DMK changing holes at Bandon Dunes

[duffer987]

So Bandonistas, what do you think: https://www.bandondunesgolf.com/blog/changes-bandon-dunes-interview-david-mclay-kidd

 

On first blush...

#11 seems a good one. Unless it was downwind where you could carry all 3 bunkers, there really was no point to go left. Now it looks like there's a spot to slot in a driver when the wind is reversed. Like it!

 

#15 not so much. I liked it as it was. That was a strong hole and not everything needs to be easy. Hitting a solid mid iron and sticking that green was a Bandon-round highlight.

Just looks like he created a massive bail out area to the left.

 

#17 another not so much. Taking on that gaggle of bunkers and driving it between them and the gulley was good fun. Or playing it safe, laying back off the gulley and having a longer shot in over it. Seems to remove the choice now. Just leave it short of the right-most bunker. No carry, mid iron.

[spud3]

That's a good interview with DMK. Edaw68 and I were discussing this last week, and we both feel better knowing that the changes were coming from DMK and not the USGA.

 

I respect the right of any architect to revisit/refine/fiddle with their creation(s). I like hearing him basically own up to the things he felt he didn't do properly the first time.

 

I've been back and forth on the changes to 11. Didn't like it when I first encountered it this past February, as I thought it made the hole a creampuff. But reading his explanation, I will look at it in a different light. I never even tried to go left off that tee, but I'm generally a cautious player, and considered the real defense to be the green shape and pitching over the bunkers.

 

On 15, I liked playing the shot off that big hill, so I'll need to think about how to approach it now. It helps knowing that they dumped all that dirt on the backside, so there's a least a buffer to keep it from rolling into the ocean. That may end up being the bail out area. Jury is still out, but a bit disappointed.

 

For 17, I like taking out that small bunker on the left fairway. It's the shot I always wanted to play off that tee, but the risk of dropping into it was too great (and I proved that more than once).

[ryu123]

I'm speculating, but maybe DMK's changes might be in line with the design philosophy that produced Gamble Sands. Namely, golf should be fun.

 

The 11th at Bandon Dunes has always been tough for me. My tee shot went right, leaving a difficult approach to a green that sloped away. Also, the changes to #15 & #17 seem smart. I haven't played BD since the changes, but they make sense.

[Edaw68]

I was skeptical of some of the changes when I first noticed them on my trip in February, but the explanation from Kidd was nice to see.

 

#11- I disagree with the change, but see the logic in it, if no one is challenging the left side. I have hit over those bunkers on the left a couple times (fortunate wind conditions) and like the angle. I would have liked to see the fairway expanded on the left side rather than the bunker taken out, to make the choice of line tough, but enough bail out room either way if you don't want to take on the bunkers.

 

#15- I'm fine with this change, since I never played off that hill on the left, and often went over the green to avoid that deep front bunker anyway. I ended up over the green on my last try and ended up with like a 7, but mostly because the chipping area behind the green hadn't grown in yet and I chunked a couple in the mud. Once it's grassed, that slope behind will be nice. You can avoid the front bunker, leaving a possible up and down for par or an easy bogey, but if you want to try for a 2 you need to risk the sand.

 

#17- I was actually in a spot that used to be a bunker, and it's definitely not a cake walk because of the awkward stance. I bet most players will bail out left of the green from here because of the chance of hitting into the gully. This change doesn't bug me since you still can try a hero shot at the green rather than just pitch out of the bunker.

 

 

What mostly changed my mind was thinking about if I didn't know about the changes, would I have thought negatively about the holes as they are now? Probably not.

[spud3]

I'm speculating, but maybe DMK's changes might be in line with the design philosophy that produced Gamble Sands. Namely, golf should be fun.

 

The 11th at Bandon Dunes has always been tough for me. My tee shot went right, leaving a difficult approach to a green that sloped away. Also, the changes to #15 & #17 seem smart. I haven't played BD since the changes, but they make sense.

 

I think it's absolutely a result of his evolution as an architect, which has been away from the intense and toward the fun. Personally, I like courses that an average player can enjoy, while still presenting a challenge for a better golfer that wants to attack it. Where pars are plenty, but birdies are hard. BD has always been the archetype for that, in my book.

[buzlin]

Bump.

 

Any further thoughts on these changes?

 

Now that I think about it, I may have noticed these changes. Though insane rain/wind/whisky may have clouded my recollection a tad my last time out.

[duffer987]

#11 - It didn't impact our first round due to wind, but in the second round it was an easier tee ball, easier to play up the left. Play it at the last bunker and turn it towards the green, knowing if you over cook it you'll just roll over what used to be the second bunker.

 

#15 - Yup, don't like it. Those mounds added options that are now gone and I liked the look of it better. First round I was in the bunker and would have liked to blast if off those mounds, but since they weren't there that was a no go. Second round I hit a decent ball right at the flag and had a 25' for birdie, so it didn't come up.

 

#16 - I went 3I first round so stayed short of them and in second round I drove it past them. It will keep more balls in the fairway off the tee that is for sure. I can see balls rolling off what is now a grassed mound to the right, where previously it could be a sideways out bunker shot.

[schneidm10]

Interesting read after just being there.

 

11- I hit my shot about right where that bunker was taken out and had a significant easier shot than someone else in our group that bailed out right to the safer area.

 

15- I was down in the bunker with the pin in the front and didn’t have any issues. I feel like the backstop on the left side was enough plus there still feels like enough help to move balls to the middle of the green.

 

17- this one is the most interesting to me. 2 of us in our group (myself included) actually drove left into the rough on purpose over the bunkers because we felt like it gave a better angle to the green. That way you have more room if you miss right or left and you’ll still find the green. I hit 3 wood and I should’ve hit driver to try to get down in the fairway on 14 for a better lie. If he wanted people to play the tee shot he talked about, I would add bunkers amongst those mounds down the left to force people to play the cut shot like he talked about in his interview.

[cardoustie]

DMK seems to be getting "it" nowadays

[Edaw68]

I’ve never even thought about going left on 15 if you’re in the bunker, that’s a good idea. More room in case you overcook it. Off the tee the changes don’t seem a big deal, but I gotta agree with Duffer that the mounds would be nice to try and bounce one off of.

 

On 11 it definitely encourages a more aggressive tee shot now.