Did you get a chance to do that punch bwl putting course thing?

Yeah, you just can't try to die putts into the cup on Old Mac, especially inside 5 feet. the balls will move a ton as they lose pace.
It's also challenging to play Mac as a second round because its greens are the fastest on property and roll differently than the others.

Don't forget: free hot tub at the Lodge.

I did the punch bowl when I was here last year. After I checked in last night I only had about 30 minutes of light left.

As I woke up this morning I see that I actually got sunburn from yesterday. There is a nice line on my forehead where my beanie was.

I had no idea these course cameras were a thing. Probably just spent more time than I would like to admit checking them out and playing with the different positions. Maintenance crew has to be on their games as well, boss's probably are watching.

look for the lefty on the first hole tee box cameras...all times pacific standard.

03/22/2017 Bandon Dunes 12:50 PM 1 1 @ $70 None
03/23/2017 Pacific Dunes 7:30 AM 1 1 @ $135 None
03/23/2017 Bandon Trails 1:00 PM 1 1 @ $70 Non

The guy I was with waved to the camera on the 10th tee.

85 at Old Mac this morning. The first two holes it was pouring out. I saved bogey on #1 making about a 25 footer. I took a 7 on the 2nd. Short, over, bunker, bunker, bunker, putt, putt. After the 2nd hole it rained two more times during the round. Winds were very good and about a 90* change from the day before. One of the greens I drove yesterday I was 92y out today. Felt like I played a lot better than I shot.

84 at Bandon Dunes this afternoon. I played pretty good for the first time ever playing the course. Unfortunately the score doesn't show it. I was hitting the ball pretty good by the end of the day. Rained on us 4 times during the round.

Had enough time so I played Bandon Preserve, Shot a +6 45. Had three bogeys early then had back to back birdies on 7 and 8. The shot on 8 was about a foot away. Image will not upload but I will post it later. Perfect conditions, including sun for about half of it.

It took me until the 70th hole to finally lose a ball. 16 tee shot on Bandon Dunes I pulled a touch to the right and I couldn't find it. It was dry no problem but it must have nestled down in the long grass.

My left thumb is a wreck. 85 holes in two days will do that. It has split in 4 different places with one being really bad. Doesn't hurt to swing though since it's my bottom hand.

45-38-83 on Pacific Dunes today. I wanted to get out earlier than 1p on Bandon Trails but there was a group of 4 times making that impossible. I was also a single so I decided to pass on another round and drive the 4.5 hours to Portland.

Lots of ups and downs on the round today. Tripled the par 5 3rd. Drive in the bunker, hit a good 2nd shot, then thinned a wedge next to the gorse way over the green. Took me 3 shots to get on the green from there.

The bright spot was the 12th. Hit a good drive leaving be 246y to the center. Hit a good hybrid to just a foot short of the green. Made it from about 50-60 feet. Eagle!

Also, being so dry my thumb has split into 4 places. One of them looks pretty bad. Had a total of 3 fingers bleed on the day. Good thing it didn't hurt the swing.

Guessing you don't want to play 18 this weekend?

Ha, likely not. But my new driver will be sitting there when I get home, so maybe.

Here is my thumb:

BTW weather was absolutely perfect today. Mid 40's to start and probably low 50's when I finished up. Winds were 5-10 mph.

Sounds like you had the same weather pattern I had but in reverse.

Pressure on the lower thumb is usually an indicator that the club is not seated in the left hand properly but that is a weird wear pattern you have. Is the nail of your index finger slicing the tip of your thumb or is pressure causing it to split? Either way I'd be looking real closely at your grip. Pressure with that thumb is going to hinder club head speed and encourage casting.

Yeah I cast the club pretty horribly. I have gone through a couple coaches and they have all concluded that it's too hard for me to change and to just play the cut. I can still hit it 290y.

All my fingers just split when it's dry. Not because of any pressure on them at all. I have had it happen multiple times when I am in Vegas for the WSOP. Me and dry climates don't mix well.

Out to in isn't the end of the world if you repeat it.

Scott, you might appreciate this

i was there the week before you were and it just so happens that Gonzaga was hosting the Bandon Dunes Championship at the same time with three rounds at Old Mac. five of the top 25 collegiate teams were in the 16 team field (Oregon, Auburn, Colorado, Texas A&M and Texas Tech). obviously they were playing from the tips at ~6950 yards but it looks like they were playing to a par 72. i still don't know which par 4 they turned into a par 5, but if i had to guess it would be the 500 yd #4 (your favorite) which is the 1 HC and plays into the prevailing wind this time of year.

the main reason i bring this up is because i think it's interesting to have played the same course they did on the same day with the same weather (from different tees, obv), and based on your trip report you seemed to have a similar three day weather pattern in reverse just a week later. goes to show how much better these players are than us hacks.

all rounds started first thing in the morning
R1: blue sky and calm - mid 50s. fantastic for oregon in early march.
R2: damp, winds from the south at 10-15 with passing light showers.
R3: super thick damp fog/heavy mist and wind from the south at 15-20 sustained and gusting ~30+. we could barely see the flag from the tee on the 180 yd 5th hole at pacific during our morning round.

below is a chart of the collegiate players that finished at par or better. their WAGR rankings are at the far left. for reference our 2+2 golf thread hero Will Zalatoris is currently #14 in the WAGR ranking.

i can understand the three Oregon players finishing 2-4 with most likely a local knowledge of the course having played it at least a few times, but Ronneblad at the top two shots clear of the field is very impressive.



what's probably more impressive is witnessing the piles of food these college players heaped on their plates at the breakfast buffet at the Lodge, and also hearing the sound their ball flight made while watching them hit balls on the range. let's just say i chose to warm up on the other end of the practice facility.

Just show them your grooved cut. They will run for the hills.

Yeah all those college players have on me is driver accuracy, driver distance, iron accuracy, scrambling, putting, and youth.

By far where I lost the most of my shots was putting. I FINALLY putted well during the 5th round, and that was only the last 9 holes. If I could reduce those 3-putts I could have shot in the 70s 4 of the 5 rounds.

One thing I for sure did better over last year was my bunker play, both out of fairway bunkers and around the green. There was only 1 hole where I left it in the bunker, and that one took me 3 to get out because I was stubborn.