Random Bandon Thread

[TBD203]

On 3/22/2024 at 8:33 PM, jpdx said:

we’ll have to agree to disagree. They didnt have a number of items at forge they now have at GTG. Sure steaks are the same. But what steakhouse doesnt have a filet, a ny strip, a tomahawk, a ribeye….

 

i was not happy but fine 2x at forge with steaks. I was happy with my steak at GTG

 

Is that an old fashioned pictured... with a red maraschino? We're going in a few weeks and I may end up eating healthier and drinking less than anticipated.

[jpdx]

1 hour ago, TBD203 said:

Is that an old fashioned pictured... with a red maraschino? We're going in a few weeks and I may end up eating healthier and drinking less than anticipated.

That one picture was the forge. And tbh i dont remember what it was. Perhaps it was a manhattan. 

[colten.c]

any update on the condition of the greens? going 4/3-4/8 

[kkelway]

Informed just now of their current Aeration Schedule:

4/2 - Bandon Dunes

4/16 - Trails and Preserve

4/30 - Sheep Ranch

5/7 - Old Mac

5/21 - Pacific Dunes

[wooseph]

9 hours ago, colten.c said:

any update on the condition of the greens? going 4/3-4/8 

They weren't fantastic last week. 

Bandon had some patches that were straight sand
Old Mac were the best of the bunch, exactly what I expected when coming to Bandon

Sheep rolled fairly well but were sandy/dirt with the verti cut lines all over them. But they were consistent and didn't ruin a round

Pacific's were probably fantastic up until the day before we played (they punched them the morning of our round) 

 

Overall Bandon's were fine, just some frustrating pin placements in the nasty sandy spots where there was a perfect other half of the green we could have played to. 

[wooseph]

Played last week (my first trip) and man it was awesome. Not a single rain drop for 4 days. Was in shorts and a polo on Sunday for Bandon. Rarely does anything as "hyped" as Bandon end up living up, but it far exceeded my expectations. Staying on property was magical. Stogies at the Bunker Bar, sheep ranch lager at McKees, the protein balls- all fantastic. The pastrami sandwich on the turn at SR? I will never forget it. Ghost Tree grill was legit, had a great steak there. I almost dunked my shot on 5 at Old Mac (hit it to 18 inches). Overall, fantastic trip and tons of memories. Can't wait to be back next March!

 

 

 

 

[jvincent]

10 hours ago, wooseph said:

Played last week (my first trip) and man it was awesome. Not a single rain drop for 4 days. Was in shorts and a polo on Sunday for Bandon. Rarely does anything as "hyped" as Bandon end up living up, but it far exceeded my expectations. 

 

Awesome. Nothing like being there when the gorse is in full bloom.

[spud3]

16 hours ago, wooseph said:

They weren't fantastic last week. 

Bandon had some patches that were straight sand
Old Mac were the best of the bunch, exactly what I expected when coming to Bandon

Sheep rolled fairly well but were sandy/dirt with the verti cut lines all over them. But they were consistent and didn't ruin a round

Pacific's were probably fantastic up until the day before we played (they punched them the morning of our round) 

 

Overall Bandon's were fine, just some frustrating pin placements in the nasty sandy spots where there was a perfect other half of the green we could have played to. 

This is exactly as we found them Tuesday-Friday of last week, as Edaw described a few posts ago.  Trails also had lots of verticut lines.  BD was easily the worst of the lot, OM easily the best.  SR not nearly as bad as last year, but all were far from ideal.  It's been a rough winter with record rainfall, so not a surprise.  It's one of the downsides of going in March/April, but certainly not bad enough to ruin a trip.

[payerasjl]

25 days out and they are punching trails (my favorite course there) in 20 days. 
 

keeping my fingers crossed for a quick recovery and some good sunshine 

[jvincent]

Does anyone know if they are doing a solid tine or hollow punch?

 

We are playing BD on the 5th so it will hopefully have recovered a bit but it's more about tee to green for me so I won't be super bummed about the holes.

[spud3]

It's a mix.  SR and Trails had verticuts, BD holes got the full punch.  PD only a few holes were done.

 

The verticut greens should be pretty much healed by the time you get there, and the rest well on their way.

 

And, yeah, this is not the time to go to Bandon if you require pristine greens...

Edited March 27 by spud3

[golftech]

22 days and counting with 7 rounds over 5 days (my first trip to BD).  Hoping for some dry, warmer weather in April for greens to recover from wet winter!!

[davis8131]

15 hours ago, jvincent said:

Does anyone know if they are doing a solid tine or hollow punch?

 

We are playing BD on the 5th so it will hopefully have recovered a bit but it's more about tee to green for me so I won't be super bummed about the holes.

We're playing on the 4th, from what I have seen most greens are punched with solid tine. After hearing some conditions of the greens on property they might go with hollow punch to help restore them for the long run. 

[Stevens24]

Will be there mid May, I know they had a ton of rain so not surprised the greens are a little sketchy. Taking my son so should be a good time. 

[shackmangolf]

A little sketchy? Anyone see the post on the ForePlayPod?

[carrera]

https://x.com/GavinRBlair/status/1772844129959170149?s=20

[golftech]

6 minutes ago, carrera said:

https://x.com/GavinRBlair/status/1772844129959170149?s=20

I was about to ask about speed of green for late April.  After seeing this I need to add some lead tape to my putter or just plan of chipping! 

[golftech]

Another update with photos

 

 

[dcmidnight]

Reading through some of the Twitter stuff, I feel bad for people going to Bandon, I really do. Ok that's a lie, I don't, you're all lucky as heck and I'd trade places with you right now lol.

 

But what do people expect? They had a brutal winter and the spring hasn't started better. It's a resort that stays open 365 days a year. They don't close every Monday for maintenance or close courses on a rotating basis to allow them time to grow. They are open and packed every single day of the year.

 

I don't know, tough on both sides I guess.

[Seamus_MacDuff]

I was there three weeks ago.  Granted, this was before they punched or verticut, but I didn't think the damaged greens putted all that poorly.  This winter's rain has taken a beating and cosmetically there are areas of many greens that don't look great at all, but they still putted quite well.  

[kaschreiber]

1 hour ago, dcmidnight said:

Reading through some of the Twitter stuff, I feel bad for people going to Bandon, I really do. Ok that's a lie, I don't, you're all lucky as heck and I'd trade places with you right now lol.

 

But what do people expect? They had a brutal winter and the spring hasn't started better. It's a resort that stays open 365 days a year. They don't close every Monday for maintenance or close courses on a rotating basis to allow them time to grow. They are open and packed every single day of the year.

 

I don't know, tough on both sides I guess.

Well said. It's the OR coast in Mar. I know we'd all like to think they're pristine year round, but at a certain point there's only so much you can do. 

[graveydellic]

Seems the whole situation is having a viral moment, and not in a positive way.  It'll blow over, just as the greens will look better in a couple months as the seasons turn.  Most of the people whining on twitter or IG have never been and have no knowledge of Bandon's agronomy, weather, strategy, etc.  The greens look rough in spots, no denying that, but it is what it is.  Will be interesting to see if the resort addresses it in any sort of statement.  

[jvincent]

I'll be there is less than a week.

 

If the greens are in terrible shape, I'll ask for some kind of credit. If they are just rough in a few spots then that's what you get for playing a game that is played outdoors and is subject to the whims of Mother Nature.

[graveydellic]

6 minutes ago, jvincent said:

I'll be there is less than a week.

 

If the greens are in terrible shape, I'll ask for some kind of credit. If they are just rough in a few spots then that's what you get for playing a game that is played outdoors and is subject to the whims of Mother Nature.

 

Curious - why would they offer anyone a credit?  As you just said, the game is played outdoors in unpredictable conditions.  It's not like when you book a room or tee time they make some guarantee of conditioning.  If they offer one person a credit, they have to offer everyone a credit, and it's a subjective game. 

[jvincent]

16 minutes ago, graveydellic said:

 

Curious - why would they offer anyone a credit?  As you just said, the game is played outdoors in unpredictable conditions.  It's not like when you book a room or tee time they make some guarantee of conditioning.  If they offer one person a credit, they have to offer everyone a credit, and it's a subjective game. 

 

I think it was in this thread that someone mentioned they were giving credits for aerated greens and if conditions are really poor it's a goodwill gesture on their part.

 

Like I said, I'll ask, but I'm not going to get bent out of shape about it.

 

Worst case, automatic two putts on every green if I miss the first one!

[spud3]

This is the time of year the courses are needing to heal from the winter weather, which is worse some years than others (this being one of them).  By mid/late-April, they should be in much better visual condition.  For all the teeth-gnashing, we only went with the automatic two-putt rule for one round of the six that we played last week.  Do they look bad?  Sure, some do.  Do they still roll well?  For most part, yes. 

 

Rest assured, there are lots of really smart people there who know way more about this sort of thing than any of us who are doing their very best to deal with some extremely volatile environmental factors, along with record numbers of rounds played, to keep the courses in as playable condition as possible.

 

I'll say it again, louder for all those in the back:

 

If you require perfect greens, December thru April is NOT the time of year to go to Bandon!

 

 

[dcmidnight]

It's exactly that, it's manufactured viral fake outrage based on a few really bad pictures. 100+ greens on property. Seems like a lot of the people looking to jump on the bus aren't even at Bandon, they just want to get on the "Look at my hot take, I wouldn't go to Bandon if it was free" train.

 

Not sorry but at some point in the off-season they are going to have to punch.

[davis8131]

3 hours ago, jvincent said:

 

I think it was in this thread that someone mentioned they were giving credits for aerated greens and if conditions are really poor it's a goodwill gesture on their part.

 

Like I said, I'll ask, but I'm not going to get bent out of shape about it.

 

Worst case, automatic two putts on every green if I miss the first one!

They do give a discount five days after the course was punched. I doubt they're going to give any discount for a couple bad spots on select greens. 

[mallrat]

The people posting about the greens are really getting to me. Many of you know what I do and I feel bad for the staff. Half of these people have absolutely no clue what they are saying and the twitter agronomy experts who can’t even repair their own ball mark can go pound sound. 
 

We have no idea what has gone on other than a brutal stretch of weather. Compound that with almost 80k rounds a year. It’s not winter kill and it’s not disease. 

Edited March 29 by mallrat

[jpdx]

4 hours ago, Seamus_MacDuff said:

I was there three weeks ago.  Granted, this was before they punched or verticut, but I didn't think the damaged greens putted all that poorly.  This winter's rain has taken a beating and cosmetically there are areas of many greens that don't look great at all, but they still putted quite well.  

to add, this isnt a place I personally expect perfect greens - visually. They putt well and thats all i really care about when talking about greens. 
 

silver lining here is that perhaps this will free up some rooms for those in the know.