Golf at Bandon Dunes

This was a belated celebration for my 30th birthday and we had booked the trip literally 18 months in advance. Bandon Dunes does not book tee times or lodging online, its all done over the phone. I guess they like to make it tailored for you and help in the booking process because when we booked with them, they helped reserve both rooms for my parents, Kaylyn and I, and all our tee times. There are a total of seven golf courses at Bandon Dunes (one of the short courses opened right before we arrived so we didn’t play that one). Five of the courses are full 18 holes, while two are par-three short courses.

From Thursday to Sunday, my Dad and I played 6 rounds of golf. On Friday and Saturday, we played 72 holes. For those who want that spelled out, that’s 2 rounds of golf on each day. There are NO golf carts at Bandon, it is an old school walk-only facility, so the miles start adding up quickly. If each round is about five miles then 6 rounds can get well into 30 miles! Fortunately, we paid for a shared caddy, so no clubs to carry over that long distance.

Bandon Preserve

Kaylyn joined my Dad and I, at only 13 holes, Bandon Preserve is a great low-key place for casual golf. All holes are par threes and the longest hole is only around 150yds. This round worked well to get our feet wet with the windy conditions, even for holes at 100yds we had to aim 20-30ft to the left/right to compensate.

Old MacDonald and Sheep Ranch

My Dad and I had the very first tee time at Old MacDonald, 7:10am. The sun just started to peak onto the trees and hills as we walked onto the first fairway. Somehow we got lucky with only playing as a twosome, so with nobody in front of us and a foursome behind us, we could move at whatever speed we liked! The course was magnificent, meandering through and around rolling hills towards the coastal bluffs and back to the clubhouse. My favorite moment was the third hole where we had to tee off as close the the left or right of the infamous Ghost Tree as the rising sun kissed the dead branches. I came within 2 feet of hitting one of those dead tree limbs but got away with it.

P.S. we didn’t love our caddie, and since we were paying good money for one, we asked to get a switch and had a MUCH better experience with our new guy.

Sheep Ranch was the windiest round. The majority of the holes are right on the ocean bluffs and the way the coastline runs, it is the most exposed course at Bandon Dunes. Holes into the wind played three to four clubs up, and holes down wind played three to four clubs down. One par-three rolled downwind to a green that rolled downhill into the ocean bluff, I had to play about 50yds short to account for the wind and rollout. Difficult but very fun! Also, somehow we had nobody tagged onto our group, so we played as a twosome again.

Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes

Another early morning, but yet again, nobody joined us so my Dad and I played as a twosome again with our shared caddy. These two courses were the first built and are two of the highest rated public courses on the West Coast. Bandon Dunes course was difficult, made you think, and the round felt like it went by very quickly.

Pacific Dunes felt like a v2 of Bandon Dunes as it was built shortly after Bandon. We got the lottery again by playing alone, probably because it was a late tee time, so just my Dad and I and our caddy. We finished the round right at sunset to get stunning views walking the last five holes from the beach up into the hills. Kaylyn walked alongside us this round to enjoy the views, which were well worth the time.

All the while my Dad and I played our rounds of golf, Kaylyn was relaxing back at the lodge getting massages at the spa. My mom joined her once and went on some walks through the dunes.

Bandon Trails

I was able to maintain rounds of +5 on each of the rounds at Old McDonald, Sheep Ranch, Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes, but Bandon Trails was the hardest for me. It was a much different type of course, more treelined holes and elevation gain. I would love another crack at this course in the future!

Where were we…?