Bandon - Trip Report October 2020

[kamizzou91]

Excellent write up!  Man, I've got to get back out there ASAP...

[2bGood]

Glad your trip lived up to all your expectations! Now you get to join the gang giving out bandon advice!

[Divot_Forensicist]

My wife and I depart for Bandon next Tuesday—our first visit. She is a golfer. We are playing every course (SR and Preserve twice each) during our stay. Informative write up, thanks!

[toddnt]

6 hours ago, beckjg135 said:

Awesome write up!!, Im T-minus 25 days till i touchdown in Portland for a solo trip.....appreciate all the tips for first timers (as it will be a first time for me as well)

Book your dining reservations now... They are filling up! One of the nights Ill be up there all restaurants were booked, Ill be doing take out that night!

Edited October 7, 2020 by toddnt

[Lefty_89]

12 hours ago, toddnt said:

Book your dining reservations now... They are filling up! One of the nights Ill be up there all restaurants were booked, Ill be doing take out that night!

Great suggestion!! I will admit that the takeout is incredibly easy and quick; I placed a few orders to go and they were ready within 15-30 mins.

 

Nothing quite like sitting on the patio or near a window at Pacific Grill or Trails End though, watching the last few rounds of golfers come through.

[beckjg135]

12 hours ago, toddnt said:

Book your dining reservations now... They are filling up! One of the nights Ill be up there all restaurants were booked, Ill be doing take out that night!

I need to get on that, otherwise, take out every night! 

[wtoomey]

Great report. Love the idea that Sheep and Trails feel different even though they are both Coor Crenshaw. 
 

beckjg135 I’ll see you up there! Heading up on 11/2 with three other guys from our April trip that was canceled. 
 

 

[beckjg135]

1 hour ago, wtoomey said:

Great report. Love the idea that Sheep and Trails feel different even though they are both Coor Crenshaw. 
 

beckjg135 I’ll see you up there! Heading up on 11/2 with three other guys from our April trip that was canceled. 
 

 

Yeah ill starting my trek on the 1st, playing 36, 36, 18/preserve, 36, then home....i hope i didnt book too much but im decently fit so hope my legs/feet dont die!, youll see me with a "Michigan" themed Mac bag but im almost tempted to bring my sta-dry bag instead but we'll see. whats your playing sched look like?

Edited October 7, 2020 by beckjg135

[wtoomey]

11/3

Old Mac AM

Trail PM

 

11/4

Sheep AM

Pacific PM

 

11/5

Bandon AM

[Lefty_89]

Some more pictures just for the heck of it, as I suffer from Bandon withdrawals! 😪

 

[Lefty_89]

[Yank8823]

Great write up! Glad that you both enjoyed it! Moved my trip from June 2020 to June 2021, it'll be the first time, can't wait! Lots of great pics, too! Cheers!

[toddnt]

Were the pics from cell phone or camera?

[RainShadow]

Pics of wife aren't loading!  

Great write up and beautiful pics. 

Can't wait for my turn to go.

[Lefty_89]

3 hours ago, toddnt said:

Were the pics from cell phone or camera?

Camera taken by my wife! Except for Old Mac haha.

 

I have a ton on my phone but not nearly as good.

Edited October 8, 2020 by Lefty_89

[Lefty_89]

2 hours ago, RainShadow said:

Pics of wife aren't loading!  

Great write up and beautiful pics. 

Can't wait for my turn to go.

Private collection 😉

[geochitown]

Did you read Dream Golf at all before going?

 

I haven't been to Bandon, but am on the last chapters of the book.

They added write-ups on Bandon Trails and Old Macdonald.

 

I've really enjoyed the book so far and it's got me wanting to go to Oregon.

[MongoSmash]

Great write-up and pics. I have SR as my Fav as well. The views are just stunning. There are great risk reward holes. And if the wind is up, you better be able to golf your ball. 
 

im with you on having Pac low. It is a gut punch from the get-go. First 3 holes into a 30 mph wind was tough for this 13cap. 😕

id like to try it again in calmer winds. 

[Lefty_89]

16 hours ago, geochitown said:

Did you read Dream Golf at all before going?

 

I haven't been to Bandon, but am on the last chapters of the book.

They added write-ups on Bandon Trails and Old Macdonald.

 

I've really enjoyed the book so far and it's got me wanting to go to Oregon.

I literally finished up reading it while on the flight over, haha.

 

As if I wasn't already excited prior, having knowledge about the history and different parts of the courses made the trip even more memorable!

[Lefty_89]

11 hours ago, MongoSmash said:

Great write-up and pics. I have SR as my Fav as well. The views are just stunning. There are great risk reward holes. And if the wind is up, you better be able to golf your ball. 
 

im with you on having Pac low. It is a gut punch from the get-go. First 3 holes into a 30 mph wind was tough for this 13cap. 😕

id like to try it again in calmer winds. 

Honestly the more I keep thinking about it...Bandon Dunes might be my favorite now 😉 with Sheep and Trails a very close second.

 

I've got to get back there soon to see if my rankings change!

 

And agreed on Pac - visually stunning, but dreadful to play on a breezy day! Especially if you aren't hitting it well 😞

[spud3]

PD is definitely the most exacting course, for me.  Being just a little out of position can cause some major calamities on the scorecard.  And when the wind is up, it is even more difficult to put your ball in the proper spot.  You have to pay attention on pretty much every shot, every hole.

 

Trails is similar, as far as scoring, but generally more forgiving.  Unless you get off the fairway, then you can rack up strokes quickly.  Not a lot of playable lies in that underbrush.

[mci711]

Nice recap! My wife and I booked this morning between Christmas and New Years. I've been before, it is her first time. Last time I went I was unable to play Old Mac. We only have time to play 4 rounds when we go, I am thinking about skipping Old Mac again because I don't want her to have to skip out on PD, BD, SR or PT... That has to be the right move? Currently we have those 4 booked. I guess I'll have to make a 3rd trip for OM. 

 

We were at Sand Valley this past weekend and they also had the energy balls and agree on the endorsement!

 

Thanks again, I love posts like this. 

[Lefty_89]

2 hours ago, mci711 said:

Nice recap! My wife and I booked this morning between Christmas and New Years. I've been before, it is her first time. Last time I went I was unable to play Old Mac. We only have time to play 4 rounds when we go, I am thinking about skipping Old Mac again because I don't want her to have to skip out on PD, BD, SR or PT... That has to be the right move? Currently we have those 4 booked. I guess I'll have to make a 3rd trip for OM. 

 

We were at Sand Valley this past weekend and they also had the energy balls and agree on the endorsement!

 

Thanks again, I love posts like this. 

Y'all will have a blast!! Fingers crossed the weather is perfect and holds up!

 

I'll be honest and say after playing each of the courses, I was really glad that the one course my wife sat out was OM. I feel like if Old Mac was the first course I had played during the stay, she would have probably thought differently, but coming off the high of being on Bandon Dunes the day prior, she probably would have been "let down". Don't get me wrong, Old Mac is great and I love many holes on it, but just rated on views and layout, I feel like my wife would have been liked OM the least.

 

Certainly don't want to influence your decision, but I would pass on OM if I only had time for 4 rounds.

 

I am hoping on planning a trip to Sand Valley around May or June!

[dcmidnight]

On 10/7/2020 at 11:30 AM, beckjg135 said:

but im almost tempted to bring my sta-dry bag instead

 

Just got back from 5 days and I'll say this - if it rains-rains, a waterproof bag wont do crap. And our caddie agreed. If you get a monsoon wave (ours lasted 4-5 holes) that water is getting in no matter what.

 

Awesome trip report OP, thanks for taking the time. I ranked Old Mac at the bottom as well, if for no other reason than I found the yardages odd. We played 36x4 days and stuck to the green tees, which are generally around 6200 yards. Old Mac breaks that out to 2800/3500 yards. The back is a par 37 but I found it to be a brute, for people that pick 6200 yard tee boxes, they probably dont play a lot of 9s that are 3500 yards. Just my opinion.

 

[mallrat]

OM is weird to me, nothing stands out as best on property or most memorable; aside from the ghost tree and creating that ridge. In fact the first couple time I played I struggled to remember which holes were which BUT, I always have a fun time on OM. Not sure why but it always works out to be the funnest round of my trips (12 so far I think, might be 1 or 2 more).  

[gambit]

On 10/6/2020 at 6:10 PM, toddnt said:

Book your dining reservations now... They are filling up! One of the nights Ill be up there all restaurants were booked, Ill be doing take out that night!

Go to the bar...you can order off the same menu as the lodge restaurant I think...whichever is the nicest one there.

[dcmidnight]

Take out worked great, we did that a couple nights. McKees also does delivery.

[jjr]

Thank you for the wonderful write up and pic's, memories of my post Covid trip in early Feb. I didn't get to play Sheep but my rankings are the same as yours, I guess I need to get back soon.

[toddnt]

Keep coming back to this... 48 hours til lift off!!!   Gonna buy a box of this protein thingy's!!!!!!

[Lefty_89]

On 10/17/2020 at 12:36 PM, toddnt said:

Keep coming back to this... 48 hours til lift off!!!   Gonna buy a box of this protein thingy's!!!!!!

Have a great trip and make sure to share how it went with the rest of us!!