Random Bandon Thread

[kaschreiber]

On 3/17/2023 at 8:34 AM, BG5 said:

Heres the deal....the entire service industry is in rough shape, hotel staff, restuarant workers, you name it cannot find people who want to work.  Nobody wants to work these days so its not just the golf industry.  I just want the stinking golf courses to be open.  With the way things are going we will probably get an email soon from Bandon Dunes or Streamsong saying they are sorry but they had to close down the course today because lack of staff.  I am not joking

 

With the amount of money Bandon and Streamsong, Sand Valley etc are making they should be paying people a heck of alot more than they are.  When you charge $400 a round at Bandon in primetime they can afford to pay their workers a lot more than they do and they should.  Would that make a difference.....prob not since nobody wants to work but I am amazed that golf resorts and paying some people $15 a hour when they can go to Target or Walmart and get $20.  

I'm confused - is it that nobody wants to work these days or that workers aren't paid enough? Doesn't really seem like it can be both?

Edited March 21, 2023 by kaschreiber

[doc52]

2 hours ago, kaschreiber said:

I'm confused - is it that nobody wants to work these days or that workers aren't paid enough? Doesn't really seem like it can be both?

 

The resort's size/popularity has grown and the working population surrounding Bandon is not large enough to support those jobs.

[Oregonianman]

I went to Bandon this weekend as a single on the spur of the moment. A few observations:

 

• I called on Thursday and got the tee times I wanted for 36 each on Saturday and Sunday, except that I couldn’t find anything convenient on PD at all. 
• No lodging was available so I stayed in town at the Inn at Old Town. The motel was centrally located, inexpensive, and clean - no complaints. I probably could have spent an extra $50/nt to stay somewhere swankier, but I was in bed by 9:00 every night anyway. 
• Since I was staying outside the resort for the first time ever, I ate my dinners in town. The romesco stew at Edgewaters is amazing. The crab dinner at Tony’s is good, but I’d add a side or two to it. 
• Service was just fine throughout the resort. Assistant pros, food service workers, and course workers were all friendly and super helpful. 
• I played Bandon Dunes, Trails, Preserve, and Old Mac. BD and Preserve were in absolutely perfect shape. Trails was a little rough in spots - lots of ground under repair tarps and standing water on some greens in light-to-moderate rain.  Bunker sand was very heavy.  A few tee shots also plugged. Old Mac’s fairways and bunkers were great, but the greens were ROUGH. Not unplayable, but they didn’t roll true and the speeds were inconsistent. The pair playing with me decided to take automatic two putts for everything outside the leather. I was supposed to play Sheep Ranch, but the comments here and feedback from other players and caddies scared me off. I replayed BD and had no regrets about the decision. 
• I had pace setter tee times both mornings and the marshals were great about keeping traffic moving. The afternoon rounds were slower - my threesome on OM got stuck behind a slow foursome that had 4+ holes in front of them. Never had an opportunity to pass them, and we had to wait at least five minutes on each backside tee. Marshals came past a few times but never spoke to the group in front - and to be fair, we never complained. 
  
  
  
   

 

[mallrat]

12 hours ago, kaschreiber said:

I'm confused - is it that nobody wants to work these days or that workers aren't paid enough? Doesn't really seem like it can be both?

I see this from a few points. 
 

In regards to Bandon, there isn’t enough housing as a start which leads to a smaller available work force. Many of the locals have their jobs/careers I. The area, mainly being multiple generations of cranberry farmers. Throw in the fisherman and not many of the traditional blue collar families don’t want anything to do with the resort. 
 

Now in general, there is a huge gap in the younger generations willingness to work and what they believe they are worth to start. My course is seriously struggling to staff multiple departments. Add that to an abundance of jobs available and most employees the minute something happens they don’t like quit. They can walk down the street and find something that pays better. what is basically a rising wage that is going to make many businesses unsuccessful. 
 

Two examples, I know a restaurant in Bend, OR had to fire their Sous Chef for repeatedly getting drunk on the job. Her boyfriend, a line cook, walked out with her. 2 days later she called all the people that worked for her and offered them a $1.50 an hour raise and a $500 signing bonus. In 3 days this restaurant went from fully staffed to unable to open for all their hours because 2 other cooks and a dishwasher followed her. Another example is my wife is a Director of Marketing a large health care company. Last year she hired a girl/woman for an entry level position. This girl had no experience in this field and was fairly young and her starting salary was mid $60k. After about 7-8 months she asked for a meeting with my wife, in this meeting she proceeded to say that the work was harder than she thought and that she needed a raise. Not only that but she thought the raise should be retroactive since she started. She still doesn’t grasp that that is not how it works and continues to ask when the raise will show up on her paycheck. She still thinks that her yearly review/cost of living raise should be retroactive to her first day of employment. 
 

 

[puttnforthe8]

17 hours ago, mallrat said:

I see this from a few points. 
 

In regards to Bandon, there isn’t enough housing as a start which leads to a smaller available work force. Many of the locals have their jobs/careers I. The area, mainly being multiple generations of cranberry farmers. Throw in the fisherman and not many of the traditional blue collar families don’t want anything to do with the resort. 
 

Now in general, there is a huge gap in the younger generations willingness to work and what they believe they are worth to start. My course is seriously struggling to staff multiple departments. Add that to an abundance of jobs available and most employees the minute something happens they don’t like quit. They can walk down the street and find something that pays better. what is basically a rising wage that is going to make many businesses unsuccessful. 
 

Two examples, I know a restaurant in Bend, OR had to fire their Sous Chef for repeatedly getting drunk on the job. Her boyfriend, a line cook, walked out with her. 2 days later she called all the people that worked for her and offered them a $1.50 an hour raise and a $500 signing bonus. In 3 days this restaurant went from fully staffed to unable to open for all their hours because 2 other cooks and a dishwasher followed her. Another example is my wife is a Director of Marketing a large health care company. Last year she hired a girl/woman for an entry level position. This girl had no experience in this field and was fairly young and her starting salary was mid $60k. After about 7-8 months she asked for a meeting with my wife, in this meeting she proceeded to say that the work was harder than she thought and that she needed a raise. Not only that but she thought the raise should be retroactive since she started. She still doesn’t grasp that that is not how it works and continues to ask when the raise will show up on her paycheck. She still thinks that her yearly review/cost of living raise should be retroactive to her first day of employment. 
 

 

 

 

I have thought about this a few times.  I think resorts such as Bandon or others that don't have the population to support a consistent workforce w/ all the relevant levels of customer service may need to take the same approach as cruise ships.   But as noted - it will require the housing for them.  I am pretty sure there are a whole lot of people that would be willing to work at these resorts.

 

On the whole jobs thing - this is certainly a fascinating point in history.  This time will be documented in history for what happened, what is going to happen and the final outcome.  There is simply no way the scenarios like above (and more) can continue.  The outcome could end up very bad for everyone.   Business need to start thinking differently - at minimum, they need to offer their employees stake in the business - so that the business success perpetuates success for employees.  

 

[Madhoshi]

Currently down here playing with 3 friends (all of us die hard golfers). A few thoughts for anybody coming down.

1) haven't had any issues with services, that said, we are golf focused. We have eaten at McKee's and The Forge, no issues. 
2) BD, PD, and BT are in great shape. As a poster said above, some of the landing areas on BT/PD are under recovery tarps, but overall not bad. Greens are great

3) OM, fairways and rough are good. Greens remind me of Chambers Bay prior to the redo. I was last here in 2021 and they weren't this bad

4) SR is a waste of time/money at this point. Greens are mainly mud/sand. we played it today as a replay round, and wouldn't pay prime rates for it. We changed our other SR time for a different course. It's far from my favorite course here, greens aside; however it's shameful they're allowing play with greens like that. 
 

Hope this helps ppl!

[Madhoshi]

Some closing thoughts as we're headed out:

 

1) It might be a result of the time of year, but did not experience any of the less that ideal guests. I'm sure they were there, prolly just not around the times we were teeing off etc. All of the guests I saw were very respectful, and the staff were beyond stellar. 
 

2) there's still no place in the world like Bandon (granted I haven't played on the other side of the pond). It's my happy place. We had all the seasons of Bandon yesterday. Teed off in the frigid cold on BD, by 10am it was biting sideways rain. By the time our afternoon rolled around at 1:40 on BT, the sun was out and we were in short sleeves. Finished the day with an evening 9 back at BD (after a brief hail sighting) watching the sun set. Love this place. My hope really is, that as the future opens up, they continue to focus on golf, as there are many other resorts that I can visit for a "luxury" experience. 
 

till next time, Bandon!

[cg0rd0noo7]

As my trip is about a week and a half away I have a few more questions. 
 

1. What can I do to make my caddies life easier? 
 

2. How can I make my wife’s experience the best it can be? She is newer to golf. Hits driver a long way but struggles a little with irons and a lot out of bunkers. She plans on playing tees around 5000 yards. She plays fast.
 

3. Anyone do anything special with bag setup?

 

4. If we have early times will we be able to hit the range before the first round? I think the second day we have the second time on Brandon dunes. 

 

5. How late is the practice area open? 

[Edaw68]

1 hour ago, cg0rd0noo7 said:

As my trip is about a week and a half away I have a few more questions. 
 

1. What can I do to make my caddies life easier? 
 

2. How can I make my wife’s experience the best it can be? She is newer to golf. Hits driver a long way but struggles a little with irons and a lot out of bunkers. She plans on playing tees around 5000 yards. She plays fast.
 

3. Anyone do anything special with bag setup?

 

4. If we have early times will we be able to hit the range before the first round? I think the second day we have the second time on Brandon dunes. 

 

5. How late is the practice area open? 

1. Strip extra stuff out.  No need for a dozen balls, 6 different clothes changes, etc.  Pick your bag up and ask if you'd be happy carrying it around.  If not, reduce weight.  

 

2. Play the appropriate tees, and if she doesn't hit irons well, hit the practice center and work on a low punch shot, basically a hundred yard chip.  It's mostly not necessary to get the ball way up in the air at Bandon.  And make sure her rain gear is in good shape.  Everyone struggles out of Bandon's bunkers (thick beach sand) so don't keep going at it, feel free to pick up and try another spot.

 

3. Nope, normal set up I do at home.  On my replay rounds I often only carry half a set.

 

4.  Yes, but you may be starting in the dark.

 

5. Open until no one is out there.  I've rarely seen anyone there past late afternoon.

[Madhoshi]

1 hour ago, Edaw68 said:

1. Strip extra stuff out.  No need for a dozen balls, 6 different clothes changes, etc.  Pick your bag up and ask if you'd be happy carrying it around.  If not, reduce weight.  

 

2. Play the appropriate tees, and if she doesn't hit irons well, hit the practice center and work on a low punch shot, basically a hundred yard chip.  It's mostly not necessary to get the ball way up in the air at Bandon.  And make sure her rain gear is in good shape.  Everyone struggles out of Bandon's bunkers (thick beach sand) so don't keep going at it, feel free to pick up and try another spot.

 

3. Nope, normal set up I do at home.  On my replay rounds I often only carry half a set.

 

4.  Yes, but you may be starting in the dark.

 

5. Open until no one is out there.  I've rarely seen anyone there past late afternoon.

agree with these. 
 

def lighten the bag, only what you need. I have goretex shells that function as wind breakers so that I'm not weighing down the bag (I don't take caddies, but carry my own). Also, make sure your rain gear is up to the task. In a week and a half it's still likely cold. Cold and wet is not a good combo. Hand warmers will be key cause your rain gloves will be soaked. 
 

in terms of bag setup, I leave some of the clubs that get the ball high in the air out. I also sometimes will leave the lob wedge out. Nothing else to add to the above. 

[JLo_73]

Wrapped up 96 hours in Bandon...plan was to play 7 rounds which we accomplished minus holes #12-18 on SR due to a deluge of hail/wind/rain on Thur AM.   We decided we had enough and regrouped with a good lunch/dry clothes for our afternoon round at Pacific Dunes.   As usual being my 10th trip, weather was constantly changing and layers of clothing came in handy.   Going to be short and sweet with my feedback having monitored this thread for a few weeks leading up to this trip as well as being exhausted, dehydrated and lost more than I won…

 

• Service was better than expected for all the grumbling by a few posters on this thread.    Room in Groove Cottages while a little outdated was clean and shuttle service was extremely quick. 
• Food quality was pretty good.   Really great Poke Bowl at BT (twice), burgers/pizzas at McKees, traditional breakfast at PD (must have the bacon!).  We did eat at Forge two of the four nights.  Service was a little mixed one night but blame that another group who seemed to have some challenges.  Food at Forge was decent.  I tried to get our group to go to Pacific Grill on the last night instead of eating there again. 
• BT/BD/PD are in a league of their own (and my top 3 in that order)  Possibly due to being most established courses but consensus of our group agreed.   Old Mac was a fun round but the golf course conditions/charm aren’t good IMO and Sheep Ranch was hard to judge as so much water was pooling on the greens.   Old Mac and SR greens need ALOT of work.   Preserve was again a great experience (played as eightsome) and course in good shape. 
• We played 6.5 rounds in 4 days and I could have played one more day.  One note is they had a Theragun in our room as well as a leg recovery system that were big hits in our group.  Felt better than I did in past trips (been 5 years) and it might have been due to that feature
• We had 4 caddies that were awesome guys and with us the whole trip.  Cody from Chico, Disco (David), Donnie and Kyle who has been there 20 years.  For sure look them up when you go.   

I'll be back for sure down the road.  Would probably play my top 3 twice, Preserve once, give Sheep Ranch another shot and mix in Old Mac if it works.  

 

Edited March 27, 2023 by JLo_73

[spud3]

Heading down tomorrow AM for five days, starting on PD at 1:20.  Excited to hear about the Theragun in each room (hoping that's not just a perk for those staying in the Grove).

 

I'll try to post some updates each evening, and a full trip report in it's own thread next weekend.

[ucmike11]

I'm looking to plan another trip to BD, but coming from the Northeast the first trip was nearly spoiled by the amount of travel time and driving required.

 

My fellow Northeasterners that have gone to bandon multiple times - how long are your stays to combat the feeling that the trip is a little bit of golf, and a lot of travel?

[dcmidnight]

5 minutes ago, ucmike11 said:

I'm looking to plan another trip to BD, but coming from the Northeast the first trip was nearly spoiled by the amount of travel time and driving required.

 

My fellow Northeasterners that have gone to bandon multiple times - how long are your stays to combat the feeling that the trip is a little bit of golf, and a lot of travel?

 

From DC mine was 4 straight days of golf (36/day) with a full travel day on either end - so 6 days total. I think if I did it next time I would add in a full day of rest in the middle of the trip or maybe a day for the Preserve/rest and make it a week total. The first day or so the jet lag plus the travel did beat me up a bit - in addition to walking 36 a day lol.

 

For us from DC it was almost 12 hours total travel each way.

[ucmike11]

1 hour ago, dcmidnight said:

 

From DC mine was 4 straight days of golf (36/day) with a full travel day on either end - so 6 days total. I think if I did it next time I would add in a full day of rest in the middle of the trip or maybe a day for the Preserve/rest and make it a week total. The first day or so the jet lag plus the travel did beat me up a bit - in addition to walking 36 a day lol.

 

For us from DC it was almost 12 hours total travel each way.

 

That middle day where you play the preserve and maybe punch bowl or something, actually sounds like a great idea.

[Kernel]

21 hours ago, spud3 said:

Heading down tomorrow AM for five days, starting on PD at 1:20.  Excited to hear about the Theragun in each room (hoping that's not just a perk for those staying in the Grove).

 

I'll try to post some updates each evening, and a full trip report in it's own thread next weekend.

Interested to hear your report, especially re SR. We are likely going to skip SR when we are there next month and add a second round at either Trails or Pac. So many reports lately of atrocious greens. 

[doc52]

16 minutes ago, Kernel said:

Interested to hear your report, especially re SR. We are likely going to skip SR when we are there next month and add a second round at either Trails or Pac. So many reports lately of atrocious greens. 

Played SR this past Saturday and SR's poa greens were quite bumpy. Several greens also had medium-large sized mud spots. Old Mac's greens were a little rough, but not as bad as SR.

[PNW]

I just got back from my first trip to BD and I guess it's reassuring to see folks calling out the greens at OM and SR. The greens for both were in poor condition we were told due to the weather this winter. Hopefully that's true and they will play better next time I'm there. I don't mean to sound hyperbolic but SR felt like a muni compared to the others. This is mostly due to perspective because we played SR last after the others, along with having poor greens and meeting slow groups in front of us. I'd give it another go next time but maybe play it first.

 

The other 3 courses were in great shape and a blast to play. The staff were consistently friendly and helpful, food was good and met expectations (nothing bad, nothing notably amazing, all good quality). The Preserve was also a really fun short course to play with 8 guys on arrival day. 

 

I'm looking forward to getting back because it truly is a special place. 

[Ronnie Mundt]

Just got back last week; 8 rounds in 4 days and lucked out on the weather big time. I won’t go on and on but the service down there was fantastic. Period. And the new rooms at Round Lake are incredible. Like, absolutely amazing.

[jvincent]

6 hours ago, ucmike11 said:

I'm looking to plan another trip to BD, but coming from the Northeast the first trip was nearly spoiled by the amount of travel time and driving required.

 

My fellow Northeasterners that have gone to bandon multiple times - how long are your stays to combat the feeling that the trip is a little bit of golf, and a lot of travel?

 

My Bandon trips are always a minimum of 4 golfing days. 

[Edaw68]

Just played Pacific, greens were in good shape. Got SR in a couple days, we’ll see how those are. For the Thera gun in every room rumor, not yet. Don’t have one in my room at the Inn,

[Edaw68]

New construction at Old Mac. Heard it’s a new restaurant or possibly the new Forge location. Got a round there tomorrow morning, will ask then.

 

Regarding the rumors of lax customer service, nothing wrong so far. The lounge in Inn is open again. Check in was easy, my room was ready at noon today.

[sniper]

I have my first trip at the end of April.  Sheep Ranch is my first round but I’m going to play because I want to see all courses.  
 

I confirmed the Theragun’s are just in the cottages.  You can request one depending on availability. 

[spud3]

Here now with Edaw68, and +1 on his comments.  We played PD this afternoon in a steady rain.  The two of us played in under 4 hours, as there was almost no one on the course.  Greens were fine, if a bit patchy looking.  Tee boxes were my only niggle.  It’s clearly been a rough winter, and the holes closest to the ocean were the roughest.  But it’s a tee box…

 

We got enough rain to have some small streams on the last couple holes.  Forecast for tomorrow looks iffy, at best, but the rest of the week is looking like it could be really nice.  Fingers crossed.

 

Just had dinner at McKee’s and it was as empty at 7 PM as I’ve ever seen.  Got them on a good night for the meatloaf, it was really good.  As stated, rooms were ready at 11 AM when I got here on the way to Tony’s crab shack for lunch , which was spectacular, as always.

[TexasTitleistUser]

2 hours ago, Edaw68 said:

New construction at Old Mac. Heard it’s a new restaurant or possibly the new Forge location. Got a round there tomorrow morning, will ask then.

 

Regarding the rumors of lax customer service, nothing wrong so far. The lounge in Inn is open again. Check in was easy, my room was ready at noon today.

go by the Library lounge at the Inn if you are a beer guy and get the Groundswell IPA in cans. Only place on property to get it. 

[Madhoshi]

On 3/27/2023 at 2:34 PM, Kernel said:

Interested to hear your report, especially re SR. We are likely going to skip SR when we are there next month and add a second round at either Trails or Pac. So many reports lately of atrocious greens. 

I doubt they'd improve substantially with all the play it's getting. I 100% would sub either BT or PD. 

[doc52]

11 hours ago, Madhoshi said:

I doubt they'd improve substantially with all the play it's getting. I 100% would sub either BT or PD. 

The only way they get better is if they rip them out and start fresh like Chambers did.

[Kernel]

13 hours ago, Madhoshi said:

I doubt they'd improve substantially with all the play it's getting. I 100% would sub either BT or PD. 

 

Here's what I don't get. Why does it take someone seeing trip reports on a golf message board to know this? Look, I understand the variability of conditions at Bandon. I've played at various times when greens were not ideal and had no issue. I played SR two years ago with young greens that weren't great, but didn't really impact my enjoyment. This seems different. When caddies are actively encouraging players to skip it, when people are having to play automatic 2-putt, when greens have mounds of dirt on them, you can't ignore the problem and keep charging premium rates without acknowledgement or a concession.  I can imagine if I wasn't aware, walking off 18 at SR and feeling like I was hustled . . . $200 for this? And no one said anything? That's not the Bandon way.

[Edaw68]

As long as the tee sheet is full there’s neither the ability nor motivation to change it. Playing tomorrow afternoon, if weather allows I’ll try for some SR green pics.

[dcmidnight]

2 minutes ago, Edaw68 said:

As long as the tee sheet is full there’s neither the ability nor motivation to change it. Playing tomorrow afternoon, if weather allows I’ll try for some SR green pics.

 

Thats the problem. For every angry guy on a message board that wont go back there are 10 guys not on social media waiting to take his room and tee slot. For most (?) its a once in a lifetime trip, if the greens suck, oh well. They lose almost nothing financially from allowing it to play out like this. Whereas closing for a year or two - thats a whole other issue.

 

Not one mention on any of their social media accounts about how bad things are. In fact its the opposite - they keep posting pictures and reviews about how amazing SR is.