Old MacDonald

Old MacDonald – Played May 2015

• Rankings: Golf Digest #49, Golf Digest Public #12, Golf Magazine #45, Golf Magazine Public #9
• Location: 57744 Round Lake Road, Bandon, Oregon
• Year: 2010
• Architects: Tom Doak & Jim Urbina
• Course Access: Resort
• Walking Rules: Walking Only, Caddies Available

Score Card Information:

• Black: 6,944 yards, Par 71, 74.4 Rating/131 Slope
• Green: 6,320 yards, Par 71, 71.6 Rating/125 Slope
• Gold: 5,658 yards, Par 71, 68.0 Rating/116 Slope
• Royal Blue: 4,258 yards, Par 71, 62.5 Rating/101 Slope
• Orange: 4,985 yards, Par 71, 65.2 Rating/104 Slope

The Bandon Dunes experience was to be a part of my birthday present.  I got seven rounds in on this ten day trip!  Not too bad and the wife was a trooper for keeping herself occupied while I played!  This was especially impressive in Bandon where there is not a ton of options if you aren’t playing golf.

We took a beautiful drive down to Bandon after spending a few days in Seattle.  The scenery was very picturesque on the ride down.  While it is about seven hours, it was really enjoyable and helped build the anticipation.

I cannot really put into words how excited I was to get to the resort.  I didn’t hit balls once the whole time I was there because I was so jacked to play.  The first course would be Old MacDonald.  The way it worked out I would be starting the golf with the newest course on the property.  I was lucky enough to get paired with a very friendly father-son twosome from California.  Gary, the father, had been to Bandon before and helped out with strategy on the course.

While I didn’t hit any balls, I did putt and chip.  You can see the practice green below.  It is absolutely humongous.  It was a good preview for the green size we would face on the actual course.

You may not be able to tell from the photo below, but the wind was howling.  Look at the flag blowing sideways!  I could tell this was going to be an interesting round.

I don’t know what it is about these Rolex clocks, but I really like them.  They give courses a classy feel.

Let’s get this party started.  All distances are from the green tees.

Hole 1 – 304 yards – Par 4 – Double Plateau

The first hole eases you into the round.  The first bunker is not in play unless you really mishit your tee shot.  Depending on the wind you can hit long iron to driver here.

The approach shot plays over a principal’s nose bunker.  You can see that the two bunkers look like the nostrils, hence the name.

I wanted to try and get the whole green in a picture, but it wasn’t to be.  I will go ahead and get this point out there again, these greens are huge!  The square footage is off the charts.

Hole 2 – 162 yards – Par 4 – Eden 

This is a short hole if the wind is not in your face.  I hit my 200-yard club with the wind whipping at us.  The bunkers are really deep.  You want no part of the pot bunker on the right.

The green is severely sloped from back to front.  Anything a little short will funnel off the green.

Hole 3 – 345 yards – Par 4 – Sahara 

The third features the famous ghost tree.  This thing was pretty cool and served as a good aiming aid.

You can hit a few shots here.  I went with a three iron draw starting just right of the tree.  You can hit three wood or driver and get closer to the green.

I only had about 110 yards after hitting a long iron.  The shot is downhill all the way.

You can see the severe slope from the tree down to the green.  For this course, there is not a ton of undulation in this green.

Hole 4 – 472 yards – Par 4 – Hog’s Back 

The tee shots at Old MacDonald are not terribly challenging because there is so much room out there.  The wind was with us here so the strategy is just to pipe one down the middle.

I think this is the hog’s back the hole is named after, what do you think?

I found some of these photos lacked definition due to the surroundings.  I liked that for the simple fact that it gave a good view of what it was like to play shots here.  I love wind at my back.  I had two less clubs into this hole than I otherwise would have.

The bunkers don’t play around out there.

Just look at this green.  It is freaking huge!

Hole 5 – 134 yards – Par 3 – Short 

This may be a short shot, but any misses will be punished.  A solid shot to the middle of the green is a good play here.

This is the view of the green from the left side.  There is a huge hill behind the flag.  If you get stuck up there it will be really tough to get down in two.

Here is a slightly different angle.

Hole 6 – 520 yards – Par 4 – Long 

Wide-open here, pound the driver.

The second shot will carry the large bunkers on the right whether you are laying up or going for it.  There is a good bit of room to the left as long as you stay inside the tree.

You don’t want to be in this behemoth.

Here is the approach from about 100 yards.  It is a pretty straightforward shot.

The green looks like a rumpled up carpet with all the slopes.  You will need some touch if you are not in the right area.

Hole 7 – 345 yards – Par 4 – Ocean 

We turned back into the wind for this one.  I wouldn’t hit driver here with no wind, but I hit it here and still had a lot left.  This wind was something with which I am not familiar.

I still had 135 yards left!  With the hill and the wind I hit my 175-yard club full and made it to pin high.  You don’t want to be wrong on the distance with this shot.

The property at Old MacDonald is expansive.  You can see much of the lay of the land from anywhere on the course.  The view below is an example of that.

Unlike some of the other courses at the resort, Old MacDonald doesn’t have a lot of ocean views.  The few that it does have are quite good though.

I had to stand about 30 yards away and get to an elevated position to capture all of the green.  The putting surfaces here are just massive.

Hole 8 – 170 yards – Par 4 – Biarritz 

Before we get to the hole, here is the view from the comfort station.  This is pretty stunning.

The hole plays downhill.  The green is huge with the deep swale synonymous with the Biarritz in the middle.

A miss to the right will bring these bunkers into play.  You can see the deep swale to the left of the bunkers.

Hole 9 – 352 yards – Par 4 – Cape 

This cape hole doesn’t play around a big water hazard, but there is trouble to skirt.  There is plenty of room left.  A straight shot or power fade will set you up well here.

The second shot plays over a few bunkers.  We had the wind with us and I hit pitching wedge from 155 yards.  I know I usually don’t give this many yardages, but I thought it was interesting to show what the wind does out here.  You can see the red flag in the distance.

One of the tamer greens here.

Hole 10 – 440 yards – Par 4 – Bottle 

This hole will vary greatly depending on the wind.  We played it downwind and I only had 95 yards left.  I do not hit the ball that far, but the combination of wind and firm fairways got me one well over 300.

The green is not well defined so be careful with the aim.  The center of the green is a safe spot.

A close-up view of the pin location.

Hole 11 – 399 yards – Par 4 – Road 

At Old MacDonald the wind giveth and the wind taketh!  I hit a poor drive here and had 215 left into the wind.  I hit my three wood solid and it was still short.  The further right you go the shorter you will have left.

I had a long way to go!

My playing partners in the process of draining one.

Hole 12 – 205 yards – Par 3 – Redan 

Here is the modern take on the famous Redan hole.  There is plenty of sand trouble in front of this green.  Luckily we had the wind behind us again making this play about 3 clubs shorter than the yardage.

The green is massive and tilts from back left to front right.  Shots that leak too far left from this angle will run into the bunkers.

You can see the slope from this angle.

Here is the putting surface from the back section.

Hole 13 – 319 yards – Par 4 – Leven 

This is a short hole that doesn’t require driver depending on the wind.  A good line is at the white specks (caddies) in the distance.

The approach must avoid the bunkers to the right.  It plays a little uphill so be sure to adjust.

Here is the slope in the front section of the green that makes for difficult putting.

Here is the same green from a slightly different vantage point.  You can see the difficulty in putts originating from the lower level.  It is crucial to be on the right tier.

Hole 14 – 297 yards – Par 4 – Maiden 

A great risk/reward hole here.  There are plenty of bunkers waiting to catch a poorly struck shot.  The conservative play is something 200 yards down the middle.

From this spot, the approach is partially blind.  There is not too much trouble immediately around the green.

Here is a shot of yet another gargantuan green.

Hole 15 – 482 yards – Par 5 – Westward Ho 

This hole goes back towards the ocean.  A good line is over the left edge of the bunker immediately in front of the tee.  It plays uphill all the way.

You can see the red flag in the center of the photo.  You can run a shot up onto this green which plays right into hitting a wood from down in the valley.  The bunker just in front and to the right is very deep.

This green has a large swale the bisects the middle of the surface.  You can see the humps and bumps to the right of the flag.

I couldn’t resist another shot looking over the property while we were on the green.  The place is truly stunning.

Hole 16 – 433 yards – Par 4 – Alps 

This hole’s name will make sense in a bit.  The tee shot is simple on this one.  Pull out the big dog and smoke one.

Here is the mountain referenced.  The green is behind this hill.  You have to trust your line and hit a solid shot.

The green will funnel some shots to the flag with this pin.  Here it is from the front left.

Here it is from the back right with a view of the Alps behind.

This is not the hill we hit over, but it looms just to the left of the green.

This hole featured a bell to let the following players know you are gone.  We didn’t have to deal with that on this day.

Hole 17 – 515 yards – Par 5 – Littlestone 

This is the only hole where I felt pressure on shots.  If you hit it way left you can lose one.  Putting that aside, the play is putting one out there just left of the cluster of bunkers.

You do not want to go left when going for the green.  There is plenty of room to the right that will not result in a lost ball.

The green here is huge again.

Hole 18 – 426 yards – Par 4 – Punchbowl 

The last hole features another massive fairway.  You can hit it almost anywhere here.

The second shot is pretty simple with the large punchbowl green.  Anything short though will have to deal with the mounds in front of the green.

You can see the slope from the back of the green down to the pin.

This was a wonderful introduction to Bandon Dunes.  I played some fantastic playing partners and the weather couldn’t have been better.  I even loved the whipping wind.  You might as well get the experience when you come out here.  I will take wind over rain any day of the week.

After the round it was off to the Tufted Puffin for dinner.  My wife had one of the best meals of her life here (she got the duck).  I felt like a good cheeseburger and boy did they deliver.  The restaurant overlooks some of the holes on Bandon Dunes and it was a cool setting to reflect on the round and get some grub.