Random Bandon Thread

[Edaw68]

1 hour ago, rouges1922 said:

Question for the Bandon vets on payments...I’ve done all the planning and everything for an upcoming trip for a couple buddies and myself in February and I was wondering if you guys think it would be better or easier to just have my buddies pay their portion to me directly, or it’s possible to just split it up while on site? I paid the deposit for the trip...are any of the rounds charged in advanced, or does that deposit go towards the cost of the room and then the rounds are billed on site? If they’re billed on site I’m leaning towards us just splitting up the costs on site. Any insights would be greatly appreciated!

Billing can be done a couple ways.  At the end of your trip when checking out you'll pay for everything you charged to your room.  You can charge pretty much anything to your room so this could include rounds, meals, pro shop swag, etc.  The deposit you paid will be credited on this bill.  The other option is pay for everything except lodging individually on each guy's card, IE they pay for greens fees, meals and what not.  

 

I'm guessing for you guys the easiest way is everyone pays for their own greens fees and meals on sight, and then you just keep track of what lodging costs were.  I'm not sure since I've never done it but if you all check in together they may just set up separate billing for each guy then.  I'd ask on check in.

[Edaw68]

https://www.bandondunesgolf.com/lodging/lodging/round-lake

 

Lodging website now updated to include round lake rooms.

[dcmidnight]

When I booked a trip for two of us, I put down a deposit up front of...I think it was one night/one round per person. After that, they said it was easy to setup to take credit card info for each room separately. Super easy, the reservation folks have probably done each option a million times and they'll take care of you.

 

Personally I think it would probably be much easier for you to set each guy up on his own rather than taking on the burden yourself of chopping it all up at the end and then waiting for each guy to pay you.

[spud3]

The deposit consists of the first night's lodging and the first round of golf, for all players.  Just have your buddies send you the amount of one night's room (plus the room taxes) and one round of golf, then everything else can be split into separate accounts once you get there.

[duffer987]

3 hours ago, rouges1922 said:

Question for the Bandon vets on payments...I’ve done all the planning and everything for an upcoming trip for a couple buddies and myself in February and I was wondering if you guys think it would be better or easier to just have my buddies pay their portion to me directly, or it’s possible to just split it up while on site? I paid the deposit for the trip...are any of the rounds charged in advanced, or does that deposit go towards the cost of the room and then the rounds are billed on site? If they’re billed on site I’m leaning towards us just splitting up the costs on site. Any insights would be greatly appreciated!

 

Your deposit will end up being only some % of your individual trip cost.

Once onsite your mates set up their own account at checkin and now everyone can charge everything to their personal accounts. It's dead simple. You'll just already have that existing balance deposit on yours, otherwise they are all the same.

 

I book our trips and I'm not asking my mates to pay me a couple hundred bucks each ahead of getting there, when the total will exceed it anyways. YMMV of course 🙂

 

Edit: I should go to latest post instead of first unread, as I see you've got the info now, oh well, ha.

Edited August 2, 2021 by duffer987

[rouges1922]

Thanks for the feedback guys, really appreciate it!

[wtoomey]

I guess I am the only crazy guy that does the opposite in the way of paying for the group. 
 

Having gone now for five years with a group of 16, I collect from each guy in advance and then pay for everything. 
 

A couple of benefits of this:

1) I get guys committed early. If the money is spent, they have a physiological pressure to stay on the trip. Of course I have had guys bow out for valid reasons, and they have been refunded their money, but only after a replacement has been found.  It also allows for installments so I’m not asking guys to drop a few grand in one transaction. 
 

2) The guys absolutely love the feeling of not having to pull their wallets out at the course. I’ve heard from so many of them that the best feeling is walking to the first tee and not even thinking about checking in, because I have already handled that. Has the feeling of a club rather than a public course for them. 
 

3) I get a TON of points on my Chase credit card. All the guys realize that I get that perk, and they chalk it up as a thank you for the work I put into the trip. Headed to Hawaii with the family thanks to the Bandon trips. 
 

4) I get my drinks for free. We have such a good group of guys that recognize the work put into the trip that I rarely have an empty glass. I love the idea of planning, organizing, and always improving the trip, but having a few drinks paid for from the boys also is nice. 
 

The only real down side is that you need to make sure you tell the front desk that you are paying for everything at check in. They are so used to taking a credit card for each room that it’s a pain in the rear if they have to move everything on to one room at the end. 

[buzlin]

I've always fronted the deposit for my foursome.  Then, when they check in, they give their CC numbers, and get charged for their rooms/golf/food/etc......and settle up when they check out.  I usually end up about even or owe a few hundred.  When we've had larger groups, I've always asked another person to take over half of the deposit and they usually do the same thing.  For me/us, it's the simplest this way.  But, these are all good friends, who will always pay their share if something comes up, so not worried about getting stuck owing.

[duffer987]

^Agreed. 16 vs a foursome is a totally different thing.

That you are effectively bartering for drinks and CC points accumulations, that's nothing like organizing a 4 ball.

[Lefty_89]

Group of 10 in December...Reservations was able to break down the deposit for each person and emailed individually, under one booking.

 

I clicked a link and paid my deposit directly to the resort.

[spud3]

We've been doing it more manually: I call on Jan 1 at O-dark-thirty and work with the Reservations person to find rooms and tee times, pay my deposit, then text my partners with the dates and tee times, then they call individually and sync their reservations with what I line up.  It's worked fine so far, but things are getting tighter, so the few minutes of paranoia about someone else clogging up the tee times is getting to be real.  We usually have a specific course rota in mind, and specific rooms we like, so it's been pretty smooth thus far.  Plus, there's no $ exchanges required, and if someone has to back out, it's on them. We also have evolved into a core of three who absolutely will go, and a kind of rotating fourth cameo player each year.

 

This year, for the first time, I got the email sent to repeating groups offering the Advance Reservation Request form, which I am trying out.  Anyone used this before?  I like the idea of settling on dates and courses ahead of the Jan 1 rush.  Just hoping that it offers the same flexibility as going commando...

[PorkChopExpress]

We’ve been calling well over a year out with our group of 16-20. 
Used to wait a year to date of reservation but Bandon looks to book before then. 

[Lefty_89]

I called Reservations last night to add a buddy to my trip in April and they said they have no consecutive lodging availability until October 2022. 

[duffer987]

17 hours ago, spud3 said:

We've been doing it more manually: I call on Jan 1 at O-dark-thirty and work with the Reservations person to find rooms and tee times, pay my deposit, then text my partners with the dates and tee times, then they call individually and sync their reservations with what I line up.  It's worked fine so far, but things are getting tighter, so the few minutes of paranoia about someone else clogging up the tee times is getting to be real.  We usually have a specific course rota in mind, and specific rooms we like, so it's been pretty smooth thus far.  Plus, there's no $ exchanges required, and if someone has to back out, it's on them. We also have evolved into a core of three who absolutely will go, and a kind of rotating fourth cameo player each year.

 

This year, for the first time, I got the email sent to repeating groups offering the Advance Reservation Request form, which I am trying out.  Anyone used this before?  I like the idea of settling on dates and courses ahead of the Jan 1 rush.  Just hoping that it offers the same flexibility as going commando...

 

So for '23 you fill it out and they automatically do the booking for you on Jan 1st - based on what you put in - vs you ringing up yourself to do it?

 

Is it coming from the standard Bandon reservations email? Otherwise I might need to start checking my spam folder if it's from a different addy?

[spud3]

57 minutes ago, duffer987 said:

 

So for '23 you fill it out and they automatically do the booking for you on Jan 1st - based on what you put in - vs you ringing up yourself to do it?

 

Is it coming from the standard Bandon reservations email? Otherwise I might need to start checking my spam folder if it's from a different addy?

That's what I am supposing will happen.  I filled it out for our group, and we'll see how that goes.  I'm standing ready to do the normal dance on Jan 1 if needed.  The email came on Monday, and was from the Manager of reservations, not the normal email address.  This could be a new program for returning guests.

[Mustu]

I found out my non-golfing friend's family rented a house at Bandon in a couple of weeks for a vacation.  I got so excited that I called and booked some rounds at Bandon for myself.  It's so flexible as a single.  I was able to get 2 rounds on the 16th and 2 on the 17th.  I think both replays will be early enough that I may even be able to get a 3rd round in (or at least a few holes).  I forgot to ask reservations, but anyone know when they stop letting people go out for the day this time of year?

 

I decided not to horn in on their family vacation too much and was able to book a few days at the Inn at Old Town.  Anyone stay there?  That's the only hotel available those dates in Bandon.

[spud3]

If it's your third round, it's free, and they'll let you go out even if it's close to sundown, but you'll need to let them know your plan for getting back to the clubhouse before dark.  There are short loops on all the courses, well documented in this thread: 

 

 

Inn At Old Town is basic, cheap lodging.  I've stayed there a couple times and it's a perfectly adequate, zero-frills place to crash.  Right by 101, so it can be a bit noisy, but it's also right across the highway from the old town shops and restaurants.  Ten minute drive to the resort.

[2bGood]

On 8/3/2021 at 2:29 PM, spud3 said:

We've been doing it more manually: I call on Jan 1 at O-dark-thirty and work with the Reservations person to find rooms and tee times, pay my deposit, then text my partners with the dates and tee times, then they call individually and sync their reservations with what I line up.  It's worked fine so far, but things are getting tighter, so the few minutes of paranoia about someone else clogging up the tee times is getting to be real.  We usually have a specific course rota in mind, and specific rooms we like, so it's been pretty smooth thus far.  Plus, there's no $ exchanges required, and if someone has to back out, it's on them. We also have evolved into a core of three who absolutely will go, and a kind of rotating fourth cameo player each year.

 

This year, for the first time, I got the email sent to repeating groups offering the Advance Reservation Request form, which I am trying out.  Anyone used this before?  I like the idea of settling on dates and courses ahead of the Jan 1 rush.  Just hoping that it offers the same flexibility as going commando...

If you do a group reservation they send you a link that everyone uses to pay the deposit. You send the link out to you buds. No need to for one guy to pay the deposit. 

Edited August 6, 2021 by 2bGood

[2bGood]

On 8/4/2021 at 8:52 AM, spud3 said:

That's what I am supposing will happen.  I filled it out for our group, and we'll see how that goes.  I'm standing ready to do the normal dance on Jan 1 if needed.  The email came on Monday, and was from the Manager of reservations, not the normal email address.  This could be a new program for returning guests.

I miss the days when it was one year in advance. I you went on regular trip, they would book you for the following year on your first day.

[Lefty_89]

Has anyone ever intentionally left a course off their trip, even though you had time available to play it?

 

Buddy of mine and I finalized our trip in April and left out OM, in favor of playing the other four tracks twice each.

 

Doesn't mean we won't add it later or try and loop after 36 😉

Edited August 6, 2021 by Lefty_89

[duffer987]

46 minutes ago, Lefty_89 said:

Has anyone ever intentionally left a course off their trip, even though you had time available to play it?

 

Buddy of mine and I finalized our trip in April and left out OM, in favor of playing the other four tracks twice each.

 

Doesn't mean we won't add it later or try and loop after 36 😉

SR making 5 full courses, can definitely make it tricky to fit them all in.

On my own, I'll skip Pac, but with our foursome we do them all and they each get a first round of the day slot.

 

We'll see what happens with SR, as this year we're doubling it up, but for 2022 I've only put it in there once so far, assuming we've typically been on song as a group with our faves give or take one spot.

Edited August 6, 2021 by duffer987

[Lefty_89]

Weird feeling leaving one behind, but it was the "odd man out". I'll be playing it December so maybe another crack at it will change my mind.

 

That being said, put Old Mac down here anywhere near Houston and I'm playing it every weekend haha.

[ClarkGrswld4]

I've never been to Bandon but hope to in the next few years. Do they get much fog there? I have a weird obsession about loving to play golf in fog.

[buzlin]

We left OM out this year.  But playing it next year, as we'll have a few first timers.  Once you've played each one enough, I don't see a problem leaving one out of the rotation.

 

So, has anyone made 2023 reservations yet?!?!!!!

[puttnforthe8]

6 hours ago, ClarkGrswld4 said:

I've never been to Bandon but hope to in the next few years. Do they get much fog there? I have a weird obsession about loving to play golf in fog.

Not really...sometimes in the early morning.

[Mustu]

I'm so excited about my impromptu trip as a single to Bandon in a week and a half that I read through all 59 pages of this thread again.  A few questions for veterans:

 

I know I should be prepared for rain even though there isn't any in the forecast.  However, I prefer to use my SM 14 way bag versus my waterproof Titleist sta-dry.  I'm a little ocd and like the clubs in their individual slots.  Given the forecast I figured I'm okay, but what do you guys think?

 

I wear shorts at home if it's upper 40s or warmer.  I'm planning on wearing shorts, but don't really play in the wind so don't know if it would make a big difference in my choice.  I guess lightweight pants would be fine since it's not going to be hot, but I'm just used to shorts.

 

I have a 7 am at OM and then replay at 12:20 at BT.  Taking the next day off and then 7:20 at SR and 12:50 at PD.  I think I'm going to be in the early groups in the first round and expected to play in 4 hours (which is good; I like playing fast).  I don't like waiting around to play again since I just end up getting stiff.  Do I have good odds of getting out earlier for 2nd round?  I left BD off the schedule because I expect I'll be able to get in a 3rd round on one or both days and loved playing BD in the evening as the sun was going down last time I was there.  If I get out earlier on the 2nd round then a greater chance of me actually being able to finish the 3rd round.

[dcmidnight]

Wouldn't spend one minute worrying about having a waterproof bag - I left mine at home and went with my lighter weight SM bag. Here's the thing, my waterproof bag is great in the morning when the dew is still out or during the occasional sprinkle. But if it rains-rains at Bandon, water will be in every crevice of your bag and will soak just about everything, I dont care how "waterproof" your bag is or not.

 

Shorts should be fine, IMO keep your rainpaints in your bag and if you do get too cold or if gets windy, you can throw them on.

[2bGood]

2 minutes ago, Mustu said:

I'm so excited about my impromptu trip as a single to Bandon in a week and a half that I read through all 59 pages of this thread again.  A few questions for veterans:

 

I know I should be prepared for rain even though there isn't any in the forecast.  However, I prefer to use my SM 14 way bag versus my waterproof Titleist sta-dry.  I'm a little ocd and like the clubs in their individual slots.  Given the forecast I figured I'm okay, but what do you guys think?

 

I wear shorts at home if it's upper 40s or warmer.  I'm planning on wearing shorts, but don't really play in the wind so don't know if it would make a big difference in my choice.  I guess lightweight pants would be fine since it's not going to be hot, but I'm just used to shorts.

 

I have a 7 am at OM and then replay at 12:20 at BT.  Taking the next day off and then 7:20 at SR and 12:50 at PD.  I think I'm going to be in the early groups in the first round and expected to play in 4 hours (which is good; I like playing fast).  I don't like waiting around to play again since I just end up getting stiff.  Do I have good odds of getting out earlier for 2nd round?  I left BD off the schedule because I expect I'll be able to get in a 3rd round on one or both days and loved playing BD in the evening as the sun was going down last time I was there.  If I get out earlier on the 2nd round then a greater chance of me actually being able to finish the 3rd round.

 

My thoughts:

-waterproof bags were invented because of request from players at  Bandon in 2007. I bought my first one for a Bandon Trip. If you can get over your OCD you should bring it. 

 

-I wear shorts there in February. I you are a shorts guy then wear em.

 

-4hrs is not that fast of round for first of the day - if you catch a truly fast group you will be sub 4 (we usually play first round the day and have never been over 4). You have a great chance of getting out earlier as a single if you are not fussy about the course. Just check in with the pro-shop as you come of the off the course you are on and they will let you know. (They will also let you know before what the opens are).

[2bGood]

5 minutes ago, dcmidnight said:

Wouldn't spend one minute worrying about having a waterproof bag - I left mine at home and went with my lighter weight SM bag. Here's the thing, my waterproof bag is great in the morning when the dew is still out or during the occasional sprinkle. But if it rains-rains at Bandon, water will be in every crevice of your bag and will soak just about everything, I dont care how "waterproof" your bag is or not.

 

Shorts should be fine, IMO keep your rainpaints in your bag and if you do get too cold or if gets windy, you can throw them on.

What bag do you have? I have done really well with my H2N0's over the years and play allot in the rain (even heavy rain/wind) of course the more rain coming down the more things get wet. 

[MileHighGuye]

Anyone know what they are building on the pacific dunes camera shot? Looks like it’s southeast of the punch bowl?