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.)
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