what a fantastic finish to a Bandon round in January

this last one is 4:30




those holes along the coast must have been crazy

Had one of my all-time best rounds ever going today. Awful quads on 2 and 3 but then I hit to 3 feet on 4 for birdie on an insanely great hole. Also birdie 12 and 15 stuffing both tee shots inside 5 feet and was even for the stretch from 4-15, as a 20 cap. Piped drive on 16 in the most epic atmosphere I can imagine. 80 yards from middle of fairway and impossibly duff into a death spot in a bunker and make quad. Oooooooof. Lipped out 9 foot for par on 18 for 90 total with 3 quads.

Words can’t describe this course and sunset on 15-17.

all you can do is put yourself in a position to experience it if it happens, then hope mother nature cooperates
she was kind today at 4:20 on friday the thirteenth

What was the weather like?

For Old Mac was windy, about 25 gusting 40 with light rain about half the time, but about 60 degrees. Weather for Preserve was perfect, 55 degrees, about 10-15mph wind, no rain. Was great for Bandon Dunes, about 10-15mph wind again, 55 degrees. About 4-5 holes of light rain. Sun peeked out while we played 12-17.

Shoe's reaction to yesterday is hilarious

Sheep just got a pretty good squall and the wind is up. hopefully Aces snuck off the course right ahead of it.

so you hit your second shot on 16 into that sun? infinity green with the eye of sauron staring at you? no wonder the bunker

Ha!

And the squall hit us right about 15 green. Finished par-bogey-par-par in the squall for a nice 87. 3jacked 16 from 18 feet or so just couldn’t bring myself to hit the first putt hard enough. Almost drove 17, missed 6 foot bird there.

Another phenomenal track and time!!! Also pastrami hoagie wow.

fantastic...sounds like you're playing the perfect tees for your game
and i don't know about you, but i really enjoy playing links courses in inclement weather
just seems like something the scotts would do

Totally agree! I don’t usually play in rain (being in TX it is almost always accompanied by lightning) but I’m actually glad it rained on us some.

Played prob my worst round overall at Trails and had a fun Bandon rite of passage on 13 missing the green way left, hitting what I thought was a perfect bump and run only to come up a foot or two short and then roll 90% of the way back to me. Knocked the next one into the death bunker right obv haha.

Final round 840a this morn at Pac. Forecast says cold but nae wind and nae rain. We shall see!

have fun!

it does look to be a glorious day today

Played quite bad on front, got it together on back until ridic quad on 18. But my god the weather was just heaven on earth on yet another just phenomenal beyond words golf course.

Full report later but suffice to say dying to get back already. Headed to drink and gamble at the Punchbowl after a grilled chz at Pac Grill.

Alright, back and in recovery (but also mourning not still being there) and time for the full TR! Gonna put the nuts and bolts of golf and the pics in spoilers in the next post, since some people will want my opinions in general, but not GAF about how I played, etc., haha.

First things first, just an elite, elite trip and time. I'm pretty spoiled now on most any other golf trip and am already looking at calendars and trying to figure a return. It's like when the studio greenlights a sequel on the first day's box office returns. To me, Bandon so perfectly hits the mark on niceness/luxury without ever being snobby or pretentious or unwelcoming.

Day 1 - Travel Day
As noted, we started off with the crushing news of the FAA flight grounding literally 30 minutes before taking off. JK was already in Portland, since he had to take 3 flights to get there, he left the day before, so we had some panic moments before getting going about 2 hours late.

We had a 330 Preserve time and we were hopeful to make it, but my brother very occasionally gets nausea from tension headaches and had an attack after we landed, and then another before we got out of Portland, then another when we arrived, so that wasn't going to work. We arrived at sunset, and I went out and stood on the 1st tee at Bandon Dunes, just in awe that the months and months of planning and prep had come to this.

We checked into our Chrome Lake Double room, and were so pleased that they were able to finalize our reservation for the same room the entire stay without having to check in and out, would have certainly been quite the hassle. The room was ample for four guys who aren't concerned about sharing beds, but a tiny bit snug, especially when spreading clubs out to dry out, etc. Separate rooms for toilet and shower certainly helped, haha. Beds were comfortable, in-room coffee a plus, and they replenished us with unlimited (aluminum) water bottles. My dad and I also got the $20 Bandon Yeti tumblers at check-in to fill with water throughout the trip.

Brother stayed in the room, the other 3 of us grabbed a shuttle and hit McKee's Pub for dinner. We were constantly impressed about how quick and friendly the shuttles were. Again surreal to read about and think about a place forever and find yourself there. I got the meatloaf, would recommend, 8/10. We also chopped some buffalo wings, which were tasty and large (8/10).

Headed back to the room and dreamed of the Ghost Tree.

Day 2 - Old Mac & Bandon Preserve
We had a 950 tee time at Old Mac, so we grabbed a shuttle to the practice center about 800. Got a breakfast muffin sandwich and some Bandon Balls at the center, along with the free coffee. Highly recommend both! Practice facility was fantastic, even though this was the only day we used it. Wish I had it to use every day.

Got over to Mac about 920. We had a group caddie for our first 3 rounds, then full caddies for the final 2. We met our group caddie "Brownbear" and he was quite the character. Of his first 30 words to us, probably 6 were the F word, which didn't bother any of us in the slightest, but I can imagine that some groups might be taken aback. I'll sum up my feelings overall on the caddies at the end. I will say up front that he busted his ass to make sure we all were getting what we needed on each shot even as a group caddie, which I was curious about going in.

The wind during this round was 20-30mph gusting to 40. Rain began as we teed off, and was off and on, probably raining about 10 of the holes, almost always in the misty to light rain range. If you had told me this would be the weather beforehand, I would have been really disappointed, but I had an absolute BLAST. It helped that it was around 60 degrees, but like REDeYeS posted, there is just something about that weather on links courses. It just felt like a fun adventure. I bought the waterproof bucket hat ($45) and strongly, strongly recommend it. It kept my head totally dry and kept the rain out of my face and from running down my neck into my clothes. I had rain gear in the bag but actually never put it on. We used the Rikshas for our clubs, which rolled very easily, although mine did actually blow over once.

I loved this golf course quite a bit. Ghost Tree is such an iconic figure, and the reveals on 3 fairway and 7 green were just phenomenal. Loved how it felt like it had been there for centuries. The holes into the wind obviously played difficult, but mitigated that by playing proper tees, and taking the mindset that par is completely arbitrary, you aren't entitled to reach a hole in two just because it says "4" on the scorecard.

After the round, the wind and rain piped down, and we decided to see if we could get out on the Preserve to make up for our missed round the day before. There was a group that had times from 245-315 blocked, but hadn't arrived or called, and they sent us out at 300. We did some impromptu skins with my dad teeing off front tees, and the rest of us teeing off the back tees. What a completely fun track! It was a bit more of a walk and time commit than I anticipated, and my dad started wearing down about the 9th hole, as did my buddy. We played the 13th from the front tee with just putters and it was pretty damn dark! Brother and I both made par with putter in the dark, and the sun setting over the last couple holes in calm weather while sipping a beer was really epic.

Also snagged a TurtleFur beanie ($35) at the Trails clubhouse and strongly recommend it as well, really comfy and kept heat in perfectly.

We went back to McKee's, this time with pops staying back in the room (he's a camel and goes forever without eating, he played poker in Tunica once for 20 hours straight with no food and he was totally bushed), and my brother getting to check it out. I got the cheese board and a bowl of clam chowder. Cheese board was good (7/10), chowder I loved (9.5/10). I'm not a chowder expert, so dunno how it compares, but this was great with lots of chunks of clam.

Day 3 - Bandon Dunes
We had a 1240 at Bandon on this day, which I had some concerns on getting in by dark, but I knew sunset on the closing holes at Bandon was raved about. I asked Brownbear during the Old Mac round if we would finish the next day and he confidently said that we would. I would learn that one of the biggest upsides and drawbacks of the Bear was his relentless confidence in what he was saying, no matter what haha.

We hit the Tufted Puffin Lounge breakfast buffet in the morning and, I gotta say, for $18.50 including coffee, it was one hell of a deal. Really enjoyed the Tillamook cheddar eggs, the steel cut oats bar, and the various and sundry pastries, plus really good ham/sausage/bacon.

The weather we had for Bandon was superb, wind 10 with occasional gusts to 15-20, and probably 2-3 holes worth of light rain. Then around the 14th hole, the sun peeked through the clouds just in time for the stretch of 15-16-17, which was just indescribably cool. We played 18 in pretty close to darkness. We thought the group behind us was hollering for us on 16 to hurry up (I had an epic calamity, but we waited on the group in front of us on every shot from about 13 forward), but they came up after and apologized and said they were hollering back at the group behind them who was yelling at them.

Going into the trip, I would have said that Bandon was the least likely to be my favorite, but as we sit here, Bandon Dunes is without question the greatest golf course I have ever played. It probably doesn't hurt that I played maybe the best stretch of golf of my life from holes 4 through 15, but 3 of the 4 of us agreed that BD is #1. It's just the absolute perfect mix of forgiveness and challenge, every hole is appealing and fun, and the way it builds and recedes, builds and recedes is just exquisite. If every round of golf I played for the rest of my life was on BD, I would die happy.

After packing up, we went in and did dinner at the Puffin again, which allowed us to get the Forge menu, without the steakhouse vibe, especialy since we were still all golfed up. I got a filet with truffle butter, and got the crispy brussel sprouts and cauliflower off the lounge menu for my side. 9/10. Everyone else got the scallops and raved about them. The bread, including the asiago rolls, beforehand also hit the spot for sure, as did the cheesecake mousse afterward.

Day 4 - Sheep Ranch
We had a 950a at the Sheep Ranch, and the weather forecast was somewhere between mediocre and bad depending (I had 4 different sources for weather info haha). But I was invigorated by the Old Mac experience, knowing that I would enjoy the day in all but the very worst of conditions. We arrived at SR around 830 and got some breakfast. My brother and I split the corned beef burrito and black forest ham and gouda on telera roll so we could try both. Really enjoyed both, prob 8/10 on burrito and 8.5/10 on the ham. Brother and I went to hit a few at the SR range, and I really loved the secluded vibe there. Dad and buddy saved energy and just putted ha.

As we teed off, it was basically pure calm, dry, and about 52. Uh, yes, please? The sun completely emerged for much of the front nine. Wind picked up late in the front nine, and kept a steady 15-20 for most of the rest of the time. As we hit the 13-14 range, we could see rain in the south, with the south wind carrying it our way. It began sprinkling around 15 tee, and raining pretty hard on 16 green and pelted us throughout 17 and 18. Was pretty pleased to finish par-par on those holes in the heaviest rain we played in with the wind bouncing it off our faces.

The scenery at Sheep Ranch was beyond compare. Just a constant buffet of cotton candy views. I liked the golf the least of the five here, a few of the holes felt "standard" and the par 3s felt more "view" than "golf" to me. The greens were the bumpiest of the 5 courses that we played also. It was my 5th-ranked course for the week, but that's not to disparage it, it is also the 5th best golf course I've played in my life. My buddy said it's the one he would play if he could just have one perfect weather round, and I would definitely choose it to bring a non-golfer to stroll along on.

After the round, we had hoped to do Shorty's or Punchbowl, but 30mph wind and solid rain wasn't appealing. Was also wanting to sit by the fire pit at Sheep and eat lunch but it isn't covered, so we ate standing in the golf shop. Got the pastrami hoagie as recommended and holy ****, 10/10. So good. My dad got the BLT and also raved about it.

Got a shuttle back to the room and just dozed a bit and watched the playoff games while the rain poured. It subsided some and we went back to McKee's. Had originally planned on doing Bandon Town but never worked out either due to weather, energy level, or the place we wanted to go closing early. I got the Popper burger (8/10) with a cup of the chowder instead of fries. When we left it was freezing, howling, and pouring, which was the only moment of the trip I was physically uncomfortable due to weather. It was BRUTAL in the moment, got the shivers and couldn't stop (it didn't help that I casually threw on golf pants and a long sleeve polo rather than layering up like I would if I was going to be playing).

Day 5 - Punchbowl & Bandon Trails
We had an 1130 at Trails, which was going to be our first round with full caddies (both for the trip and lifetime). We hit the Puffin buffet again, then my brother and I hit the Punchbowl while dad and buddy chilled in the room. The routing wasn't up, but we had the whole thing literally to ourselves. We spent a few minutes just hitting putts as hard as we could and watching them fly up and down the incredibly undulating mounds. Then we started doing 3-ball contests, picking our own tee boxes and holes, and seeing who could get 3 balls down in the least strokes. It was our own version of the old Sheep Ranch ha.

We met at Trails at 11 and hooked up with Brownbear and Joe who would be our caddies. The weather system was moving on, though we teed off into the teeth of a 30mph wind. The wind eased as we moved into the woods on 3 (in addition to the shelter from the trees) down to a standard 10mph or so. We got light rain off and on for 5 holes or so, and then a pretty moderate cool rain as we played 18.

I also love love loved this golf course. The feeling on the reveals as you go through the trail tunnels and then open into these standalone ampitheaters is something I hadn't ever had before. The spot of Keiser's inspiration near 14 tee, then 14 tee itself is also truly spectacular, even if you dropkicksnaphook your drive into the garbage.

I really enjoyed being able to just walk the course completely unencumbered by the clubs. I didn't find the walk to be as long/difficult as many mention, though obviously the caddie takes some of the effort. I can also imagine pushing the Riksha on some of those mulchy trails is a bitch. I did get pretty winded hiking up the giant dune right of 2 hunting down my tee shot as the sand is soooo soft you just sink into it.

We sat at Trails End afterward to watch the end of Giants-Vikings and dry off and have a beverage or 3, then back to the room to chill for a bit. We ended up once again at McKee's for the second half of Jags-Chargers (WOW) and the TAP burger (8.5/10), with chili (6/10) as the side. I liked McKee's just fine and was happy with it, but the group seemed to prefer it a bit more than I did, would have prob done Puffin an extra time or two, but all good!

Day 6 - Pacific Dunes & Punchbowl
We had an early 840 time, and the forecast was for chilly temps, but no wind and no rain. Grabbed a ham and cheese on everything bagel sandwich (6.5/10) and headed to the tee. Was about 40 when we teed off and it ended up a dead solid perfect bluebird "Bandiego" day. Sun was out and the wind never got to 5mph. I played terribly on the front, which was disappointing, but ended up playing pretty well on the back until I botched the 18th, which leaves a bad taste borking the last hole of a trip like this.

Again, just a truly phenomenal golf course, visually and architecturally. The greens were perfect and by far the fastest of the trip. I can imagine what a bitch that course can be when firm and a solid 20-30 mph wind going.

Headed back up to Pac Grill and got the recommended grilled bacon and cheese and it lived up to the hype (10/10). We then debated on what to do. Brother and I were down to replay one of the big courses and get maybe 12 holes in, but dad and buddy were pretty cashed and we didn't really wanna ditch them, so we hit the Punchbowl since it was there, and free, and they hadn't seen it the day before. Routing was up, and we had skins carried over from Preserve and from Pac, so we put them all on the line on an 18 hole stroke play comp. We then went around again doing some more skins. Beer and whiskey were flowing, and we were behind a huge group that was pretty slow, so we got to 17 in dark. 18 pushed, and we played it 4 more times in the pure dark to break the tie.

Just a truly world-class day of fun with perfect weather to wrap up. For departure day, we just hit the Puffin buffet again, and grabbed some merch at the various shops and rolled north back to PDX, with no travel shenanigans, reliving some life-changing moments from the trip.

Final Rankings
1. Bandon Dunes
2. Bandon Trails
3. Pacific Dunes
4. Old Mac
5. Sheep Ranch

I love all of these courses and would do anything to play any of them tomorrow, but I feel very solid on these ranks, except Trails/Pac are suuuuuuper close.

Caddie Review
Our caddies were super nice, and fun to be around. They definitely helped a ton with pace, knowing where to go next, etc. I also really enjoyed just strolling down the fairway, and of course the boss feel of sticking a par 3 and just walking from tee to green with putter in hand.

I think I should perhaps be a bit more forceful in trying to get the information that I want rather than what is good for most golfers. I am very data-oriented and would rather know things like "actual distance is 137, I'd say two club wind, and half-club uphill" vs. "play a 150 shot" since then my brain is wondering how that number was reached. I also went in planning to go one club up on most shots and aim for the middle of the green after reading Jon Sherman's book, and felt like I didn't do that as much as I wanted. I think I got a little cruise control mentally, and found it a bit harder to get back on track when things went sideways.

I also think Brownbear was mainly giving approach lines to give the best putt rather than to skew away from the worst miss, if that makes sense. I did start asking more questions and choosing lines to avoid death misses.

I would be on the fence on using caddies the next time, especially given that for the last two rounds, the caddies were 60% of the total cost of the round, with the green fee only 40%. Would I rather have a caddie or play another round on Bandon AND another on Preserve?

Overall Thoughts
As said, best trip ever, so good, 17/10 overall. Can't wait to get back. I would have loved to have a day in between each big course to let each one marinate, but that's not realistic. I got a bit on "fast forward" at times, especially kind of being the one responsible to corral our group, make our plans, make sure our slow guys stayed on pace (a warning from the marshal at Pac about pace directly preceded my worst golf stretch of the trip), and it felt like the whole thing went so fast. Definitely must hit up the town next time, and work more on my fkn sand game before I go back! Looking at the stretch from Nov 2024 to Feb 2025, though God knows I don't wanna wait that long!

Golf deets and pics to come soon, for any interested.

Outstanding

Great TR. FYI for those of you that play golf on consoles Bandon Dunes is in the new EA PGA Tour release in March.

Great TR - thanks for taking the time to write it up.

Seems like everyone had a good experience and you got a bit of all sorts of weather; the full bandon experience!

Yeah, we said the same, was really cool how we got the full Bandon experience ha. Everyone did have a great time, dad never hit the wall physically, brother never had any further headache attacks, was really perfect.

Alright, golf details and pics! Gonna do one day per post, but will spoiler it all so it doesn't clog the thread for people who don't need the minutia ha.

Old Macdonald and Preserve

Bandon Dunes

Jeeez birdies on 4 12 and 15 at Bandon Dunes??!!??

Just put the Pacific Ocean behind the green and this guy is gonna make a birdie.

Haha right? Was probably my 3rd or 4th lifetime 3-bird round, that's a pretty damn good collection to have if you're gonna do it!

Good lord, those pics. What a trip! Thanks for sharing.