Bandon Jan/Feb 2018 report

[kaschreiber]

I'm going to apologize for yet another Bandon trip report, but knowing that I read each one multiple times on here getting ready for our trip, don't know if the apology is truly needed. Me, my dad, and one of my good friends made our way down from Jan 31-Feb 3, and we're already talking about the return trip next year. Apologies in advance for the length.

 

Wed Jan 31: Both John (my buddy) and I were pretty useless for the two weeks leading up to the trip. We had both been going back and forth about the weather forecast for some time (I know, I know) and were both super excited to see that we were going to be getting what looked like clear skies and sunshine for at least part of the trip. We took off from Seattle around 3:30 AM to make the ~7 hour drive down. We drove from Seattle down through Cottage Grove, taking Highway 38 to Reedsport. It was a really scenic drive, we were able to set the cruise around 80 the whole way down, and made it to the Lodge right around 11:00 o'clock. We had our first round of beers in the Lodge then headed up to the practice facility to warm up for the first round of the trip on the Preserve:

 

 

My best shot of the week came much too early

 

 

#7 on the Preserve

 

When we got there the weather was dry, but cool, and we spent the rest of the afternoon in slacks and pullovers. I had one of my best shots of the week early on 5, sticking a 9i to ~3 feet and knocking in the birdie. John took the first round of the trip with a 48. After finishing up, we headed to get checked in to our room at Chrome Lake and get all of our gear unpacked. We tried to play some cards, but given the early wakeup, the long drive, the excitement, and the few hours spent swinging, we were all in bed by 7:00 PM with a full day to follow on Thurs.

 

Thurs Feb 1: We got up and out to the practice range around 7:30, which was actually too much time to warm up, in my opinion. It's still a fantastic place to spend time, but with a 9:00 AM on Old Mac, we didn't need the full 90 minutes. We headed to course around 8:30, met our group caddie, Wyeth (highly recommend), and were off. The course was a great intro into the links golf we'd be playing and reminded all of us a lot of Chambers Bay. I started out the day in slacks, a long sleeve Under Armour under a polo, and a pullover jacket, but the jacket and long sleeves were shed by the 5th hole. We carried our own clubs, and with the up and down of the undulations in the fairway, we were staying plenty warm- the weather was perfect as well, with upper 50s/low 60s all day. John wound up taking the low round on Old Mac with an 88 (consistent theme through the week).

 

 

John, me, and my dad on the 7th green

 

Teeshot on 17

 

We finished in ~3:30 and sprinted over to Bandon Dunes to try and make sure we could get in before we ran out of light, teeing off around 1:45. I've also read in several places to time your round to be on the 16th at sunset, which we did almost to the minute. The course was breathtaking and exceeded my expectations even given how much I had hyped it up in my head. The friends I showed pictures to at home that don't golf were all blown away by it as well, and we had more great weather throughout the round. The scores kept coming down, John with an 85 and me with a 91.

 

 

The old man teeing off on 6

 

Ledge behind the 6th tee

 

15th green

 

After 36 on day 2, we were spent. John and I had carried for both rounds, and my dad had taken a rickshaw. My dad ruptured his ACL ~a month ago, and with the Dr's blessing was with us every step of the way. We headed into McKee's for dinner and to talk about what we had just experienced. I went with the brisket sandwich which was great, John wouldn't shut up about how good the clam chowder was, and we washed all of it down with a couple of Bandon's Pale Ales, which were also a solid choice to end the day. We elected for another early night, getting ready to tackle PacDunes the following day. According to Johns fitbit, 35k steps, 58oo calories had taken its toll on both of our bodies.

 

Fri Feb 2: We were all SORE when we woke up Friday morning. It was easy to get through, knowing we were about to play the #2 course in the country. John had played Pebble a few times before, but this would be my first time stepping on such a highly rated course. A little later to the practice range this morning with a 9:50 start. When we got to the proshop, we were also told we had a new caddie as Wyeth couldn't make it. We didn't request a new caddie, but his replacement Andy (also highly recommend), was also top notch and who we'd have the following two rounds. We teed off into some light fog, but unfortunately we got socked in for the remainder of the day. While I'll believe it's a gorgeous course, we weren't able to see the ocean at any point and could only hear it, even being on 10 and 11. The highlight came on 7, with John in the rough up the left hand side. Unable to see the green, Andy figured he had about 160 in. He thought he hit a good shot, when we couldn't find the ball on the green Andy dismissively told him to check the cup and sure enough, he had holed out. With the fog, no one could see it go in, or hit the pin, but it was easily the best shot anyone in our group hit that week and also led to the low round of the week with an 81.

 

 

John's hole out on 7

 

Hitting into 10

 

I'm told there's a great golf course out there

 

17th green

 

We had lunch at Pacific Grill, John and I ran over for a quick 9 at Shorty's while my dad likely harassed some other groups that were in the restaurant, and we finished the night on the Punchbowl (ton of fun). We hit the different pro shops to snag some gear, and capped off the night with another round of cards before getting back to bed to get ready for the final day

 

Sat Feb 3: By now all of the walking had caught up to us. John and I carried our clubs for every hole of the trip and this was by far our slowest morning. We had time to swing by the Lodge and checkout, quick warmup at the practice facility, then headed to Trails. This was probably our best day for weather, with the sun coming out and the day actually being warm. I couldn't believe the temperature difference getting off the coast. We teed off at 9:05, with this also being our slowest round of the week at ~4 hours. There were no marshalls this time of year and the group in front of us was on their own and really slowed the pace down. Even then, with where we normally play, a 4 hour round seemed lightning fast. I had my best round of the week despite a really disappointing back 9 with a 91 (42... 49, ouch), but simply did not want to leave. By the time we all walked off 18 we were already discussing the makeup of our next trip.

 

 

John into 5

 

14th tee box

 

Final Thoughts:

Courses: Everything out there, from the big 4, to the practice facility/Shorty's, to the Punchbowl and Preserve are absolutely top notch. It was by far the nicest golf facility I've been to or seen, all seemingly on top of one another, which I mean in a good way. John, being to Pebble, echoed the same. That said, my order ranking them bottom to top: Old Mac, PacDunes, Bandon Dunes, Trails. But ranking those courses is like picking the best looking Victoria's Secret model- any one of them could be ranked top, and I'd like to see what PacDunes looks like in clear weather. Either way, we'll be back and our rankings may very well change.

 

Tees: John and I played the greens all week, my dad at the orange. I shot right around my handicap and never felt like it was too long for me and I'm not all that long of a hitter. Minus a couple triples each round, I feel like I could have shot fairly decently, with 4-5 hole stretches of even or +1 on each course. My dad was up at the orange after a wrist fusion last year and rupturing his ACL ~a month ago. He had a little trouble with some forced carries as he has a low ball flight, but still managed.

 

Food: We ate two meals in the Lodge, one in McKee's, and one at Pacific Grill. We brought down a ton of food, so breakfast and lunch was almost always something we packed in our bags. What we did eat was very good and very reasonably priced.

 

Lodging: We had 3 in a Chrome Lake loft. I think a lot of the reviews say the same things- the rooms are nice, nothing over the top fancy, but that's not what we were there for. Overall, they fared well.

 

People: I'd echo what everyone else says- super friendly, they are there to make sure you have a great time, and everyone we interacted with from bartenders to servers to starters, etc were all fantastic.

 

Caddies: Initially, I didn't want a caddie. My dad was paying for this as a belated 30th birthday present and I didn't want him to have the additional expense. I also wanted to try and figure things out on my own. John was adamant he wanted to get one for the group, if I was ok with it, and I relented. I am very, very glad I did. Get one, even if a group caddie to break out the cost. Their course knowledge, the stories they have to share, their help in reading greens, all well, well worth it. Collectively, our caddies probably saved us each 8-12 strokes a round, even if our scores don't jump off the page.

 

We will absolutely be back in 2019, this time moving our annual guys trip which is an 8 man group out of the state and heading down, likely in Fall.

[buzlin]

Never apologize for posting a Bandon trip report!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Awesome.

[bwantland]

Awesome trip report and writeup, thanks for posting kaschreiber. I don't think you need to apologize at all, as this looks/reads fantastic. I read a lot of the archived ones as well in anticipation.

 

I'm going for my first time as part of a group of 4 this week from 2/8 - 2/12 and couldn't be more excited, particularly given the weather forecast we may have lucked into.

[rollin]

Very cool. And I agree, there can never be enough trip reports!

[spud3]

Great report!

[MrMileHigh]

Nice trip report! These reports always help pass the time in between trip so there can never be too many!

[KBong]

OP...great report.

Never apologize for starting a new Bandon thread....for all the members here....reading a new Bandon thread was like opening a new Playboy or Penthouse for Christmas for all us old timers. :taunt:

 

I think the best thing is that you were able to enjoy your first top quality golf resort vacation playing golf with your dad...even better that he paid.

[Edaw68]

Good report, it's the season for it. Less than three weeks to go.

[The Pearl]

Welcome to the club. Your golfing life will never be the same.

[R4haehl]

Awesome! I am headed there w/ a group of 8 this weekend. for 5 of us it is our first trip, the other 3 have gone the last 6-7 years annually. It has been over a year of built up excitement for me, and I CANT WAIT. We already have Feb 2019 booked too. We will be playing all 4 of the courses, Preserve and punchbowl.

[wtoomey]

Great report.

 

We also had Wyeth as a forecaddy, but as replacement for our first guy. Long story short, the first guy was a tool. He didn’t have spare tees, balls marks, or even a towel in his coveralls. When my playing partner asked for a yardage on Bandon #1, he went over to a sprinkler head and read the number. When asked if the incline played a role in that number, he literally shrugged his shoulders. It was a long round with that clown.

 

Word got back to the course, and the Director of Caddy Service personally came to apologize. Wyeth was the man,he was totally laid back and fit in perfectly.

 

57 days and counting

[Edaw68]

Kasch, what were the greens like? Last year at this time Trails had some issues.

[kaschreiber]

Kasch, what were the greens like? Last year at this time Trails had some issues.

 

I thought they were in great shape, but I'm used to Seattle area greens, so my standards might not be up to snuff. They were rolling true on all 4 courses. Old Mac was the fastest of the 4 and Pac Dunes seemed a little slow relative, but we didn't have any complaints.

[Sushiyoshi]

Thanks for info on the greens. One week to go!

[wxworkoff]

Great review, OP. Lots of great information here. I'll be a Bandon rookie myself when we go in October...239 days to go!

 

Quick question...how did your dad fare with all the walking and pulling the rickshaw? I'll be there with my dad and uncle...two 60+ guys (who smoke on top of it all, and rarely walk when they play), so I'm interested in how your dad fared physically. I'm planning on suggesting that each of them grab a caddy to ease the burden and make it as enjoyable as possible for them...but I'm wondering what I'm up against if they refuse the caddy and want to pull their own clubs. I'm afraid I'll lose them later in the week, when I show up on the first tee and they're asleep in the hot tub easing the aches and pains.

[kaschreiber]

Great review, OP. Lots of great information here. I'll be a Bandon rookie myself when we go in October...239 days to go!

 

Quick question...how did your dad fare with all the walking and pulling the rickshaw? I'll be there with my dad and uncle...two 60+ guys (who smoke on top of it all, and rarely walk when they play), so I'm interested in how your dad fared physically. I'm planning on suggesting that each of them grab a caddy to ease the burden and make it as enjoyable as possible for them...but I'm wondering what I'm up against if they refuse the caddy and want to pull their own clubs. I'm afraid I'll lose them later in the week, when I show up on the first tee and they're asleep in the hot tub easing the aches and pains.

 

Without being too vague, I think it depends. My dad moved pretty slowly, but he was honest with himself as well and willing to play up two tees. He was very adamant going into the weekend that he wouldn't hold anyone up and he held up his end of the bargain. He's had several knee surgeries through his life, plus the recent knee injury, so he doesn't move super fast. He pushed his clubs in a rickshaw for the most part, but on some of the larger hills (up and over 3 on Old Mac, parts of Trails, etc.) I'd grab his clubs so that he could baby his way down the hill. He hung every step of the way with us (he was pretty pleased with himself that he made it through 36 in a day, though "that's the last time he'll ever do that"). I think the benefit of the caddie is more in the course navigation opposed to hauling clubs. If you think you can help them in the handful of steep parts on property and if they're willing to play up as appropriate, I think you can manage without one.

 

We also introduced my dad into the wonder of foam rolling and he said that made a HUGE difference for him and I was all about the ibuprofen on the practice range and before bed each night.

[oregongolf]

My group is heading down Wednesday night. We're playing Thur, Fri, & Sun at the Resort. We're going to spend all day at Sheep Ranch on Saturday.

 

Weather looks okay, a bit colder, but I've certainly seen worse.

[spud3]

My group is heading down Wednesday night. We're playing Thur, Fri, & Sun at the Resort. We're going to spend all day at Sheep Ranch on Saturday.

 

Weather looks okay, a bit colder, but I've certainly seen worse.

 

Enjoy!

[lhahn]

Thanks for the trip report!

 

As others have said, love reading these and can never have too many. Actually feel like they've been a bit too few and far between lately =)

[JLo_73]

Great write up! Heading with a group of 16 in 12 days so excited to get back there after 3 years

[Kjboisen]

Enjoyed the read. Always a great time with family and friends at Bandon! Glad you had some highlights as well!

[LeftRightLeftRight]

Thanks for the read. We have eight going end of October, seven for the first time. I've been wearing out the course cameras. Love all the Bandon info on the threads. Very much appreciated.