Father Son Bandon Trip

[spud3]

On 12/21/2021 at 5:30 AM, The Pearl said:

Do not sacrifice a course to save money.  Bag the caddies to save money.  Bag the Preserve.  I would never play  the Preserve over any of the regular courses.

 

YOU HAVE to schedule 36 a day. Do Not only schedule 18.  That is a rookie mistake.  You are not required to play or pay for the second round of the day, you can cancel that if you are fried.   YOU DO NOT WANT to sit around while it is nice out because you got rained out or did not schedule an afternoon round. 

 

The reason you schedule 36 is for ultimate flexibility due to weather and rest. Since he has a whole year to prep, have your Dad get in shape.  You are likely to get a rainout along the way. Pretty rare in shoulder season to get in 3 or 4 straight days of 36 holes in good weather. 

 

Schedule all the courses. With a twosome, you probably will have some flexibility to adjust the schedule. 

 

Stay downtown a night or two to save money at the beginning or end of the trip. Don't stay on the property when you don't have to, only for the days required to secure tee times.  Fly in Day, stay downtown. You can still use the facilities.  Last day of golf, check out, play your rounds, stay down town or wherever. Fly out the next day.  It is a bit of a logistical pain, but it saves two nights of lodging.

 

IN GENERAL, Old Mac is the least popular course. It is the biggest "hit or miss" on the property.  Some love it, some are not impressed.  It is the course that you are most likely to be able to hop on with a schedule change.  My group has dropped it from the rotation.  

 

Pacific and Bandon are of course must plays. Many think Trails is the best course on the property.  I would never skip it, ever. 

 

If you are staying 4 golf days, you simply schedule each course and go from there.

 

Also, YOU DON'T have to play all 18 on your second round of the day.  There are loops on Pacific Dunes, Old Mac, and Bandon comes back to the clubhouse at the 9th.  You can play the 1st 11 or 13 holes at the SR and it comes right back to the clubhouse. 

Everything in Pearl's post is spot on.

 

[I3erto]

if you are trying to save money..  3rd round on the day is free 🙂

 

also bandon crossings in town is a fun course that is much cheaper if you are looking to add other courses..

 

definitely play all the courses..  who knows if you will ever be back, right?  much cheaper to add a course when you are already there than it is to try to get back there..

 

if you have never been and don't get a caddie..  make sure you get a yardage book for the courses when you check in..  if you end up on a foggy/rain/weather day you can easily get lost on some of the courses

 

have fun..  eat meatloaf at mckees..  pack extra socks and extra shoes..

 

 

 

Cheers! 

Edited January 11, 2022 by I3erto

[Slippin_Jimmy]

Home Run advice from The Pearl.  Agree with everything he said.  My biggest Bandon regrets have been playing The Preserve when I could have played another round at one of the big courses instead.  Even a short loop would be preferred, I'd take the BD Front 9 (or any of the other great short loop options) over Preserve any day.

[mattchen8]

Any chance you or your father served in the military or reserves?  I just went in September with my father and one of the guys we were paired with told us about the military discount (I can't remember exactly how much but quite a substantial discount).  When I booked the rounds I was not told about it so it was a nice little surprise that made up for the damage we did in the pro shops.  

 

On our last day we were not able to get caddies for Pac Dunes which wasn't really a problem as the course is a pretty easy walk.  Our playing partners had a caddie who we were able to ask for advice on strategy and lines.  We gave him a tip at the end so he was compensated for his advice and helped us enjoy our round.

 

One other thing to do on the day you get there is to walk the ridge trail that starts from in front of the Bandon clubhouse and goes over to Pacific, it gives you a nice vista and view of some of the holes.    

[david.c.w]

I will give you my thoughts as someone who went to Bandon for the first time this October and played all 5 courses but did not play Preserve or Punchbowl.

 

Note #1:  Talking about Bandon courses is like talking politics and religion.  Everyone has an opinion, nobody is right, and everyone gets mad.

 

First of all, this is a bucket list trip.  Do everything you can to not do this on a strict budget.  If you have to eat ramen for a month to make it work, do it.  Stay on site, get caddies.  If you play a round and it is foggy and you have literally no idea where to hit the ball, you will be pissed you did not get a caddy.  Relevant pic below.  I can understand if this is your 5th time there you can skimp, but don't skimp on the first trip.  

 

We were there for 3 days.  

• OM
• PD, BD
• BT, SR

I loved Old Mac.  Read one book on golf architecture and you will enjoy it.  It will greater your appreciation for courses you play later in life.  I think it was my favorite

 

Note #2 (this comment will get me flamed):  Playing PD and BD on the same day is not a good idea.  Outside of some of the holes right on the cliffs, the courses blended together for me and I don't remember them that much.  I can tell PD was done by Doak based on the bunkers, but other than that, my recollection is not that great.  I am sure that if I went back I would recognize, but I cant lay in bed and recount the round.  (Great shame, tail between legs)

 

BT and SR are both great.  BT has many many memorable holes, even though it is not on the water.  Personally I loved SR, but I know it is lower on some people's list.  

 

At the end of the day, if this is a bucket list for you and your dad, don't skimp if at all possible.

 

Edit:  My caddie was Belos.  That is him below trying to show me where the green is.  Best caddy I have ever had.  Amazing attitude and knowledge.

 

 

 

Edited January 13, 2022 by david.c.w

[HackerDave]

Good post Dave.   We were there in Oct as well for the first time ever for all of us.  Loved having a caddy and was a bit disappointed that they didnt have enough.  Crazy times in golf.   We played BD first upon arrival and I really wish I had played it twice.  PD and SR were my favorites.   Caddy (Ron - good guy) steered us right and suggested we play SR from the back because our weather was spectacular.  It would have been really short had we played one tee up, but that is based on the weather.

 

OM is pretty awesome.  For several of our guys, it was the hands down favorite.   PT reminded me of Northern Michigan golf yet it was....I don't know...different.   Fun track.  I had no idea what to expect and after playing I still don't know if I loved it.   

 

The Preserve is just a fun event.  We had all 8 guys on the tee, drinks flowing and the course itself is pretty incredible.   Now, having said that, I believe that once is enough per visit.  We played it twice and I would have MUCH preferred to have played 36 (or as many as you can get in) on "the big courses".

 

One of the things to keep in mind is the labor shortage.  This can impact you when you go out for breakfast.   I normally eat in my condo but our guys loved eating out.  Well, we thought we had PLENTY of time...until we didn't.  Then we found ourselves rushing at the range so we could get to the tee.   Add time for dining...it's going to be slower than you think.   I don't blame them, but you just have to be prepared.   

[carrera]

Great advice in this thread.  I've been three times in the last two years.  If it is a one time only trip for your dad, try to play all the courses.  Pearl's advice about booking a second round each day is good - you will have the option to play, if you want.  On one of my trips with three other mid-50s guys, after we had a wet/windy morning round (we played SR the same day as that "infamous" video on IG of wind/rain gusts) we just played cards and drank cocktails in our room that afternoon.  But it was nice to know that we could have played Trails if we wanted.

 

Stockpile your $$$ between now and then, and try to go all-in with caddies (they are expensive, but for a bucket list trip they are great to have) and if you go with just your dad, look forward to potentially getting paired up with great people along the way.

Edited January 21, 2022 by carrera