Bandon trip report - 12/13/23

[spud3]

Mrs Spud went on a girls retreat, so that means I get to head down here for a quick couple days.  And boy howdy, did I hit the weather jackpot.  Just arrived this afternoon and will be here for two days of 36 holes (plus 9 this afternoon), and the forecast is nothing short of spectacular.  Very little wind, a few high clouds and no chance of frost delays.  Hoo rah!

 

Popped in to Tony's for a quick lunch before heading to the resort.  I'm staying in a Lily Pond room (all they had), and it's my first time in one of these units.  Nice enough, the recent remodeling seems to have restored them to their original splendor.  Just wish they'd get on with updating the Lodge rooms.  Only things I don't like about Lily Pond are:

1. Parking is across the street in the lots for the Inn.  Minor inconvenience

2. A little farther hike to McKee's.  Also minor, but there it is.

 

Took a stop coming back from lunch, I couldn't help but explore the new Shorty's area.  They've cut a nice new road right off the main drive just south of where Trails #3 crosses the road.  It's not just a rough lane for the construction gear.  It's a nicely graded road with a circular driveway at the top.  See photos.  You can see a few of the holes from the top, and it looks like they are growing in nicely.  Also see photos.  I'll grill some of the staff about opening dates tomorrow.

 

The restaurant in the Lodge (previous home of the the Forge) and the Tufted Puffin are both closed for renovations.  Breakfast buffet is currently being housed in the upstairs of McKee's.  I had dinner there and can't help but notice how the menu keeps shrinking.  Tried the Popper burger for the first time and it was ok.  Running out of things to try there, but I do like the Sheep Ranch Lager quite a bit.

 

Played the front 9 at the main course, since only recently learning about the 9-hole rate ($75, only on BD), and the course is generally in good shape, especially considering the massive amounts of rain they got here last week.  The greens on BD are still healing from what looks like a pretty heavy aeration.  they were probably about 80% - need another week or so and they should be great.  Quite soft, though, and my playing partner said they were the most solid of all the courses he'd played over the last few days.  Walking around on the practice green, IO could feel the putting surface give a little with each step, and I don't recall ever having that sensation here.  I can only surmise that the huge rainstorms last week really took their toll.

 

All in all, a nice afternoon 9 on one of my favorite sections of holes on the whole resort.  Birdied #3 and #5, and a had nice par save on #4.  Tomorrow is BT at 7:30 (first group out) and PD at 1.  Hoping the extra dry day will firm up the greens a bit.  Forecast is for 60 degrees both Friday and Saturday, then the rain returns for Sunday (but I'll be back in PDX by then).  More tomorrow.

 

 

[graveydellic]

Shorty's looks awesome.  

 

I'm jealous of the forecast, I get to the resort tomorrow evening and am playing Sunday/Monday.  After what appears to be an all time good weather month there, I'll be just in time for standard December rain and wind.  

 

On McKee's, I think they should do an entire reboot of the menu.  Seems to be a bit stale at this point and nothing really jumps off the page.  

[spud3]

Sunday's forecast is looking better.  Monday and Tuesday, not so much, but if you are staying long enough, things look better starting Wednesday.  Completely agree on the need for a reboot on the entire McKee's menu.  That said, I did have one of the pizzas tonight for the first time, and I was actually pretty impressed.

 

Today was one of those days that you dream about in December.  Kinda cool to start the morning, but quickly warmed up once the sun got up a bit.  Just some high clouds to keep the sun from being too intense, the afternoon probably bumped into the low 60's, and hardly a breath of wind all day.

 

Trails this morning, first group out, so we got around in just under 4 hours.  I played better than usual, lots of pars and a very satisfying birdie on the Beast 16.  Greens have been punched recently, with quite a few of the scars that look like blades were used, rather than plugs.  They were still pretty quick, and the aeration only had a mild effect on putts.  Really nice round.

 

Quick change at the room between rounds and a grilled cheese sandwich at Pacific Grill (add bacon for a reasonable facsimile of the previous incarnation of the grilled cheese).  I was scheduled to go off at 1, but the tee sheet was open, so I was able to head out on my own about 12:30.  Nothing is better than playing one of the top courses in the world all by yerself on a bluebird day and not keeping score.  Greens were perfect, by far the best I've seen this trip.  Birdied 5 and 7(!) and parred quite a few.  Dropped some extra balls at some favorite places and generally enjoyed the s**t out of the afternoon.  Cruised into 18 green just as the light was really starting to wane.  Days just don't get much better than this...

 

I have made the transition to playing the gold tees, and am at peace with this decision.  Father Time indeed remains undefeated, and it's just so nice to be hitting primarily mid and short irons into greens rather than long irons and hybrids.  The past couple years, I've been playing a mix of greens and golds (anything over 400 yds I was playing from the gold tees), but both rounds today were all gold tees, and so much more enjoyable.  I was never a long hitter, even in my youth, but having a 6000 yd limit makes more sense every round.  There's still a couple times when I really catch a driver solid and I can get into some trouble, but for the most part, it's the right thing to do.

 

A couple comments about the experience:

1. With the Lodge restaurants closed, Trails only doing breakfast and lunch and the shrinking menus at McKee's and PD, they are in a place with food service that is beginning to kind of suck.  If you don't want to spend $20+ for the breakfast buffet, you have to hunt for one of the grab-n-go sandwiches or drive to one of the other spots.  Pretty annoying, TBH.  I realize this won't last forever, but still...

2. Lily Pond rooms are nice, but the location leaves something to be desired.  It's just long enough of a walk to McKee's to make me want to drive after 36 holes.  

3. As mentioned above, I think it's time for a full renovation of the McKee's menu.

4. Both courses today had a lot of back pins.  Not a fan.

 

SR at 7:30 and BD at 1 tomorrow.  I'll post a final update Sunday (after the sauna/steam room session back home).

 

 

[SteelieD]

Thanks for report and the food options update. Heading up (from No CA) on Tuesday and playing W, Th, Fri. Weather looks promising! 
 

Quick question… only have 8:30am at Pacific scheduled for Thursday. Sounds like an afternoon round is pretty doable. Should I call ahead for a time or play it by ear? Thinking BD.  
 

 

[spud3]

As long as you're not counting on finishing all 18, probably not a requirement to schedule something for the afternoons.  With an 8:30 start for round 1, it's unlikely you'll finish that round in time to get a full 18 in the afternoon.  Especially if you want to stop and have any kind of lunch that isn't just slamming a dog or knocking down a few protein balls.  You're really at the mercy of the first few groups, and if they aren't getting around quickly, the whole day can really drag. 

 

Keep in mind that there's a bunch of short loops on each of the courses (there's a whole thread about that on this NW forum), so check in with the pro shop when you finish round 1 and find out which course has the most open tee sheet for the afternoon.

[SteelieD]

Thanks. Appreciate it!
 

Should have clarified… was thinking BD for 9+ holes. Sounds like it won’t be an issue. 
 

Glad you had a great trip! 
 

 

[BG5]

Spud,

 

You are my hero and I am so happy you are getting fantastic weather.  I think the gamble to go to Bandon in December or January is 100% worth it.  There is always a chance of rain but to hit days like Spud is and playing 36 holes for $160 is just insane.  Even if it rains most days you will at least find a gap to play some golf.

 

They better not get rid of the meatloaf off the menu....that stuff was amazing.  

 

How does the worker situation seem out there?  I currently work at a top 100 public course and have had so much fun I was planning to move to Bandon for a year when I retire and work at the resort in the guest services department.  THey are always posting jobs and from what I have found there is pretty much no limit on how much free golf you can get as long as you find openings.  They said between 11:00-12:00 there are usually openings so tell us if it appears they are in need of workers.  I have already started looking at housing out there

[spud3]

What a day.  What a weekend.  Just got home about an hour ago and I'm still pretty jacked up from the drive, so thought I'd go ahead and post a final update.  

 

Today was another spectacular weather day.  Carbon copy of yesterday.  A little more wind as we teed off at first light on SR, but by the fourth hole, the sun had come up and the wind died down and there was nothing but blue skies and some light mist very late in the day.

 

SR played very nicely.  The greens were still not completely filled in, but rolled very true and were easily the fastest I played all weekend.  Views of the coast remain truly spectacular.  SR is the closest thing to a Resort Course here.  Not super hard (as long as the wind is reasonable), not very long, and lots of good birdie opportunities.  Played with a couple of old high school buddies and a guy whose 10 year old was 'caddying' for him (which mainly meant pulling the Riksha for dad, though this little guy was making club suggestions and reading greens really well, and keeping up on the mental game.  I see a future as a PGA tour caddy).  We discovered a little ways into the round that we were also scheduled to play BD in the afternoon together.  I've found that to be a common occurrence when I go as a single.  I played pretty well, considering I had no warm-up/range time due to the 0-dark-30 tee time.  I ignored the first tee shot that went boldly into the trees left of the first tee...

 

Lunch was the superb pastrami hoagie at the SR clubhouse on the patio in the sunshine.  Note: the snack bar at SR doesn't open until 7, which makes for a bit of a rushed breakfast if you're on the tee at 7:30.  And the ham breakfast sandwich is easily enough for two.

 

Changed shoes at the Lodge and had a few minutes to sit on the patio before the 1 PM tee time on BD.  I had zero expectations that we would make all 18 holes, but as luck would have it, we got to 16 green just as the sun went behind the clouds lining the horizon (yes, that's my actual drive in the photo, right beside the bunker near the green.  Other photo is looking toward the tee from the back of BD #5 green).  Greens were much improved over Thursday.  Apparently, they just needed a couple days to drain and they were rolling nicely (photo below with the flagstick is SR.  The other is BD).

 

We were coming in on 18 when it really started to get dark, and the last couple shots were not seen until we were right on top of them.  Classic under-the-wire round.  I gave the young man a ball marker from Pinehurst #8 that I had in my bag, and told him that I knew lots of adults who couldn't hang for 36 holes without some whining.  Really nice kid.

 

Another winter session in the books, and it couldn't have gone any better.  Weather was perfect, scored well (had at least one birdie in every round), and just simply enjoyed myself immensely.  Hope that everyone who's coming over the next few weeks gets at least a couple days like these.

 

Now for some real rest and a meltdown in the sauna/stem room tomorrow...

 

 

[spud3]

18 hours ago, BG5 said:

Spud,

 

You are my hero and I am so happy you are getting fantastic weather.  I think the gamble to go to Bandon in December or January is 100% worth it.  There is always a chance of rain but to hit days like Spud is and playing 36 holes for $160 is just insane.  Even if it rains most days you will at least find a gap to play some golf.

 

They better not get rid of the meatloaf off the menu....that stuff was amazing.  

 

How does the worker situation seem out there?  I currently work at a top 100 public course and have had so much fun I was planning to move to Bandon for a year when I retire and work at the resort in the guest services department.  THey are always posting jobs and from what I have found there is pretty much no limit on how much free golf you can get as long as you find openings.  They said between 11:00-12:00 there are usually openings so tell us if it appears they are in need of workers.  I have already started looking at housing out there

It looked to me like they were very well staffed, both in the restaurants and in the clubhouses.  Never felt like there was anyone missing when I checked in or had any dealings with the staff.   Customer service was top-notch, as always.  There were at least three servers in McKee's both nights, as well as hosts/runners that kept things moving well.  With the Lodge restaurants closed, they are down a couple big food-service locations, so not a surprise that they are making the effort to keep things rolling.

 

As for tee times, there seems to always be a lull around 11 (especially in the off-season), then a bunch of groups that head out between 12 and 1 with the hope of getting a full round in.  When I've gone out around 2-3PM to get in some short loops, there's usually no one out there.  I had PD completely to myself when I started at 12:35, and was able to just squeak in the full 18 as it was getting dark.  BD today was a lot more of a challenge.  It just depends on how things are moving ahead of you.  But if you're not expecting to get the full 18 in, it doesn't really matter much.

[spud3]

One more thing:  they are officially booking rounds on the new Shorty's for July, but the hope is that they will be able to open in late May.  Just depends on how the turf grows in.  One of the starters said they let some of the staff play a few holes recently.  Reviews were (not surprisingly) stellar...