Bandon 2nd Time Around...What Do You Do Differently?

[jeremyblre21]

We tried different rooms.

Trip 1: Lilly Pond - great rate

Trip 2: The Inn - good rate, no fireplace but cool view

Trip 3: Cottages- Will let you know, Masters Weekend 2018

 

To my surprise last winter the Inn had one room (Double) with a fireplace. It was nice addition during the cooler season.

[payerasjl]

just booked my second trip... for february 2018

 

Things ill do differently

 

1. Not look at the yardage to the green (except for par 3's). let it land and roll

2. Respect the wind

3. Not take so many balls (on the course)

4. Dress dry but athletic. Last time (December trip) i had hard time swinging a few times due to layers and clutter. Focus on solid gloves and hand warmers and go with thermal, vest and rain zip.

5. Pack a larger flask

6. Wear rain pants off the bat.

[spud3]

Forgot about the handwarmers in the jacket pocket. "That's gold, Jerry, GOLD!"

[duffer987]

Forgot about the handwarmers in the jacket pocket. "That's gold, Jerry, GOLD!"

 

That's a tough call for this wimp here ;)

I find they dry out my delicate skin if I use them. I have the Clicgear mitts and also some no-name standalone mitts instead. Fortunately, after 6 trips it's only been really cold a few times.

[mallrat]

I've been using the hand muff things, basically what the football players wear around their waist in cold weather. I love em, you can throw hand warmers in but don't have to hold them, you can wear it in front when walking so it is just a natural walking position then flip it around back when swinging and it is just like wearing a loose belt

[PorkChopExpress]

Shorts with rain paints. Thin layers work better

Don't bring umbrellas. They just get blown away in the wind.

It's windier in the afternoon compared to morning

 

Preserve, shorties, go play and have fun.

 

Have dinner at Pacific grill, then take a bottle or two or more for the punchbowl. Punchbowl at night is a night to remember. Just make sure everyone makes it back.

 

If you stay at the grove cottage, not the lodge, the cottages by chrome lake have a good middle space. Bigger than I originally thought as the lodge ones are tiny.

The grove cottages have enough room for 16 people, we had a Shrimp Boil and there's plenty of room

Other option is if you can find tee times staying at the Bandon Houses. Houses just off property but great places

 

Bring lots of rain gear, you just never know

Bring lots of booze, you do know

 

Have fun

Bandon is always fun

 

psss, 60 degree wedges work fine on tight lies ;)

[2putttom]

this is some fun stuff to read. I worked on that property for six years, and the clientele was a mishmash, lots of fun to watch. I miss it.

[dpark]

psss, 60 degree wedges work fine on tight lies ;)

 

That is because you have golf skills Charlie, unlike me...

[2putttom]

no web cam today?

[HercNav]

no web cam today?

 

Much like when it snows and they shut down the webcam (they don't want to lose business then, per my caddie), it's very smoky due to wildfires in Brookings (one fire is 125k+ acres). I'd bet they're doing the same.

[soregongolfer]

It's super smoky here on southwest Oregon.

[ws6]

Willamette Valley looks like Beijing today too.

[Edaw68]

Pretty much all of the northwest is having smoke issues now. Lots of fires.

[soregongolfer]

Surprising considering all of the rain we had this past fall/winter/spring.

[2putttom]

this heat :fie: humid along the coast.

[WestCoastHacker]

Surprising considering all of the rain we had this past fall/winter/spring.

 

A lot of your smoke is probably coming from the interior of British Columbia where it has been a particularly bad fire season. We haven't had any appreciable rain here since June.

[Kernel]

Surprising considering all of the rain we had this past fall/winter/spring.

 

A lot of your smoke is probably coming from the interior of British Columbia where it has been a particularly bad fire season. We haven't had any appreciable rain here since June.

 

The BC smoke was an issue last month. Currently in Portland the biggest factor is the recent Eagle Creek Fire in the Columbia River Gorge, just east of the city. Thanks to some jackasses lighting fireworks on the trail last week, some of the most amazing land in the world - places that we spend so much time in hiking, backpacking, etc. - is up in flames and may not be accessible for many years.

[soregongolfer]

Surprising considering all of the rain we had this past fall/winter/spring.

 

A lot of your smoke is probably coming from the interior of British Columbia where it has been a particularly bad fire season. We haven't had any appreciable rain here since June.

 

Our smoke is coming from a huge fire on the coastal Cali/Oregon border. We have another about 100 miles east as well. I just looked at an air quality map and 99% of Oregon has unhealthy air right now. Bummer because my birthday is in two days and I always take a golf day trip on my birthday. Not this year unless we got a lot of wind tomorrow.

[JMO TO]

I recently booked my 2nd trip to Bandon Dunes for April 2018. I went with a group of 4 in March of this year and was chatting with a guy that went with me about what we would do differently. I thought it would be interesting to open that question up to the Bandonistas. What would / did you do differently from your first trip to Bandon Dunes to your second trip?

 

Here are a few things I'd do differently:

• Not get a message. My back was a disaster and needed help but for ~$100 the massage wasn't very good and I could have gotten the same relief from a soak in the sauna.
  
• Skip the Gallery. The food was good but definitely not what I was expecting given the prices. Service wasn't great either.
  
• Play more golf! We only played 18 our first day thinking that 18-36-18 was enough. For our next trip we're doing 36-36-18
  
• Skip a sit down breakfast. We did the Gallery buffet one morning and got breast sandwiches the next 2 days. This allowed us more time to mess around at the Practice Center and more shenanigans on the practice green before we teed off.
  
• Plan a mellow first day. We arrived at midnight our first night and played golf the next morning. This time we're arriving midday and taking the afternoon for an 8 person group on Preserve and a 2 person best ball on the Punch Bowl.
  

Sauna/Hot tub is a must, but I started using the foam roller in the gym before my morning and afternoon rounds. Was a backsaver for my last 3 trips.

[2putttom]

I recently booked my 2nd trip to Bandon Dunes for April 2018. I went with a group of 4 in March of this year and was chatting with a guy that went with me about what we would do differently. I thought it would be interesting to open that question up to the Bandonistas. What would / did you do differently from your first trip to Bandon Dunes to your second trip?

 

Here are a few things I'd do differently:

• Not get a message. My back was a disaster and needed help but for ~$100 the massage wasn't very good and I could have gotten the same relief from a soak in the sauna.
  
• Skip the Gallery. The food was good but definitely not what I was expecting given the prices. Service wasn't great either.
  
• Play more golf! We only played 18 our first day thinking that 18-36-18 was enough. For our next trip we're doing 36-36-18
  
• Skip a sit down breakfast. We did the Gallery buffet one morning and got breast sandwiches the next 2 days. This allowed us more time to mess around at the Practice Center and more shenanigans on the practice green before we teed off.
  
• Plan a mellow first day. We arrived at midnight our first night and played golf the next morning. This time we're arriving midday and taking the afternoon for an 8 person group on Preserve and a 2 person best ball on the Punch Bowl.
  

Sauna/Hot tub is a must, but I started using the foam roller in the gym before my morning and afternoon rounds. Was a backsaver for my last 3 trips.

hawt tub and a twenty yr. old scotch ......... :taunt:

[MrMileHigh]

I recently booked my 2nd trip to Bandon Dunes for April 2018. I went with a group of 4 in March of this year and was chatting with a guy that went with me about what we would do differently. I thought it would be interesting to open that question up to the Bandonistas. What would / did you do differently from your first trip to Bandon Dunes to your second trip?

 

Here are a few things I'd do differently:

• Not get a message. My back was a disaster and needed help but for ~$100 the massage wasn't very good and I could have gotten the same relief from a soak in the sauna.
  
• Skip the Gallery. The food was good but definitely not what I was expecting given the prices. Service wasn't great either.
  
• Play more golf! We only played 18 our first day thinking that 18-36-18 was enough. For our next trip we're doing 36-36-18
  
• Skip a sit down breakfast. We did the Gallery buffet one morning and got breast sandwiches the next 2 days. This allowed us more time to mess around at the Practice Center and more shenanigans on the practice green before we teed off.
  
• Plan a mellow first day. We arrived at midnight our first night and played golf the next morning. This time we're arriving midday and taking the afternoon for an 8 person group on Preserve and a 2 person best ball on the Punch Bowl.
  

Sauna/Hot tub is a must, but I started using the foam roller in the gym before my morning and afternoon rounds. Was a backsaver for my last 3 trips.

 

I was wondering if the gym has foam rollers! Glad to hear that as foam rolling is key for me staying loose. I ws really tight on our first trip and totally forgot about the gym. I'm definitely going to add a 20-30 minute warm up, rolling, and stretching session each morning on our next trip. Are the rollers in ok shape or used so much they've become soft?

[duffer987]

I recently booked my 2nd trip to Bandon Dunes for April 2018. I went with a group of 4 in March of this year and was chatting with a guy that went with me about what we would do differently. I thought it would be interesting to open that question up to the Bandonistas. What would / did you do differently from your first trip to Bandon Dunes to your second trip?

 

Here are a few things I'd do differently:

• Not get a message. My back was a disaster and needed help but for ~$100 the massage wasn't very good and I could have gotten the same relief from a soak in the sauna.
  
• Skip the Gallery. The food was good but definitely not what I was expecting given the prices. Service wasn't great either.
  
• Play more golf! We only played 18 our first day thinking that 18-36-18 was enough. For our next trip we're doing 36-36-18
  
• Skip a sit down breakfast. We did the Gallery buffet one morning and got breast sandwiches the next 2 days. This allowed us more time to mess around at the Practice Center and more shenanigans on the practice green before we teed off.
  
• Plan a mellow first day. We arrived at midnight our first night and played golf the next morning. This time we're arriving midday and taking the afternoon for an 8 person group on Preserve and a 2 person best ball on the Punch Bowl.
  

Sauna/Hot tub is a must, but I started using the foam roller in the gym before my morning and afternoon rounds. Was a backsaver for my last 3 trips.

hawt tub and a twenty yr. old scotch ......... :taunt:

 

Extra word there ;)

[Edaw68]

I recently booked my 2nd trip to Bandon Dunes for April 2018. I went with a group of 4 in March of this year and was chatting with a guy that went with me about what we would do differently. I thought it would be interesting to open that question up to the Bandonistas. What would / did you do differently from your first trip to Bandon Dunes to your second trip?

 

Here are a few things I'd do differently:

• Not get a message. My back was a disaster and needed help but for ~$100 the massage wasn't very good and I could have gotten the same relief from a soak in the sauna.
  
• Skip the Gallery. The food was good but definitely not what I was expecting given the prices. Service wasn't great either.
  
• Play more golf! We only played 18 our first day thinking that 18-36-18 was enough. For our next trip we're doing 36-36-18
  
• Skip a sit down breakfast. We did the Gallery buffet one morning and got breast sandwiches the next 2 days. This allowed us more time to mess around at the Practice Center and more shenanigans on the practice green before we teed off.
  
• Plan a mellow first day. We arrived at midnight our first night and played golf the next morning. This time we're arriving midday and taking the afternoon for an 8 person group on Preserve and a 2 person best ball on the Punch Bowl.
  

Sauna/Hot tub is a must, but I started using the foam roller in the gym before my morning and afternoon rounds. Was a backsaver for my last 3 trips.

hawt tub and a twenty yr. old scotch ......... :taunt:

 

Extra word there ;)

After 36 a day? No way I'm keeping up with a 20 year old. If my back wasn't a disaster before, that would do it.

[JMO TO]

I recently booked my 2nd trip to Bandon Dunes for April 2018. I went with a group of 4 in March of this year and was chatting with a guy that went with me about what we would do differently. I thought it would be interesting to open that question up to the Bandonistas. What would / did you do differently from your first trip to Bandon Dunes to your second trip?

 

Here are a few things I'd do differently:

• Not get a message. My back was a disaster and needed help but for ~$100 the massage wasn't very good and I could have gotten the same relief from a soak in the sauna.
  
• Skip the Gallery. The food was good but definitely not what I was expecting given the prices. Service wasn't great either.
  
• Play more golf! We only played 18 our first day thinking that 18-36-18 was enough. For our next trip we're doing 36-36-18
  
• Skip a sit down breakfast. We did the Gallery buffet one morning and got breast sandwiches the next 2 days. This allowed us more time to mess around at the Practice Center and more shenanigans on the practice green before we teed off.
  
• Plan a mellow first day. We arrived at midnight our first night and played golf the next morning. This time we're arriving midday and taking the afternoon for an 8 person group on Preserve and a 2 person best ball on the Punch Bowl.
  

Sauna/Hot tub is a must, but I started using the foam roller in the gym before my morning and afternoon rounds. Was a backsaver for my last 3 trips.

 

I was wondering if the gym has foam rollers! Glad to hear that as foam rolling is key for me staying loose. I ws really tight on our first trip and totally forgot about the gym. I'm definitely going to add a 20-30 minute warm up, rolling, and stretching session each morning on our next trip. Are the rollers in ok shape or used so much they've become soft?

They were in pretty good shape when I was there in February. Gym gets next to no use from what I can tell.

[BUCKEYERBALL88]

Caddie for 1/2 of the rounds instead of all

Fly to Coos Bay or American to eugene

4 days of golf instead of 3

Play Bandon crossings w/ my caddie

Eat mostly at Trails end, pac Grill

Then McKee’s

2 rounds on Pacific & Trails

[mallrat]

Caddie for 1/2 of the rounds instead of all

Fly to Coos Bay or American to eugene

4 days of golf instead of 3

Play Bandon crossings w/ my caddie

Eat mostly at Trails end, pac Grill

Then McKee’s

2 rounds on Pacific & Trails

 

Pretty much.

 

Also I seem to enjoy it more each time I go. 1st time I was so in awe of the place and now it’s just about the amazing golf.

[BUCKEYERBALL88]

Caddie for 1/2 of the rounds instead of all

Fly to Coos Bay or American to eugene

4 days of golf instead of 3

Play Bandon crossings w/ my caddie

Eat mostly at Trails end, pac Grill

Then McKee’s

2 rounds on Pacific & Trails

 

Pretty much.

 

Also I seem to enjoy it more each time I go. 1st time I was so in awe of the place and now it’s just about the amazing golf.

 

1st trip being in awe was part of the fun! That’s why I always enjoy play new tracks whether they may be desert, parkland or links

[WestCoastHacker]

Here's what we did differently on our second trip:

 

1. Broke the drive up over two days instead of one - We are 10+ hrs from Bandon and doing the drive in one day left us gassed. Also, we rented two large SUVs to take us and our gear instead of cramming into our own cars.

2. Had a bigger group - We took 8 people instead of 4. More people equaled more fun for us.

3. Played more golf - We played 7 full rounds vs. 5 the first time.

4. Played courses at different times of day - I remember playing Pacific twice at sunset on our first trip. One of the biggest surprises for me the second time there was when we played Pacific first thing in the morning. It was a totally different course with less wind and some pretty amazing light. When we double up on a course now we try to schedule it once as a morning round and once as an afternoon round.

5. Played the Preserve and the Punchbowl - They're both a ton of fun.

6. Drank more - we drank way more the second time we were there. We were "that group" in McKees on our last night.

 

Except for (maybe) point 6 we'll look to keep things the same when we do trip #3 in November. One of the things I like about going to Bandon is that it seems like we refine the trip every time. It always seems to get better.

 

We got back from our third trip in November so I thought I would provide an update on my previous post.

 

1. We reverted back to doing the drive in one day. We left Vancouver at 4am getting into Bandon at 2:30p. It was an early morning but it gave us the chance to have a nice relaxing afternoon on arrival. We sat at the Trails patio and had a jug of beer, hit the range and goofed around on the punchbowl before hitting McKee's and the Bunker Bar. It was a nice way to ease back into the Bandon experience without rushing right out to the first tee. We will do this again on trip four.

 

2. We did not play the Preserve this time. I enjoy it and will play it again, however, it is not integral to a good trip to Bandon in my view. We played a scramble on Pacific instead. Our logic was that playing the scramble as a replay is roughly the same cost as the Preserve. The scramble was great fun. We did play night golf at the Punchbowl which we arranged through tournament services. It was fun, but probably not worth the $400. I don't see us doing it again for a while.

 

3. We ate all of our meals at McKee's as we have every other time we went down. Next time we will mix in a dinner or two at Trails/Tufted Puffin.

 

4. We stayed at the Inn which we all enjoyed. The lobby lounge provided a great central location for us to meet up after the round to have a pint or two or four. Would stay there again.

 

5. It was the first time we went in November. The courses were in good shape but there was not a lot of daylight if you want to get 36 holes in. Everything felt a bit rushed leaving little time for lunch. We will likely revert back to taking our trip in the spring (March/April).

 

Each trip becomes a bit different than the one before it. I like to think we do a better job each time.

[BUCKEYERBALL88]

is bandon crossings worth playing? im guessing the 4 resort courses plus preserve, sheep ranch & punchbowl are better. the convenience of staying on the resort is nice.

[CMCSGolf]

I thought it was fine. Perfectly nice course, but a shadow of the courses across the street. The caddies we had said they play there a lot and it actually has better greens than the resort. I did not find this to be true, but I was there in March so it could be seasonal. I will also say Crossings was an absolute swamp. Yes, it was spring and I don't expect it to drain like the resort, but this was extreme.

 

It's a nice course, but when you have access to 4 courses in the top 20 in America, I can't imagine a scenario where it would be worth passing on those to head to Crossings.