Bandon Dunes Trip - Flying Solo - June

I’ve booked the trip! This June, I will fly from North Carolina to Oregon to experience Bandon Dunes Resort for the first time. Honestly, I can’t remember a time when I was this excited. 

I have two goals for the trip: (1) to play 180 holes in 4 days at the resort and (2) to have the most fun I’ve ever had in my life. In line with these goals, I’ve put together the following itinerary for the dates June 5th - June 14th:

June 5th

Practice and play 36 holes at my local clubPack bagsJune 6th

Practice only at my local club Fly from CLT to PDX and arrive at 10:00 PMPick up rental car and stay in Portland for the night June 7th 

Drive to Bandon Dunes. Stop for groceries and wine along the way. Target arrival time is 12:00 PMHave lunch on propertyPractice short game, acclimate to conditions, play ShortysHave dinner on propertyCheck-in to Bandon Inn and stay the night in the town of BandonJune 8th (Check-in day)

Rise early, stretch, breakfastBandon Dunes (w/ caddie)*Pacific Dunes (w / caddie)Sheep Ranch (no caddie + half bag)Check-inDinner, glass of wine, pass outJune 9th 

Rise early, stretch, breakfastBandon Trails (w/ caddie) Bandon Dunes (w/ caddie)Pacific Dunes (no caddie + half bag)Dinner, glass of wine, pass outJune 10th 

Rise early, stretch, breakfastOld Mac (w/ caddie)Bandon Trails (w/ caddie)Bandon Dunes (no caddie + half bag)Dinner, glass of wine, pass outJune 11th 

Rise early, stretch, breakfastCheck outSheep Ranch (w/ caddie)Travel to PDX for 11:00 PM flightJune 12th 

Arrive in Charlotte around 6:00 AMSleep, movies, and leg soaks all dayJune 13th - 14th

Celebrate my 34th birthday while mourning the fact that I am no longer in Bandon*Golf schedule will likely change. I am booking morning tee times and will choose afternoon round courses based on availability

As excited as I am about the trip, I almost just as excited to prepare for it. I realize that the 3-day, 54 hole per day stint (while actually trying to playing well) is ambitious, thus I’ve put together a detailed prep plan that includes packing items, practice regimen, fitness routine, and diet. The objective in executing the plan is give myself the best opportunity to perform in peak state come trip week (I know, I’ve gone off the deep end :)).

In my coming posts, I’ll lay out this prep plan (including progress made-to-date) and then provide an in-depth trip report during / following my travels. The hope is to inspire others thinking about / taking / planning the trip and elicit feedback from those who have been before. Look forward to hearing from everyone!

A few comments:

Have you played 54 holes walking much? Even with a caddie and long daylight hours, that's a sh*t ton of walking. Some of the courses are easier than others, but you're on firm turf, and if the wind is up (likely) it will suck the energy out of you more than you think. Double that if it's raining too.

Even if you get the first tee times each day, you may not get a tee time for the second/third rounds that will allow you to finish 54. You may be a fast player, but the group you get paired with (and/or the groups ahead of you) may not be.

Not trying to be a wet blanket, but it sounds really ambitious to aim for three straight days of 54 holes. You run the risk of missing the experience by trying to take in too much. I would only suggest being flexible on that last round each day. It's easy to over-plan. As a single, you'll have some room for adjusting according to how you're feeling. A big part of the experience is just soaking in the mojo.

Just two cents worth of opinion. YMMV.

Very ambitous but Im not 34. Remember the wind regardless of walking into it, downwind. or crosswind, makes walking tougher and takes more of a tolll.

Do 36 a day and enjoy the time on the Oregon coast.

Good luck

Your travel plans are really smart, adding days with no golf to make sure you get there and get settled. I used to try and fly up and immediately get to the course and get an afternoon round in, quickly realized that added unnecessary stress to my trips.

I was there last year around the same time as you are planning and you could definitely get 54 holes in but you will be rushed and there will limited recovery time. As others have said, it may detract from the experience. A sit down lunch in the tufted puffin, or trails or Pacific is usually a good pick me up and has always made my replays more enjoyable.

Energy wise, I typically do 36 holes a day for 3 days with a single round on the day of departure and have had gas left in the tank on some of my days, usually depends on the wind which can be draining. I usually schedule a few of my days so that I have 2 hours of daylight to enjoy something like 1-7 on Pacific, front or back Bandon, Preserve, Shorty's, etc. There are also some posts about some mini loops on OM and BT depending on how busy the courses are.

Not sure what your motivation was for 180 holes but if it's to get as much golf in as physically possible, I wouldn't worry, you'll likely be hooked and scheduling another one soon after you return. On my first trip I thought it was a once in a lifetime trip but was on the phone with reservations about two months after a got back. I go every year now.

Good luck, hope you love it.

I like the day of arrival plan - getting there noon-ish, then spend the afternoon at the Practice area. That's if you can stand not going out on one of the big courses (no character flaw, there). You'll have enough daylight to spend an hour or so on the range, then check into anything that might be open. Any of the pro shops can check any of the courses.

One thing to remember is that the way they price their replays is the first round is full price, second is basically half-price and anything after two is free (including the Preserve). See how you're feeling after two and then maybe do the Preserve or some of the short loops with your half bag (I love doing that, btw). All of the courses have short loops that are a great way get in a few more holes without committing to a full 18. PM me if you want a list.

The good news is that, once you get there, you can't make a bad decision. You're going to love it.

I don't like golf enough to play 54 three days in a row :-)

Did a 54 hole day at The Prairie Club once, but that was only because... well, Nebraska. Forget the physical side of things that's fine especially with caddies, mentally I'm checking out somewhere along the line. Fair play to you, but for me goal #2 is mutually exclusive from goal #1.

Play on the 7th. Seriously. I don't see any reason whatsoever to not tee it up. You're wasting an afternoon if you don't. It took me till my 9th trip to finally go around Shortys. It's good for a laugh and will be better than most Par 3 courses you see, but it's not a substitute for one of the proper 5 courses there.

And if you really do want to get 54/day in, I'd look at booking at least a couple of the 2nd rounds in too. If you get around quickly great you can look to go back out quicker, but you could find yourself having a longer wait than you'd like or have to compromise on course selection do to availability. If you were only playing 36 I'd say yeah whatever.

And I totally get the appeal of direct/non-stop flights, but if I'm coming from Charlotte, I'm flying into EUG via ORD or DEN to cut that drive in half.

Re-read the OP, agree with duffer, you should totally play on the 7th, it will be hard too hard to wait. When I originally responded, I didn't realize that you actually had two travel days before teeing it up, if you're in Bandon at noon that day, you have almost 8 hours of sunshine, should be no brainier. Shorty's is great but certainly no replacement for any of the 5 courses.

Also, I've done the PDX drive before, long and boring, especially when returning. Eugene and even Medford is a piece of cake. If PDX is destination airport, depending on flight times, I have gotten rental car and drove to Salem or Eugene and spent the night just to break things up.

Sounds like an epic trip. You might want to consider driving down to Eugene the night you get in. It’s about 2 hours from PDX, but a very easy ride. You’ll likely be wide awake after your flight. You should be able to get to Eugene by about 12:30. You will only have another 2 hours to go in the morning. It’s a scenic drive from Eugene in to Bandon.

Agree with the comments above. Breaking up the drive helps a lot. Eugene is a nice halfway point. The drive from PDX to Eugene is pretty boring, so doing it at 10 PM is a good thing. You won't be missing any great scenery. There will be zero traffic then, as well.

The other benefit is you'll get to Bandon that much earlier, so you'll have plenty of time to warm up at the range, then play one of the big courses.

All depends on how you're feeling after the flight into PDX.

Ignore these naysayers! Play 54 a day until you drop! Just gotta be in good shape, and maybe develop a percocet habit. But unless you are already used to walking 36 regularly, that's gonna be tough.

But in all seriousness I agree with those that say plan for 36 a day and book those times, then leave the rest of the day open. As a single you'll have flexibility to just ask at any pro shop which course has an opening, and go play there if you have more gas in the tank. (the first Bandon trip does tend to be exciting and makes you want to keep playing, and there's no bad option for free holes there) And Duffer is right about the Eugene airport, if at all possible with your flight itinerary. Not so much the arrival day, but the leaving day you are likely to be stiff and sore, and a long drive followed by a long flight doesn't sound pleasant. Or you know, percocet.

But if you pull off 10 rounds in 3 days, we will salute you.

**I am neither a doctor nor a lawyer, so any advice I give is probably poor, and may result in legal or health consequences.

where can i find out some info on those "mini" loops for BT and OM?

Obviously with the proviso, these are late in the day options and when you wouldn't be cutting in front of or delaying others:

Bandon - only course with 2 nines coming back to the clubhouse, so just do the front again or if you don't want to do the whole front over again. Once you leave 8th green go back to 4th tee and go around the best 3 hole stretch on property again.

Pacific - 1-6 + 9-11 + 5-6 + 9-11. 5, 10, 11 can be looped ad nauseum. A longer one is 5, 10, 11, 12, 4, 5, 6, 7... The punchline for any Pac loop is you can come in after the 7th hole, so doing stuff down in that corner of holes is the thing and really there are any number of options including holes 4-12. This last trip the group in front went 1-5, 10-18 and we went 1-6, 9-18 because of running up behind two really slow foursomes in the afternoon. It was unfortunate as 7 is a great hole.

Old Mac - 5 green to 11th tee is a hop over point. 7th green to 16th tee is a longish hop over point. 9th green back to 7th tee. This last trip we did 1-11, 13, 18, but that was just because of a frost delays really stunting the replay options. For me Bandon and Pac are the best late afternoon, knowing you won't finish options.

Trails - I don't see the point and would never suggest going out on it unless you were pretty confident of getting most of the round in, but you could do 1-5 + 17-18 or 1-4 + 16-18. Once you tee off on 7 you're pretty much lost to the world until the closing stretch.

Here's mine:

You do need to be very conscious of other groups that are in the middle of their rounds, as they have priority. The marshals will check in with you and make sure you have a plan for when the twilight fades. It gets dark pretty quick, once the sun goes down. But they are all good with players (especially singles) going out for a few more holes while the courses are emptying out. It's one of the really cool things about playing there

thank you all

Bring a head lamp. Takes a lot of stress off adding holes. We sat on the bench behind 17 tee at BD and watched the horizon get dark. Was a fantastic way to end the day.

My very 1st round at the resort was teeing off at 2PM in late November on Bandon Dunes. We got done with 9 and said let's just keep going not knowing how any of the routing worked. We hustled and as we got to hole 12 a marshal is approaching us. I'm thinking 'oh crap we're gonna get reamed for being out too close to dark', exact opposite happened. Marshal said he was surprised with how fast we played and said we'd probably run into a backup on 16(he was exactly right btw). We could barely see our feet walking back to the clubhouse on the 18th fairway and it is still one of the most memorable rounds of my life. Long winded way of saying the marshals our there are awesome.

Agreed. The first time I went out on my own for a few holes near sundown, a marshal drove up after I finished a couple holes. I was expecting "hey, what are you doing out here?" and instead got "Good evening, Mr. Spud, it'll be dark in about 15 minutes. I can meet you on the green on the next hole and give you a ride back if you like."

They get it. They're all golf nerds, too.

Yep, this happened to us on PD our first trip. The marshal followed us at a distance and as it got really dark, our paths converged (ie, he made himself available) and he said he was just out there to make sure we got back okay. Nothing insincere, nothing to make us feel bad about being out there, or keeping him out there.

The place is special, I've had nothing but the best treatment from the entire staff.

Switching topics, any update from original poster on prep plans? I'm really enjoying this thread, I'm taking my 5th trip to Bandon in late April but my first flying solo so I'm interested in what has worked for singles in the past.

Since we had a good discussion of best travel plans, merit's of 36 vs. 54, best rotation, which made me realize there are no bad options, here are some of my other random thoughts:

Best dining for a solo seems like Tufted Puffin for lunch and McKees for dinner, any issues being a single?

Im thinking for most mornings I will likely skip a sit down breakfast and just grab a to-go sandwich and coffee.

Regarding the awesome practice facilities, I am going to try and limit how many balls I beat which will take some discipline as a single. On my second trip there, I way over did the range, an hour plus in the morning, some balls in between rounds, sometimes a healthy session at the end of the day. Long story short, I had some fatigue late in my trip and played like crap my last few rounds.

Any other tips???

For food, I like to have lunch at whichever clubhouse I'm playing for the afternoon round. They each have their strengths, but I probably prefer Pacific overall, since they have that grilled cheese... The chowder is great as is the grilled hotdog (note: this is not your average turnstand hot dog. It takes a while to make and is closer to a Chicago-style dog). The turnstand at the Lodge covers most anything you could want if you're playing BD - no need for a sit down if you don't want to take that much time. I've not gotten any food items at the other course turnstands, as I don't want to stop playing. I have done the brat at OM, and it's fine, too.

The breakfast sandwiches at all three restaurants are huge and will last you for a full round (and very tasty). Lots of varieties of filling and breads. Dinners for me as a single are always at McKees, but there are other options, almost all of them more spendy. McKee's can get crowded, depending on time of year and day of the week. Don't think they take reservations for singles. If it's too full even for a spot at the bar, you can sit in the Tufted Puffin and order most of the items on the McKee's menu. It's a lot quieter there, too.

It is very easy to over-do the range. I try to limit pre-round time there to 30-40 minutes, including ten minutes or so in the short game area. Later in the week, pre-round range time goes down to a dozen balls or so, if any at all.

There's a ton of trip reports from singles in the NW forum. Lots of good reading about how awesome it is to go solo.

I never set foot on the practice range my first trip but we were fitting in 36 a day with about 9 hours of sunlight to work with. I'm thinking end of February we'll check it out, especially Shorty's.

As far as breakfast, every time I played Trails in the morning I'd get their breakfast burrito. It is massive and gives you plenty of energy for the day. I actually wrapped it up and ate the 2nd half before our afternoon round and didn't need much else. My friend got the breakfast sandwich and he liked that a lot at trails as well. Also tried a breakfast sandwich at Old Mac before that round and that was very good too.

What do you do back home when playing? Do you spend that much time pre-round as well?

I'm not a practicer full stop or much for hitting balls before playing, so first day I'll hit some cause it's arrival day and I'm keen to start playing, so the range kills time. After that 8-12 balls maybe. Last trip I didn't go to the range at all the last three days. TBH, a lot of it is I cannot be arsed. If I can walk from the range to the first tee I am way more likely to use one, but getting in the car or the shuttle and then making sure to leave enough time before teeing off... you can see how I excuse myself out of doing it :-)

I'm in the same boat as duffer, pretty limited range time. I'll usually go my first day there, because my Bandon trips are in the winter and often my first golf in a couple months or more, so I want to at least try to hit the ball. But pretty much all my swings after that are on the courses, as I usually just work out whatever swing issues as I play.

Hat tip to the OP, this looks like an epic trip! While I've never done 54 in a day, let alone 3 days in a row, you are at BD to golf so make the most of it. I usually do 36+ every day I'm there, the mini-loops outlined above are a big help for Round #3 (thanks all who posted those BTW, there are many more options than I was aware of, for sure). If you're legs are up for it and daylight/pace of play cooperates, why not go for it?

My one suggestion would be to consider playing Bandon Crossings with a cart on the 7th. You are spending the night in town anyway, it's a great course IMO (though not of the same caliber of the BD courses), plus you'll give your legs a break on the first day. With your time frame you could do that and still have enough daylight to play Shorty's afterward. But just my 2 cents, you can't lose on a trip like this. Best of luck!

I use the range the first day but after that it’s all on the weather. If I go after the 1st day it’s 3 50* wedges, 3 8 irons, 3 6 irons, 3 hybrids and 3 drivers.

That's a really interesting bag setup: no putter and 15 clubs. I guess you leave one of the wedges in the car? ;-)

:)

So last year I was out doing some work on the course and was on hole 3, it’s a downhill 160 yard par 3. There is a tournament going on and I watch a guy step up and hit a bunt driver. Ended up seeing him a few more time and hit driver on 3 par 3’s. Made me think of the commercial with the guy who carries 13 drivers.

I have hit a bunt driver on Langdon #17 into the wind more than once, but never on #3...

Couple comments from someone that went as a solo last August! My trip report is still floating around somewhere lower in the NW section. More power to you if you can get 54 holes a day in. I consider myself very into golf and 36 a day was generally enough for me. I actually played 49 the first full day I was there because I went Pacific --> Trails --> Preserve because I was buzzing after Trails and the Preserve was right there and free. I felt pretty tired the next morning and only went for 18 the next day.

Re: places to eat. I ate lunch at the clubhouse for my afternoon round each day, so that gave me one at Pac Grill, one at Trails End, and one just at the Tufted Puffin in the lodge. All were very accomodating for a single in August. Dinner for me every night was McKee's sitting at the bar. I was able to find a spot every night which was nice. The bartenders were super friendly and dinners were great there. I wasn't as interested in the higher-priced "fine dining" experiences at Trails End or Pac Grill for dinner, so I just stuck to McKee's.

Re: practice routine. If I had arrived at Bandon on time, I would've gone to the range for a while on arrival day and played Shorty's. I was limited on time to just the 3 holes on Shorty's and then the Punchbowl. I like to do the "free" warmup activities my arrival day and not rush a round of golf. I went to the range my first full morning and the next morning when I only played 18 as a way to warm up. On subsequent days where I had 36 starting early, I actually didn't go to the range, which is unusual for me pre round but I felt like I played quite well both rounds. Maybe I'll do it more!