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Bandon solo trip report November 4-7


Mustu

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I just got back from my first trip to Bandon and thought I'd share a trip report. First off, I have to thank this forum for convincing me to go on this trip by myself. I probably play 80% of my sounds as a single or paired up with strangers so I wasn't concerned about playing with random people. However, it seemed strange to go to a golf resort by myself. Seeing accounts of other people doing it solo helped convince me and as you'll see later there is a benefit.

 

I booked the trip a couple of months ago and bought a bunch of rain gear for the trip. The weather was amazing the entire time so I didn't need any of it, but there's always next time. I walk all my rounds, can play several days in a row and have been known to do 36+ in a day so I wasn't concerned about the walking or fatigue. However, I don't play in the rain or cold so I prepared by playing a few rounds when it was rainy. Good practice even though it turned out to be unnecessary.

 

I drove down from the Seattle area on the 3rd stopping at Fiddlers Green on the way. Wow! It's got to be the best golf shop I've even been to. An amazing selection of reasonably priced clothing. I great place to get rain or cold weather gear on the way down for a good price. As a lefty, I appreciated all the lefty clubs they had in stock. I had to control myself from walking out with a new set of irons.

 

I stayed the night in Florence, OR about 90 minutes north of Bandon. Based on recommendations from this forum I played Florence Golf Links that afternoon. When I checked in I asked the guy at the pro shop if the course was windy (I stopped at the beach before and it was really windy). He said it can be, but not today. Well, it turned out to be one of the windiest rounds I've ever played. It was good practice for Bandon since I'm not used to windy golf. The course was in great shape and really fun. I have to say the $25 green fees was one of the best golf values I've ever had.

 

It's amazing driving into the resort. The scale is hard to describe...I just couldn't believe how large it was.

 

The first day I played Bandon Dunes with a couple and another single. Because of the tight lies I tried to use my putter, 8 iron and hybrid to chip onto the mostly elevated greens. Didn't turn out too well. There were several times the ball either ended up back at my feet or over the green. The rest of the trip I went back to my lob wedge. Even though I bladed a few chips overall it worked out much better for me rather than playing shots I'm not used to.

 

The next day I played Pacific Dunes with 3 guys on a buddy trip and had my best round of the trip (aside from Florence where I played really well). I stayed and played the Punchbowl which was really fun. The Punchbowl was something that would be a lot more fun with a group.

 

Wednesday is probably a golf day I'll never forget. I had a 7:30 tee time at Old McDonald and went out as a single. They offered to send me out with the twosome in front, but I love playing solo early morning or late afternoon rounds as the sun is coming up or going down so I declined. The twosome pretty much stayed ahead of me the whole time and I really didn't have to wait for them. I was done around 10:40. I had a 12:30 tee time at Trails which I was able to get moved up to 11:20. I didn't want to wait too long or I'd get stiff. I didn't see a soul on Trails until I got to the 15th hole. The foursome waved me through on 17 and I was finished around 2:30. I hightailed it to Bandon Dunes thinking I'd be able to get 9 more holes in. I didn't catch up to anyone till the 16th hole and was able to play 16 and 17 as the sun was setting. I finished up 18 at around 5:40 barely able to see the flagstick. I walked off amazed that I was able to play 3 completely different courses in one day in November. This is definitely not something I would have been able to do if I wasn't solo.

 

I was pretty sore the next day and was tempted to forego golf, but glad I didn't. I had a round scheduled at Bandon Dunes, but since I'd unexpectedly played it twice I switched it to Pacific. I again went out as a single with foursomes in front and behind. The groups in front were pretty slow so I felt like the foursome behind was always on my tail, but still had a great time. I was planning on leaving after, but I decided to play the Preserve. This was the most amazing par 3 course I've ever played. I was warned about a 9some who had teed off 30 minutes before me so I took my time hitting a couple of balls and sitting on the benches taking in the view. I did use a putter off the 13th tee. That's definitely the play, but I missed my birdie putt. It was a lot of fun, but I don't think I'd play it again by myself. It would be great fun with other people.

 

Other thoughts:

 

I didn't take a caddie. I like exploring golf courses on my own and I also tend to be an instinctual golfer. I'm already determining what club to hit taking into account the pin sheet and wind as I'm walking up to the ball. I pull the club and whack away with no second thoughts. I also don't spend a lot of time reading greens. Pick a line and putt. However, I have to say the $100 caddie fee is really reasonable. They're spending the round with you plus some time before and after so probably 5 hours of their time. They're independent contractors so they have to pay their own social security taxes and get no benefits. $20/hour is pretty low for this in my book. Even a double bag at $40/hour is on the low side.

 

Maybe I'm used to Seattle prices, but I though the food was really cheap (though I didn't eat at the fancier restaurants). I had an omelette, hash browns and toast every morning for $10. It kept me fueled enough for the whole day and I actually didn't even eat lunch the entire trip. I was actually not even that hungry by the time dinner rolled around. I had a couple of beers with dinner each night and I liked that they had different beers on tap at the different restaurants.

 

I stayed in the lodge. The room was nice. It may have been because I was tired each night, but I thought it was the most comfortable bed I've ever slept in.

 

All the employees were great. They also seemed to remember me. I was walking up to the Preserve yesterday and I ran into an employee whose face I vaguely recognized from the day before. He asked me if I was doing another marathon day of golf so he remembered me. Every one of them thanked me for visiting. It's those little things that make you feel special.

 

I'd have to say Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes were my favorites. I also enjoyed Old McDonald (it didn't hurt that I was 3 under in a 4 hole stretch there at one point) and Bandon Trails would be 4th. Trails is a really nice course, but it's similar to other courses I play in the Seattle area so it didn't bring out the excitement like the others did.

 

I played from the gold tees. My drives were going much further than I'm used because of the firm ground to so I think I would have been fine from the green tees. But, to be honest, I think I had a lot more fun playing the golds.

 

I had such a great time that I'm going to make this an annual trip. I shared some of my pictures and stories with my casual golfing friends. Some are saying that they'd like to go. We'll see, but their decision isn't going to stop me from going by myself if I have to.

 

 

 

 

 

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Nice report and welcome to the club. Walking 54 holes in November is certainly something to hang your hat on. One thing I've found that works well for roping more people in- breaking up the cost. When we took our trip in Oct, we booked 600 days in advance. It was pretty easy asking guys for a $225 check/venmo at the time of booking (we were in the lodge suite). A few months later, $250 for the deposit for our first round. We booked flights ~4 months from our trip, etc. There was never that day anyone had to shell out a ton of dough as it was all gradual (aside from me when I was booking at $2500-$3k each time booking the hotel and golf, but I thought the miles were worth it).

 

How crowded was the resort while you were there? We were there the week after rates drop from peak season. I feel like that, coupled with a higher likelihood of still having nice weather made for a pretty crowded spot.

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Nice report. You've totally captured the reason that I try to take at least one trip solo every year, even though I've now got a great set of Bandon buddies and we have worked into a nice annual Spring trip. The flexibility coupled with the prospect of getting out on a course on your own is just so cool.

 

I like the move to the gold tees. I tried it last year and it was really nice hitting my second shot from the general area where the two longer hitters in our group were sitting. I've never been a long hitter, and age is beginning to creep into the equation. I first did that a couple years ago when I played PD solo from the golds with a half bag and no driver. Super fun.

 

Here's how we do our group trip reservations: once we agree on date and course rota, one person calls and books their room and sets up all the tee times. He reports those to the group, then the others call and book their own rooms and add themselves to the tee times. It works out great. No one is out a big cash outlay, and there isn't any hounding anyone for $. Plus, if someone has to bail out or doesn't get their act together, they are the only ones responsible. I suppose that can look a little harsh, but the bottom line is that each of us are really into going, and we make it our priority. If it's not a priority for someone, then no one else will suffer any consequences.

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"take that, you miserable little white swine!"

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There's only one guy who golfs with me regularly and he always takes a cart. No way is he going to Bandon and walk. Aside from him I don't really have golfing buddies... just friends who golf once in a while when they have time (jobs and kids have really cut down the time they can golf). Luckily they're all doing well financially so the cost isn't the issue. Coordinating the time to get away is a bigger problem. Also, they've been resistant to going somewhere that is exclusively for golf.

 

I don't really have anything to compare it to, but the lodging seemed pretty busy. The golf seemed busy on Monday, but I was able to switch up tee times easily later. And it was wide enough open that I played 4 solo rounds. The 3 buddies I played with on Tuesday only were playing because their plane got cancelled that day. They were able to get on the course okay. I think in the future I won't book months in advance. I'll keep an eye on the weather and try to go when it doesn't look too bad. Work is pretty flexible for me in November and early December.

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Glad you had fun! I've been several times this time of the year and never got beyond 45 holes due to daylight so I'm impressed you did the whole 54.

WITB

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Edel McKenzie (34)

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Thanks for the post. I’ve always been a little apprehensive about going to somewhere like Bandon as a single but your post has given me a little inspiration. My somewhat regular golf buddies are way more interested in what happens off the course after hours than the golf itself so Bandon just doesn’t appeal to them. They’d much rather do Vegas or Myrtle Beach.

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