Bandon Dunes

Bandon Dunes – Played May 2015

• Rankings: Golf Digest #38, Golf Digest Public #6, Golf Magazine #34, Golf Magazine Public #8
• Location: 57744 Round Lake Road, Bandon, Oregon
• Year: 1999
• Architect: David McLay Kidd
• Course Access: Resort
• Walking Rules: Walking Only, Caddies Available

Score Card Information:

• Black: 6,732 yards, Par 72, 74.1 Rating/143 Slope
• Green: 6,221 yards, Par 72, 71.4 Rating/133 Slope
• Gold: 5,716 yards, Par 72, 69.5 Rating/133 Slope
• Royal Blue: 3,945 yards, Par 72, 61.5 Rating/101 Slope
• Orange: 5,072 yards, Par 72, 66.6 Rating/126 Slope

It was up early for 36 on the second day of golf.  I was randomly paired with the same father-son pair from the day before at Old Mac.  Once again, we had a great time and enjoyed the course, weather, and round.

The second round of my Bandon jaunt was at the resort’s original course.  Built in 1999 and designed by the Scotsman David McLay Kidd; Bandon Dunes was the perfect start to a links resort in the United States.  It is situated high above the ocean and has plenty of strategy throughout.  The wind is frequently a factor.

It must have been an interesting decision to build a course in this area.  Mike Keiser definitely took a chance here.  It was his vision and understanding of a great piece of land that spurred him on.  Their resort is not in the middle of nowhere, but it is close.  The true quality of the golf courses is what brings the people in and the positive word of mouth keeps them coming.

That’s enough of the back story.  Let’s get into the pictures of Bandon Dunes.  All distances are from the green tees.  Below is a shot of the markers on the course.

Hole 1 – 352 yards – Par 4

The first shot at Bandon Dunes eases you into the round.  Depending on the wind you don’t need driver.  The hole bends to the right.

The approach plays uphill over some nasty bunkers.  Get used to those.

The green is quite large but mostly flat.  If you hit the green you should have a good look at birdie.

Hole 2 – 155 yards – Par 3

While not very long, this shot plays over the heather.  As long as you carry the bunker you will be in good shape.

Here is a shot of the green.

Hole 3 – 489 yards – Par 5

This hole can be reachable in two.  Like all the holes here it depends on the wind.  You will want to avoid the gorse on the right.  At this point, it seemed like I was playing in Scotland.  Since I have not been yet, Bandon Dunes was an awesome substitute.

Here is the approach shot and one of my playing partners in action.

The green is receptive to a run-up shot if you miss the bunkers.

Hole 4 – 362 yards – Par 4

This is one of the holes I had heard about before my trip.  You won’t quite understand from the tee shot.  I hit three wood here for accuracy.  The hole doglegs right.

This is what I meant.  The green looks like it is on the edge of the cliff.  It is a great visual trick and makes you really think about your shot.

Here is the green from a different angle.

Even though it is not right on the cliff it is pretty close.

Hole 5 – 400 yards – Par 4

This can be a brute into the wind.  You could carry the bumps in the middle of the fairway with the wind we had.  You need to be careful with your lines here since there are no trees framing the holes.  It just takes a little bit more focus, which I loved.

The approach plays up the hill slightly.  You don’t want to miss the green in the surrounding hills.

Here is a shot of the green from behind.

Hole 6 – 153 yards – Par 3

This hole is terrifying for someone who misses left!  If you can hit a slight draw here you will be in great shape.  It is pretty obvious, but don’t miss left.

Here is a zoomed-in shot of the green.

I wanted to give you a look back at the coastline from the tee.  This is just a fantastic setting.

One more, couldn’t help myself.

The green from up close.

Hole 7 – 372 yards – Par 4

The club selection off the tee depends on the wind of course, but whatever you hit needs to be down the middle.

The approach plays over some hummocks to a raised green.  This screamed links to me.

Here is a shot of green with my caddie Ryan getting in on the photo.  A little side note on him.  We got along really well and he made the experience even better than the golf could.  At Bandon Dunes your caddie stays with you for your entire stay unless you desire a change.  I had no such problem and enjoyed my three rounds and conversations with Ryan.

Hole 8 – 342 yards – Par 4

The tee shot here must navigate some bunkers.  You could just go way left as I did.

Here is a look back over the property from the tee box.

The approach shot picture was a little blurry, but you get the idea.  From the left side you have to hit over a couple of bunkers and a hill.

The green has a good bit of undulation to it with some runoffs making for some difficult putting.

Hole 9 – 520 yards – Par 5

This is the first hole where I actually felt any trouble was present off the tee.  The gorse on the left is definitely in play, but there is also a good bit of room right.

The approach shot plays back towards the lodge resort and over a bunch of bunkers.

Here is the shot from a normal layup distance.  It is a green light shot.

Here is the view from behind the green.

Hole 10 – 339 yards – Par 4

This tee shot plays to a blind landing area.  A good line is the left side of the row of five trees.

The green is somewhat obscured by the hills.  Trust the yardage.  The trees behind the green can provide some trouble if you go long.

Hole 11 – 351 yards – Par 4

This hole is pretty open.  You can take less than a driver if you are concerned about the bunkers left or gorse right.  There is still a lot of room out there.

The second shot is uphill over a mean bunker.  Hitting it in there almost guarantees bogey.

Hole 12 – 153 yards – Par 3

A random fact about the 12th is that it was the first hole built on the property.  A pretty good start to say the least.  There is a gnarly little pot bunker short, left of the green.  If you bail on that there is the dune covered in heather on the right.

Here is a closer shot of the green.

Here is the right side of the green where the pin was when we played.  The green looks like it is dripping off the cliff.

Here is another coastal view.

I wanted to give you one more view of the green from a different angle.  It’s a great hole.

Hole 13 – 537 yards – Par 5

This one is tougher to reach in two unless you have the wind with you.  Just pound one out there to the big fairway.

Some wildlife decided to watch us play a few shots.  They didn’t seem impressed.

The green is off to the right.  You can see the hazard just down to the left.

The approach shot plays over plenty of swales.  Once you get to the green it is a little flatter.

A little closer shot of the green.

Hole 14 – 332 yards – Par 4

This shorter hole bends to the right.  You can take less than driver.  It’s tough to pick a good line from this picture, but you can go at the tallest hill in the distance.

The approach is elevated and plays to a green surrounded by a dune.  Chips from left and long will be out of the heather.  Precision is key on this shot.

Here is a closer view of the green.

Hole 15 – 131 yards – Par 3

This is a devilish hole.  The bunker on the right is an instant bogey.  The only safe miss here is short left.  Hopefully you catch this hole with the wind calm.

From this angle you can see the slopes of the green that funnel to the bunker and off the back of the putting surface.  It is small and undulating and provides a great defense for the short yardage.

One more view with the caddies hard at work.

Hole 16 – 345 yards – Par 4

Here is the view on the way to the 16th tee.

Here is another one.

I just couldn’t stop.

Alright, back to the course.  This is another of the more talked about holes.  I think you can see why.  The Pacific taunts you to the right.  There is some room left though should you need it.

Here is a zoomed shot to show you the detail of the landing area.  You want to avoid the hill in the middle of the fairway.  It can be carried with a good drive.

This is your view to the right as you walk to the fairway.  This is not a course you play every day.  That may well be the understatement of the year.

I hit a solid drive here and a short approach.  There is another little pot bunker next to this green.  You can get nervous hitting this shot because it looks like anything long is going straight into the ocean.

Hole 17 – 375 yards – Par 4

The view from the tee is spectacular.  I even saw my wife down on the beach!  She was having a good time checking out the trails and beach.

This tee shot has some real trouble.  The ravine on the right is definitely reachable.  The smart play could be taking less than driver here to avoid the hazard.

I flirted with the ravine on my tee shot.  That left me with a scary shot over the trouble.

The green is very long making club selection important.

Here is another view of the green.

Hole 18 – 513 yards – Par 5

The last hole plays back towards the hotel.  You must avoid some bunkers.  A good line is the right edge of the hotel.

The green is large and guarded by a bunker you cannot see from this angle.

Here is the view from next to the green where I played a shot from.

The green has some mild undulation, but most of it is towards the back of the putting surface.

Wow, that is really all I can say about Bandon Dunes.  It was so much fun to play.  I felt like I used a lot of my clubs and had to imagine many types of shots.  The short game shots invited plenty of imagination.  We didn’t get beaten down with harsh wind, which probably made the day more enjoyable.

There was time for a quick bite to eat and then it was off to Pacific Dunes!  Stay tuned for that course tour!