasn't sure the logistics, especially if wanting to hit practice area first, etc.

I also had looked into the gore-tex bucket hat, and recommended to my dad since he has glasses as a good way to keep as much wet as possible out of his face. Ziplock bags are already packed! Also have some hand/foot warmers, moleskin for blisters, lip balm, and extra socks all packed.

I had gotten an umbrella to use with my push cart at home, but am not bringing it, just going to grin and bear the adventure, whatever may come.

Also going to buy the ClubGlove Bandon towels to help, since they are super absorbent.

i've never considered using guest services for my clubs. it's too easy moving around the property with them and there's plenty of space in the Chrome Lake doubles. they did a great job designing those rooms for people playing golf. split facilities (shower/tub/sink one side, toilet/sink on the other) and a wide spot inside the front door to store gear.

speaking of moving around, use the shuttles everywhere you go once you get there. they'll take you and your clubs anywhere on property you want to go

Was watching some Bandon videos with dad and brother to get even more hyped (Tourist Sauce and Fore Play) and Bandon called with the great news that they got our room totally ironed out with no room changes. Even more stoked!!

FAA grounding flights nationwide 30 minutes before I take off was not how I wanted this trip to start.

you'll get there, and if you miss the Preserve time you'll have other opportunity to play it.
it's all good.

Yep boarding now, cataclysm averted. For sure on the Preserve round, was gonna be a tad rushed to get going with it and get it in so all good.

safe travels

not sure if you made the 3:30 Preserve time, but looks like the weather is solid right now and the wind is down

I was in south Florida today when I saw the meltdown. Had a 630p flight back home to Tampa. Decided to say eff it and was able to just return the rental car back home with no added fee. Didn't want to chance not getting home and missing the tee time.

Play well this week!

Did not make Preserve. Got here right at sunset. Brother occasionally gets tension headaches and has been fighting nausea since we landed, hopefully that goes away!

Grab some food tonight, Puffin buffet in morning, hit some balls then Old Mac looms at 950.

Played Mac and Preserve today. Accomplished a truly incredible feat - 0/18 greens on the largest greens in the world .

What a phenomenal place and experience. More later, exhausted, but as so many have said, Bandon exceeds the hype. 1240 tomorrow on the OG, may update in the morning.

no hurries on the updates, enjoy it while you're there and updates can happen later.

There's a lone tree halfway down the fairway on the right side of Bandon 10 (right next to the path). There's an irrigation box in the ground very close to it that has become an informal geocache spot...people put all sorts of stuff in it. give it a look on your way past to see if there's anything fun inside.

Pretty upset. One of my buddies at my club does a yearly February trip with his brother and a bunch of guys from Portland and he just let me know they have a spot available. Unfortunately they're going for a whole week, and I can't get out of work commitments. Sigh.

do you have his number?

i just took a couple of snips
4:15



4:20


4:25