Bandon Dunes- a Diffrent kind of trip

oilcan_007 · March 13, 2019

Sorry for bringing up another Bandon thread, I have been reading all the others. My Bandon Experience will be a little different and I’m hoping for feedback from all of you who have been. My partner and I are headed to Bandon to play in the U.S. 4 Ball Chanpionsip at the end of May. We are playing Old Mac and Pacific Dunes for the event.

We are flying into Portland and driving down. We are thinking of staying at Chrome Lake. Any tips on travel, golf courses, dining in appreciated!

We are super excited!

Edaw68 · March 13, 2019

No tips on the tournament as I'm on the recreational side of golf. But if you're traveling, I'd add a couple more days after the tourny to play the other two courses.

If you spend some time perusing the NW forum you'll find dozens of trip reports and threads full of Bandon tips. While it may be a lot to sort through, it makes for entertaining reading.

mallrat · March 14, 2019

I would make sure you get a round on each before the tourney and take a caddie. Take the caddie for little tips and tricks. They both have a lot of little nuances that a caddie will help with, you could figure them out but don’t have a ton of time on the courses I imagine. Especially learning where to miss. OM is just a different course. I wouldn’t want my 1st round on either to be a tourney round.

Also start getting used to keeping the ball low or on the ground from 50 yards and in. Learning and getting comfortable with a hybrid or wood as a putter is very helpful.

spud3 · March 14, 2019

Good advice above, especially the caddie(s). Putting reads for OM and approach lines for PD will be crucial for a tournament. Definitely play a round on each before the event.

Agree also on adding a couple days after to play the other two courses. Any of the lodging there is perfectly fine, Chrome is generally quiet. You may want to consider staying in the Lodge if you want to be a little closer to the action.

The shuttles (or your car) can get you between courses/restaurants/practice center in just a couple minutes.

Search this forum on the word 'Bandon' for tons of tips on caddies, food, lodging, etc.

denverhaddix · March 15, 2019

Oilcan, congrats on qualifying for the USGA Fourball. I will be on site for the event as well, we qualified way back in October. Our plan is to fly in to Eugene and drive down (we are very fortunate that two of our best friends also qualified, so we will be travelling as 4). I have wondered about many of the same questions you have asked. I had a friend of mine that went to Bandon a few months ago, he's a local PGA pro and Section Player of the Year, as well as a former Nationwide Tour member. I asked him specifically about the pitching and chipping and how tight the lies were, and he said if you're used to chipping off those kind of lies for other USGA events then he didn't see any difference out there regarding that, so I am taking his advice to heart.

I am still on the fence about the caddie situation. I think my plan is to take a forecaddie for the practice rounds for the group, take him out to dinner/drinks afterwards and pick his brain about course strategy, and then just carry the bag during the event. I have a friend that caddied out there for about 10 years and he's given me some advice, but said your tee shot strategy could change drastically depending on hole locations, etc...

We are also booked at Chrome Lake, we got a regular room and not the loft room (although the prices were super reasonable for the tournament, kudos to the resort and USGA for that!). I have been told these will be very suitable.

Either way, I am very excited to go, as I am sure you are. I hope the opportunity presents itself to stick around an extra day if we don't make match play or lose in the match play portion and try to play the other courses, I am not sure how accommodating the resort can be to us given that the other two courses will still be open for public play. But we shall see. If nothing else, maybe we can exchange messages on here or something and make plans to get together for dinner or something one night, I am always up for meeting new golfers.