Bandon tee question

[kermitm]

Hello golfwrxers

 

I have approximately 77 days until my first Bandon trip and I am researching everything possible as I am super excited. We have 8 guys going that range in age from 30 to 45 and are going to play every course twice. My question has to do with which tees to play? The handicaps are as follows; three at zero, one at 2, three at 7 and one at 12. Do you think we will be okay playing the black tees? Any thoughts are greatly appreciated. Kermitm

[ryu123]

when I was playing the Bandon courses almost annually between 2001 - 2014, I was a 5 index.

 

I usually played the green tees. Some of the par 4s are stout, such as Old Macdonald's 500 yd 4th hole. A few tee shots are blind, & not knowing the optimal line may cause some problems. After all, golf is supposed to be fun.

 

Suggestion: play the greens the first round, & if most of your group are close to par then go to the blacks for the next round. (If you're at the black tees with caddies, ask them to show you the 'hidden' tees on some holes, like the 1st & 18th at Pacific, or the 6th & 17th at Bandon.)

[spud3]

+1

 

Start on the green tees, move back as the wind allows. Part of the cool thing about the courses there is deciding whether to hit driver off the tee. Often times, it is not the wise choice.

[OregonHack]

Wind is the key. If it is blowing, and it likely will, play the greens and have fun.

[Edaw68]

Agree with the rest, stick with the greens. The low singles can probably handle the black tees, but why bother? If the first couple rounds are too easy, no problem moving back. But when the wind is up unless you have people that legitimately average 280+ off the tee (not every once in a while) the green tees are fun.

[ferrispgm]

Greens are good if you want a fun round and if you are playing money games as there are several drive-able par 4s and short par 5s that play downwind. Even that 500 yard par 4 plays down wind in the prevailing wind. That being said....If you are not on your game, it's easy to make big numbers there, especially if you aren't used to the conditions. Just being a yard off on a shot can really penalize you.

 

But if your group is a bunch of big hitters and if you are there to really test your game....black. Just be aware that the yardage is pretty much irrelevant there as the conditions dictate how the course plays.

[hbrar99]

I go often with different groups and have a similar situation. My last trip was with a +3, a 0, 5 and myself at a 10. The 5 was the shortest off the tee. We had perfect weather, hi 60's and practically no wind. The green tee's played a bit easy for 2 low guys. That being said, that was the only time in 8 trips I have seen no wind. I've been with the same group when we played the tips at Bandon Dunes and no one had fun. Our +3 had the low round of the day at 82. Like others have said, the wind will be the biggest factor.

 

Good luck, have fun and enjoy the memories.