Bandon Trip (wait! not the same thread) - Where around/nearby afterwards

So my buddy and i have explored many different options, and it's looking like Bandon Dunes is going to be the trip. The TENTATIVE plan would be to fly into portland, drive and stay the night in Eugene (to cut the drive in half and save $$$), then go the next morning and play Bandon Dunes. Stay 3 nights, play all 4 courses, and maybe Old Mac as the 5th. So that's 4 days down....and now we have 3 extra days where we can do anything we want. My buddy loves top100 golf courses and unique courses, and I just want to play. We are flying into Portland, and then can fly back out of PDX or SEA, makes no difference to us.

So the thoughts are:

1. Drive up to Seattle and play Chambers Bay and and and???? Pros: Gorgeous course, friend lives there so free room. CONS: 7 HOUR drive, Where else is worthwhile?

2. Drive to BEND and play Pronghorn Club and Tetherow, and Crosswater (Sunriver)? 5 hour drive, but highly ranked courses.

3. Other ideas??? Pumpkin Ridge Ghost Golf Club is right in Portland and seems decently ranked. Maybe can stay 1 night in portland and then play it to break up the drive?

Can you fly into Seattle? Play Chambers/take advantage of the free room. Head to Pdx one morning- there are a handful of courses worth checking out there, then finish with the 4 hour drive to Bandon early one morning rather than back-tracking later in the week? BD is in the middle of nowhere, so not a whole heck of a lot near it.

Seattle area: Chambers Bay, Salish Cliffs, Gold Mountain (has 36 holes, Olympic being the better of the two), The Home Course: All south of SeaTac and all worth playing. I'd rank them in that order, not factoring in cost. If cost is a factor for a trip of that size, I think GM is the best golf value in the state.

Pdx area: Pumpkin Ridge, Camas Meadows (Camas, WA), Heron Lakes (36 holes, Great Blue is best), Tri Mountain (Ridgefield, WA) are fun tracks. Pumpkin Ridge is a Top 100 and by far the standout of that group. Other good options in the area as well.

You're handcuffing yourself flying into Pdx, imo. I'd fly into Seattle and work my way to BD or fly to Bend and work your way to BD so you aren't back tracking, unless flights to Pdx are just that much cheaper.

> @kaschreiber said:

> Can you fly into Seattle? Play Chambers/take advantage of the free room. Head to Pdx one morning- there are a handful of courses worth checking out there, then finish with the 4 hour drive to Bandon early one morning rather than back-tracking later in the week? BD is in the middle of nowhere, so not a whole heck of a lot near it.

> Seattle area: Chambers Bay, Salish Cliffs, Gold Mountain (has 36 holes, Olympic being the better of the two), The Home Course: All south of SeaTac and all worth playing. I'd rank them in that order, not factoring in cost. If cost is a factor for a trip of that size, I think GM is the best golf value in the state.

> Pdx area: Pumpkin Ridge, Camas Meadows (Camas, WA), Heron Lakes (36 holes, Great Blue is best), Tri Mountain (Ridgefield, WA) are fun tracks. Pumpkin Ridge is a Top 100 and by far the standout of that group. Other good options in the area as well.

>

> You're handcuffing yourself flying into Pdx, imo. I'd fly into Seattle and work my way to BD or fly to Bend and work your way to BD so you aren't back tracking, unless flights to Pdx are just that much cheaper.

Thanks for all the tips! We wanted to do Bandon last, but alas they are fully booked towards the end of the dates we have available :-( so that's why we're stuck starting with it. I've been trying to read as much as possible, and thinking the trip to do might be: PDX->Bandon for 4 days -> Pronghorn & Tetherow around Eugene -> Pumpkin Ridge -> Fly home. We would miss Chambers, but i think we'd still have a lot of fun.

If you can't get onto Eugene CC, then you can remove Eugene from that list. Sadly, there is nothing outside of Eugene CC that is even worth mentioning.

I like the Bandon/Bend/PDX loop idea, especially if you can fly into Eugene and out of PDX. Your longest drive in that plan would be Bandon - Bend (4.5-5 hours, but through some really pretty country)

> @spud3 said:

> If you can't get onto Eugene CC, then you can remove Eugene from that list. Sadly, there is nothing outside of Eugene CC that is even worth mentioning.

>

> I like the Bandon/Bend/PDX loop idea, especially if you can fly into Eugene and out of PDX. Your longest drive in that plan would be Bandon - Bend (4.5-5 hours, but through some really pretty country)

yeah, Eugene was really just because we're flying in that night before bandon and didn't want to spend another $450 for one night. And that way it splits up the 4 hour drive anyways.

> @shadymg said:

> > @kaschreiber said:

> > Can you fly into Seattle? Play Chambers/take advantage of the free room. Head to Pdx one morning- there are a handful of courses worth checking out there, then finish with the 4 hour drive to Bandon early one morning rather than back-tracking later in the week? BD is in the middle of nowhere, so not a whole heck of a lot near it.

> > Seattle area: Chambers Bay, Salish Cliffs, Gold Mountain (has 36 holes, Olympic being the better of the two), The Home Course: All south of SeaTac and all worth playing. I'd rank them in that order, not factoring in cost. If cost is a factor for a trip of that size, I think GM is the best golf value in the state.

> > Pdx area: Pumpkin Ridge, Camas Meadows (Camas, WA), Heron Lakes (36 holes, Great Blue is best), Tri Mountain (Ridgefield, WA) are fun tracks. Pumpkin Ridge is a Top 100 and by far the standout of that group. Other good options in the area as well.

> >

> > You're handcuffing yourself flying into Pdx, imo. I'd fly into Seattle and work my way to BD or fly to Bend and work your way to BD so you aren't back tracking, unless flights to Pdx are just that much cheaper.

>

> Thanks for all the tips! We wanted to do Bandon last, but alas they are fully booked towards the end of the dates we have available :-( so that's why we're stuck starting with it. I've been trying to read as much as possible, and thinking the trip to do might be: PDX->Bandon for 4 days -> Pronghorn & Tetherow around Eugene -> Pumpkin Ridge -> Fly home. We would miss Chambers, but i think we'd still have a lot of fun.

Missing Chambers would be a bummer, but not a deal breaker. With some of the Seattle courses mentioned above as well, Seattle is becoming a bit of a golf destination, albeit way down on the ladder from the Bandons, Pinehursts, Wisconsin, etc. Keep this in mind for future trips: https://www.chambersbaygolf.com/championship-experience/. You'll be playing your 4 best courses early in your trip anyways. I've never played Pronghorn or Tetherow, but heard good things about both. Was supposed to play Tetherow in a couple weeks when I'm in Bend for a quick trip and that's the one day they're closed for course maintenance. Some of the other guys that are active on these threads (@spud3, @Edaw68, @mallrat) seem to know more about golf in Oregon than just about anyone, so I'd look to them for advice in Bend.

Just play more at Bandon

> @BUCKEYERBALL88 said:

> Just play more at Bandon

Well, at nearly $500 when you include the required room to book in advance, we're already well beyond our budget. So looking for good but not break the bank types of courses.

Bandon Crossings is a solid course. Very reasonable. Can stay in town at Bandon and experience the local scene. You can also slide over to the resort for free access to Punchbowl and Shorty's. It actually is $10 a day or something, but well worth it.

> @shadymg said:

> > @spud3 said:

> > If you can't get onto Eugene CC, then you can remove Eugene from that list. Sadly, there is nothing outside of Eugene CC that is even worth mentioning.

> >

> > I like the Bandon/Bend/PDX loop idea, especially if you can fly into Eugene and out of PDX. Your longest drive in that plan would be Bandon - Bend (4.5-5 hours, but through some really pretty country)

>

> yeah, Eugene was really just because we're flying in that night before bandon and didn't want to spend another $450 for one night. And that way it splits up the 4 hour drive anyways.

I wouldn't stay in Eugene. That four hour drive is easy money. Just stop somewhere to eat along the way.

Pronghorn is terrific and worth the trip to Bend. Crosswater is private. You can play it if you rent through the Sunriver Assocation. Maybe your golf pro can get you on?!?!

You can play Crosswater if you stay at the resort. Depending on when you go, they have some great shoulder-season stay & play packages at Sunriver, including play on Crosswater.

I would play Bandon and then drive to Bend but stop along the way. There is a course along the drive called Tokatee that is awesome. It sums up golf in the valley. You can get a cheap room there after your round then finish the drive to Bend the next morning.

If you can pull it off, just fly out of Redmond and change planes in PDX or Sea. So much easier than driving back to Portland and only about 100.

> @mallrat said:

> I would play Bandon and then drive to Bend but stop along the way. There is a course along the drive called Tokatee that is awesome. It sums up golf in the valley. You can get a cheap room there after your round then finish the drive to Bend the next morning.

>

> If you can pull it off, just fly out of Redmond and change planes in PDX or Sea. So much easier than driving back to Portland and only about 100.

As an Oregonian, that's what I would do.

man this is going to be an EPIC trip. i hope it all works and you have a great time in some great weather!