Old MacDonald - Bandon Dunes Resort (Bandon, OR)

       Top 100 Public Golf Course

           Golf Digest 2017-2018

            #10 Old MacDonald

I've only taken a caddy once in my life, and that was a forecaddy at Harbour Town, but when I go back to Bandon, I will definitely get one for Old MacDonald.  The 18k square foot greens have so much variation and nuance that a good caddy will save half dozen strokes, and enhance ones experience! 

(The opening hole is named "Double Plateau". As the name implies, being on the correct level is a must otherwise par becomes a challenge.) 

Old MacDonald is the fourth course at Bandon, and it was designed by Tom Doak to resemble a classic links course with long views stretching across the landscape. Several holes are almost always in view from each tee, and the golfer can either get a glimpse of what is to come, or reflect on what has happened. Doak also incorporated templates from Charles MacDonald and Scotland courses. It's such an authentic experience, and vastly different from Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes. 

(The third requires a strong drive up and over a towering dune.  The long tree acts as a directional guide...

...once over the dune, the hole tumbles all the way to the green. Learning how to hit a approach with dead weight is one reason why I would love to tackle the course again.) 

There are several renditions that are presented excellently by Doak. The  "Hell Bunker" hole has a massive bunker that challenges the player to get by it in two shots. 

And there's the downhill biarritz with a severe swale stretching across the green. 

Or the "Road Hole" with it's penal and ferocious bunker

These are just three examples of the varied holes found at Old MacDonald. 

I found the biggest challenge to be guaging the bounce and roll on the approach shots. In one situation, I overheard my playing partner's caddy say "it's 150 yards but I want you to play it 110 yards". This type of golf is unlike any most Americans have played. It's cool yet at the same time frustrating. 

Balls roll forever, even in the fairway! There are times one must give hazards unusually wide berth, otherwise the ball will catch a slope and scamper into it. 

The bunkering is the showstopper at Old Mac. From the rivet faced pot bunkers to the yawning sleeper bunkers, these hazards will strike fear into your game. 

You'll even have to descend steps to get into some. 

Old MacDonald does has some flaws. I believe the biggest flaw is the beginning of the back nine where some of the holes can be downright unfair. Usually I would never say that, but there are shots that most players cannot pull off. Greens on rolling plateaus with little chance to hold them means a good caddy will probably give you the right club to climb to the putting surface. Like I said in the beginning, I will get a caddy next time I play here. I give Old MacDonald an 8 (excellent)(worth spending a long weekend).

(View from Pacific Dunes overlooking Old MacDonald.) 

Bandon Trails - Bandon Dunes Resort (Bandon, OR)

     Top 100 Public Golf Course

        Golf Digest 2017/2018

           #14 Bandon Trails

What do you do when the first two courses you built are instantly rated top 100, and you decide to build a third? That was a very real question for Mike Keiser and Bandon Dunes Resort. They went with a duo whose work arguably rejuvenated the entire minimalist movement in golf architecture, Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. 

(The 408 yard fourth plays over a large diagonal ridge. If you can get over it, then the ball will be above your feet and help hit a draw that will perfectly feed down onto the green.) 

Coore n Crenshaw were just coming off their design at Friar's Head to rave reviews, and Trails had many similar features, namely the transition from one environment to another. The final result was three holes in the dunes (1,2,18), five holes in the forest (9-13), and eleven in the meadows (3-8 14-17). 

(The 133 yard fifth has one of the wildest greens you've seen. The front and rear tiers are separated by a deep swale that forms a "bathtub" feature on the left.) 

(The 395 yard sixth features a drive over a large hill. A sand trap is right where a good drive lands. A poke down the left leaves this view.) 

(The seventh is a 440 yard uphill par four. The meadow holes have been favorably compared to the heathland courses in Great Britain.) 

Coore n Crenshaw have a knack for finding solid golf holes. They understand principles, and more importantly, flow, both emotionally and intrinsically. Bandon Trails starts and ends in the dunes, but the course really takes off when you reach the par five third and play in the meadow. The meadow holes are great! I think the native vegetation along with rolling topography gives the player a much different feel than being on the ocean. In fact, a friend of mine had gone to Bandon in April, and several players in his group liked Trails the best. 

(The forest holes play tween thick stands of firs, pines, and spruces. It's quiet in this part of the course.) 

(The 406 par four fifteenth shows off it's beautiful setting. The bunkering is visually striking, and the green is perfectly set at the base of the hill.) 

(The sixteenth is 530 yards uphill. Anything on the right will basically turn left and come down. It's a slog but the reward will be at seventeen tee.) 

(The gorgeous 182 yard seventeenth is downhill over native scrub to a green placed atop a ridge.) 

Bandon Trails is a great compliment to Pacific Dunes and Bandon Dunes. By going inland, Coore n Crenshaw gives the resort a change of pace and different look, and on windy days, a much needed respite. I feel with subsequent plays, Trails becomes a better course, and reveals itself more. I thought the meadow holes were so good, I wish they would've started and finished there. The dune holes look out of place, and in my opinion, are a bit of a letdown after playing in such beautiful land. I give Bandon Trails a 8 (excellent)(worth spending a long weekend). 

(The uphill approach to the eighteenth.) 

Pacific Dunes - Bandon Dunes Resort (Bandon, OR)

     Top 100 Public Golf Course

         Golf Digest 2017/2018

             #2 Pacific Dunes

Pacific Dunes enjoys a setting that is simply spectacular. Being high atop the bluff with views of the crashing waves and craggy coastline is damn impressive, but it's Tom Doak's ability to match the scenery with a great design and routing that makes this arguably the best course in the United States! 

(The 463/449 yard par four fourth is one of three holes that plays alongside the ocean. Both the drive and approach are challenged by the 105' drop! A four is a great score.) 

(This is the 199/181 yard par three fifth. The green is set in the dunes with a slight tilt to the right.) 

(What a great short par four!! Look at all the fairway to the left! The play however is challenging the dune and sand trap on the right...

...the green is long and slender so the approach must come directly from in front of the green. Otherwise one is pitching the ball over a severely deep trap  to a small target. The terrain falls off right of the green, so one better have practice the hybrid putt/chip. 316/288)

(The 464/436 yard seventh green is tucked in the dunes with a couple fescue topped mounds fronting it. Two strong shots are needed to cover it's length. Par is a well earned score.)

The inland holes at Pacific Dunes are just as compelling as the ocean holes. That is what makes this such a world class golf course. Each one has it's own distinct challenges, and the wind conditions can change them on a moments notice.

 (The drive on nine totally captured my attention! Where do you hit it? What's the line? Damn that dune looks far!..

...after a good drive, this is the view to the lower green. Yes there is an upper green but this is the better of the two. My favorite hole on the course!! 406/379) 

The back nine has a crazy routing but it doesn't hit you until you're adding up the scorecard and then you realize there's 4 par threes, 3 par fives, and only 2 par fours! 

(The back nine begins with back to back par threes. This is the view from the lower tee. It plays 206 yards...

...the upper tee is only 165 yards with a thirty foot drop. Doak said in "Dream Golf" that he wanted the lower tee because he felt the course needed a long par three into the wind.)

(The sweet eleventh follows with a short par three across giant blow out bunkers and a sweeping vista of the coastline. 148/131 yards)

(When you walk through the dunes and arrive at thirteen tee, speechless is the perfect adjective...

...the hole is 444/390 yards, and it can be a big club to reach it in two. The blowout bunker right is super imposing! Like many other holes, par is great score!)

(No bunkers needed to protect the green at the 539/504 yard fifteenth. A big knob and sweeping swale will make any ball not hit perfectly a tough up n down.) 

(The par three seventeenth is Doak's version of a Redan. The line is over the right bunker. There's probably thirty yards of fairway behind it, but the ball will trundle left and bound onto the putting surface.) 

Pacific Dunes made all the travel, time, and money spent worth it! It also illustrates what can be done when an architect lets the natural features dictate the routing. That last point can't be emphasized enough. Keiser could have demanded two "normal" par 36 loops, but he trusted his gut and let the architect he chose design a world class golf course. Pacific Dunes is my first 10 (perfect)(must play in ones lifetime). 

(I finished my first round at Pacific in the dark and the clubhouse stood like a beacon as I made my way down the fairway. It was a surreal experience. I could barely make out the ball by my feet, but when I hit it, I knew where it went by the sound and feel. Life is good!) 

Bandon Dunes (Bandon, OR)

    Top 100 Public Golf Course

        Golf Digest 2017/2018

           #7 Bandon Dunes

With six holes playing along the ocean, the original course, Bandon Dunes, is highly rated as one of the best in the country. David McLay Kidd designed it in 1999 for Mike Keiser, and it instantly put Bandon on the map as a golf destination.

(This pic of the par five third illustrates all the great qualities Bandon possesses including the tight fescue grass that plays fast and firm. Large greens are a trademark of Kidd's design and are needed when the wind blows hard.) 

In the book "Dream Golf" Kidd discusses how he envisioned Bandon Dunes going through a series of crescendos. The golfer would start by the clubhouse, and make his way out to the ocean. This happens three times with holes 4-6, 12, and 15-17. 

(After hitting the drive through the dunes, the golfer rounds the corner to this exhilarating view at the fourth!) 

(The fifth is my favorite hole on the front. The green is encapsulated by dunes, making this one of the most demanding shots of the round.) 

(The par three sixth ends a beautiful three stretch of golf. With views up and down the coastline, the golfer must focus on striking a good shot. There's little room to bounce it on so the ball needs to carry all the way to the pin.)

By Kidd breaking up the ocean holes, the inland holes are put on the spot to be just as strong. Holes 8, 10, and 14 are thrilling links golf with greens tucked behind knobs or knolls. The eighth plays over a sea of deep traps in the fairway. A drive down the right might get a peek at the green while the left is completely blind over a couple deep traps. 

(This is view from middle of fairway on ten. Pick a tree and start the ball at it. Hopefully it's the right line.) 

(The fourteenth green is placed just in front of the sand dune. A good drive must contend with several fairway bunkers.)

(The excellent par three twelfth is mesmerizing! Note the pot bunker in the front center. Any ball that finds itself there is deep trouble.) 

Not all the inland holes are strong. I thought both nine and eighteen were pretty ordinary. Both are par fives that return back to the clubhouse and should be routine pars. I also didn't care much for one, two and seven. All three had full frontal fortess type greens that played high in the dunes. 

 (The fifteenth is a nasty par three! With a ridge left and a very deep trap right, there's not much room to hit the green. I wish this was a better pic.) 

(The sixteenth is a short par four where the direct line to the green is straight alongside the ocean...

...nothing but cliffs and gorse...

...the view from the green is amazing. Note the little pot bunker left of the green.)

Bandon seems to get more acknowledgement as each year passes. Kidd mentioned it can be stretched out over 7200 yards, and it could definitely hold a big golf tournament. It's also the only course at the resort with two nine hole loops. I really liked Kidd's routing. The crescendo worked!! I give Bandon Dunes an 8 (excellent)(worth a spending a weekend) 

(The view from the Kaiser Tee on seventeen. It plays 175 yards over a scrub filled valley that separates Bandon from Preserve. From the normal tees, it's a par four.) 

Bandon Crossings Golf Course (Bandon, OR)

The biggest surprise on my Oregon golf trip was Bandon Crossings. Dan Hixson designed it in 2007 just south of town on highway 101. The course occupies two rolling plateaus with a wide valley separating them. By placing the fifth and fourteenth green in it, golfers transition from one side to the other albeit a long walk up to the following tee. (6th and 15th)

(The view from the 190 yard par three fourteenth tee with the par five fifth green in the background.) 

If Bandon Crossings was anywhere else, people would be clamoring how good a course it is, but since it's by Bandon Dunes Resort, it gets overlooked. On my trip to Bandon, several of the guys could realistically walk only eighteen holes, and when I suggested Crossings, where carts are available, they shrugged off the idea as blasphemous. That's too bad because this place really fits in well with the resort and offers a different experience. (Starting with the bent grass greens) 

(A cavernous bunker guards the green at the 420 yard par four third.) 

The clubhouse, range, and holes 1-5 15-18 are on the northern hill. The topography is more gentle, and the strategy is dictated by the bunkering. This is important to know because Hixson designed some difficult bunkers! There's curves to them and they have deep lips to play over. One can get a very awkward stance and lie. 

(Look at the petiteness and severity of the sand trap. The shadow is definitely a place you don't want your ball to be!) 

(The uphill par five fourth requires two strong shots to reach the green in two. At 495 yards, the average player is laying up short of the barranca and hitting a short iron.) 

Dan Hixson designed the course the way he found it, and it possesses a few nuances one rarely sees, primarily back to back par fives, not once but twice! (Holes 4&5 and 12&13)

(The view from behind the green on the 545 yard fifth. Being downhill, downwind means players can reach this in two! Also, this is one of the connector greens as players walk up the hill to the sixth tee.)

The southern hill has more roll in it, and has several really good holes. The stretch of 7-12 is especially good!

(The uphill par four seventh has a large roll bleeding into the fairway. One can carry it, play right of it, or just short of it. At 430 yards, it's a strong par.)

(I love the green at the 455 yard eighth! It sits beautifully in a pocket of trees. It slopes from back right to front left, making a fade the preferred shot.) 

(Nine is 175 yards. The green has a large roll in it, and slopes to a sunken area directly behind the front bunker. Note how deep the trap is!! A high cut better be hit far enough.) 

Many of the slopes on the southern hill are used beautifully. The holes play over and across them, giving players options to gain better angles or better shots. Visually, the views across the valley and countryside remind me of Kebo Valley in Maine, and although it's not the ocean, is still exciting. 

(The drive on ten with a centerline bunker defining the lower left from the upper right...

...the ball can be bounced in or flown in, depending on what angle is chosen. The view is particularly appealing as one looks across to the first hole and clubhouse.) 

Crossings is an out an in eighteen holes, however, it has a "trap" door for nine hole leagues. On the par five fifth, there's an alternate green on the right. This makes five a par four, and then they play 15-18 out for the remaining four holes. I find little things like this to be charming, and very simply, pretty cool. 

(The par three seventeenth plays over a portion of the scrub filled valley. It's 170 yards from the back tees. The putting surface does extend left of the traps, so there are some good places to tuck the pin.) 

So should one skip a round at the resort and play here? That's the real question. I say resoundingly yes! Give your feet a rest and your wallet a break. I'm a player who enjoys seeing new designs and different architecture so I enjoyed my round immensely.  I give Bandon Crossings a 7 (great)(worth 3-4 hour drive)

(The 570 yard eighteenth has a speed slot tumbling all the way to the green. I was told to layup left if I wanted to get my third shot close.)