Another Bandon Trip Recap 4/28-5/1 2021

[blink3665]

I know this sub has been inundated with Bandon threads. But this is my trip, there are many like it, but this one is mine.

 

My writing style isn’t for everyone, and this post has gotten a lot longer than I intended. TLDR: Bandon is fun. You should go.

 

I went with a group of 5 other guys. We have been planning this trip for a year and a half. It was a celebration of a few of us hitting 40 years old. I’ve been looking forward to this trip since the day we booked it. The anticipation just grew on a daily basis. By the last few days prior to going, I was basically frothing at the mouth. I had all my clothes packed 5 days in advance. List upon list upon list of items to be packed and repacked.

 

There is lots of info about what you should bring. Here are a few reminders from my trip.

• Plan for rain, even if it doesn’t say there will be any.
• If you are playing multiple rounds in a day, have a fresh set of socks at least. I went with a whole new fit for each round including hats, socks, underwear, and shoes.
• Make sure your shoes are very comfortable.
• If you’re playing more than you normally would, be in golf shape. Be ready to walk 7+ miles per course. Some have more elevation than others. Be as fit as you can, to swing a club over 36+ holes per day.
• Have an itinerary of what you want to make sure you do. I missed out on the Labyrinth and the Punchbowl because we didn’t prioritize them. I wish we had.
• Water stations and snack shacks are common on each course. Make sure to eat enough and to stay hydrated.
• Stay out of the gorse. It hurts.
• Try the Bandon Pale.
• When you order a shuttle, be ready to leave. The max time we waited for a shuttle was 5 minutes, and most of the time it was sub 3 minutes.
• Sheep Ranch is still quite a ways after you pass Old Mac. There is a range at Sheep Ranch. Make sure that you plan accordingly.

I’m sure I’m missing a ton. I’ll attempt to add more as I think of them.

 

Day 1: SEATAC > Eugene > Bandon – The Bandon Preserve

We flew into Eugene and got our rental cars. Eugene is a tiny airport. We got our luggage within 5 minutes of waiting, and were in our rentals within 20 minutes of landing. The road from Eugene to Bandon is littered with DQs. I don’t know what it was, but it seemed that they don’t believe in any other fast food chains except Dairy Queen. When we got checked into the Lily Pond. Our room was the biggest out of the 3, so that became the communal room. I don’t know what the other places are like, but the Lily Pond rooms are well furnished and a nice place to rest.

 

We headed up the road to The Bandon Preserve and got our first taste of the gorgeous courses and views. The Preserve is a lot of fun, especially playing as a 6some. It was a good way to knock off any travel rust. That being said, I felt that it was not an accurate representation of what we would be facing over the next few days. As a buddy of mine says, it was ‘target golf’. I played it like I would normally play a parkland par 3. I didn’t hit many knockdowns or long bump and runs. I had a few putts from off the green that I wouldn’t attempt at a non links course, but that was it. It was still fun, and I’d do it again, but I wouldn’t look to it as a way to truly prep for the rest of the courses at Bandon.

 

That night the crew rolled into Downtown Bandon. We stopped at the Beverage Barn to grab some booze, and then ate at La Fiesta Mexican Restaurant. If youre looking for super cheap Mexican food, this is your place. Outdoor dining was available, which was welcome due to COVID. Many of the other places that we walked by, or looked into, had indoor seating that was not distanced, and frankly seemed over crowded if there weren’t a pandemic. After dinner it was back to the rooms for a nightcap.

 

Day 2: Bandon Dunes and Bandon Trails

I woke up at 4:30. I couldn’t help it. Like a kid on Christmas morning. We ate at the Main Lodge and then hit up the Practice Center. Bandon Dunes is all about golfer enjoyment. The service at any of the clubhouses and restaurants is top notch. You can tell they put an emphasis on making sure their guests are having the time of their lives.

 

I think a story that really showcases their customer service: I was at the practice facility 1 morning. They have these big boxes that they constantly stock with balls. The only problem is that you have to pull the balls out of the top of the box by hand, so although it sounds fine, it’s just a little annoying. I would grab handfuls of balls so I could try to keep a rhythm. Anyway, one morning, there was a space where someone had put the box on its side and all the balls were spilling out. I used that bay, and then as I was leaving, an attendant came by. She dutifully picked up the remaining balls and set the box back upright. I told her I hadn’t knocked over the box (I didn’t want her side eyeing me). Her response, "No problem. If you want to knock over the box every day, you do that. If you want to throw the balls down the range instead of hitting them? You do that. You do what you want to here at Bandon. We hope you enjoy every minute of it."

 

8:10 tee time at Bandon Dunes and we were off. We were constantly split into 2 groups of 3. This was the first and only time that we went off as a 3some. Every round after that we were paired with a single. I won’t rehash every shot of every hole. But there are a few that stand out. First, I hit a decent drive off the 1^st tee. That was nice to get out of the way. Second, I made a quintuple bogey on #3 (the first p5). My 2^nd shot went into a fairway trap. Went from that trap to a greenside trap. Then I proceeded to hit the ball 4 more times to get out of that sand. I am normally a decent sand player. NOT HERE. I finally figured out that the sand is to deep and powdery, that I had to twist my feet in about 5-6 times before I hit anything that resembled a decent footing. Par’d the famous 12^th hole. 17 is the hole that you hit over a ravine to the green. I attempted to hit the left side of the green and ended up fanning it into the hazard. Lucky me, I was about 4 yards from the hazard line, and 1 yard from going over the edge.

 

2:10 tee time at Bandon Trails. We rushed back to the rooms, changed, and got up to the clubhouse. We grabbed some to-go sandwiches and a few beers. Trails is a fun course. I don’t have a ton to share other than to hit it left on #14 off the tee. Otherwise you’re in for a real treat. We ate at Trails End. I enjoyed the Asian cuisine. The poke was ok, the potstickers were delicious. Off to the rooms for more drinks, and hopefully a good nights rest.

 

Day 3: Pacific Dunes and Old Macdonald

Restless sleep until the alarm went off. Skipped the sit down breakfast in the Lodge and just got a breakfast burrito. We got paired with a fun single and his caddy. I have never had a caddy in my life. Caddies aren’t a necessity, but they sure make the game easier. Especially on a course you’ve never played, with some blind shots. I never asked the caddy for advice, but he was still more than willing to give it to everyone. If you don’t take a caddy, and end up paired with someone who has… tip the caddy. They may not be carrying your clubs, but they sure do end up being helpful. Pacific Dunes was hard, and I made it even harder. It was the highest that I shot on the trip.

Pac Dunes was also the longest round. It took so long that we had to jet to the rooms, change, and then shuttle right back out to Old Mac. The night forecast was for rain, but it wasn’t supposed to be wet in the afternoon. I left my goretex and rain gloves in the room. In fact, I even wore shorts because Pac Dunes had been so hot. MISTAKES WERE MADE. Right after birdieing the Ghost Tree hole (#3), the fog started to roll in. Mostly just fog from #4 until around #12. Then the rain started. To be honest, I was happy that it rained. I was getting the full Bandon experience. It wasn’t cold, there wasn’t any wind, just rain.

That night we ate at McKees. To be more accurate, we were in the St. Andrews room. Meatloaf was recommended on GolfWRX and the brisket burger was recommended by our shuttle driver. What’s a boy to do?!?! Order both and split em. IMHO, the brisket burger is better than the meatloaf.

 

Day 4: Sheep Ranch > Eugene > SEATAC

We woke up later, and spent quite a bit of time packing. We stopped by the practice center, to learn that there is a driving range at Sheep Ranch. Oops. Sheep Ranch is definitely less mature than the other courses. The greens had also just been punched. That being said, the views are obscene. There are some terrifying holes where the greens just seem to keep going into the ocean. You feel that if you were to hit the ball just a tad too far, you’d end up on the literal beach. If you get a chance, when you walk off the 16^th green, look to the left. There is a small patch of fairway grass where they will be putting the championship tees. I was told that it’s a 280 yard carry from those tees, over the gorse and beach, back to dry land. You can cut it shorter, but the route that you can visibly see, is 280. Forget that.

 

This was the trip of a lifetime. I was on the GolfWRX #TwistFaceExperience trip. That was a nerdy tech golf trip of a lifetime. This was a pure golf enthusiast’s trip of a lifetime. As we talk more about the trip as a memory instead of as something we are planning, or as something that is happening real time, I get this longing to go back. I don’t know when I’ll go back, but I know that I will.

 

If you have any questions, hit me up!

Edited May 4, 2021 by blink3665

[Slippin_Jimmy]

Great writeup, you had my attention at the Full Metal Jacket reference.  Glad you and your buddies had an amazing trip, you'll be back to hit up the Punchbowl & Labyrinth.  Full disclosure: I've been to Bandon several times and have never visited the Labyrinth.  Maybe it's amazing, but I feel like it's daylight that could be spent playing golf.

 

Have had similar interactions with the staff over the years, everyone there wants to make sure you and your group are having an awesome time.

[spud3]

Good write-up!

 

One thing:  there's a little slide-up door on the bottom of those range boxes that you move up and the balls come out the slot...  🙂

[ryu123]

 Hugely entertaining review.  Great writing style.  If you think of anything else, post it.

[blink3665]

2 hours ago, Slippin_Jimmy said:

Great writeup, you had my attention at the Full Metal Jacket reference.  Glad you and your buddies had an amazing trip, you'll be back to hit up the Punchbowl & Labyrinth.  Full disclosure: I've been to Bandon several times and have never visited the Labyrinth.  Maybe it's amazing, but I feel like it's daylight that could be spent playing golf.

 

Have had similar interactions with the staff over the years, everyone there wants to make sure you and your group are having an awesome time.

 

That's kinda how I feel. That first night the majority of the group wanted to go to downtown Bandon, there were two of us that were thinking about using that time for the PunchBowl and the labyrinth. I think I made the wrong choice. Oh well, like you said, there's always next time.

 

1 hour ago, spud3 said:

Good write-up!

 

One thing:  there's a little slide-up door on the bottom of those range boxes that you move up and the balls come out the slot...  🙂

 

NO WAY! That would have been good to know. As you can see, I normally go to places where I have to deposit a little token into a machine to fill my own bucket. LOL.

 

[spud3]

Yeah, it's not real obvious.  They used to have the little pyramids of balls, but I think it's much more labor-intensive to keep those up and looking neat, so they went with the boxes.  The trap door isn't quite big enough to let balls flow freely, so it's kind of frustrating if you want to hit more than a dozen or so.

 

Actually, the last couple times I've been there, they've also had big baskets of balls out along the line. 

 

And the little range out by SR is a really nice addition.  Saves some time and shuttle/car driving

[blink3665]

15 hours ago, spud3 said:

Yeah, it's not real obvious.  They used to have the little pyramids of balls, but I think it's much more labor-intensive to keep those up and looking neat, so they went with the boxes.  The trap door isn't quite big enough to let balls flow freely, so it's kind of frustrating if you want to hit more than a dozen or so.

 

Actually, the last couple times I've been there, they've also had big baskets of balls out along the line. 

 

And the little range out by SR is a really nice addition.  Saves some time and shuttle/car driving

 

That's a good call out that I'll add to the main post. I was unaware that there is a range up at Sheep Ranch. That caused a little consternation with our group when some of us stopped at the PC, and others just went to SR.