Random Bandon Thread

[mallrat]

I have found Accuweather to be the most accurate weather app in regards to the weather there. From what I understand they are the only app that has a weather hub or whatever, out of the area. Most just use each other’s weather stations and or satellites. 
 

Now a little tip that I (and many in my industry use) is to not look directly at the forecast but some of the details.
 

-When does the storm move in and out, this will allow you see the probability of which days the weather is most likely to vary. The storms often roll in later and sometimes earlier than predicted. These are often the days that will vary the most and end up being the ones where you will be most surprised. 

- What is the percentage chance of rain? 100% and you are getting rain. For some of your days it says 35% chance, not bad odds that 1 day will end up gorgeous. You get down in the 25% bracket and those are good odds. 
- How much rain are you supposed to get? The lower the amount the better your chances are it never materializes.  1”, yep you are getting rained on and hard. .25” that is either a 1-2 hr downpour or a drizzle all day. Combine that with when the storm moves in or to get an idea of which days have the best chance to end up as a pleasant surprise. 
 

Just some personal insights. 

[spud3]

Spent the whole morning on hold, waiting to connect with the reservations folks.  The call got dropped after the first hour and a half, then dropped again after the second two hour wait, just as I was saying hello to the person on the other end.  Thankfully, she called me back and I was able to get set for March 2022.

 

A few things:

1. Their server is not keeping up with the demands on the phone system.  She told me many calls had been dropped.

2. Rooms are going fast.  Lodge is completely booked for the entire month of March (I didn't even ask about February).  As of this afternoon, there were still singles at the Inn and in the soon-to-be-completed Round Lake rooms.  Apparently, there are some large groups that are taking up much of the Lodge availability.   This has been happening more often, and I don't like it.

3. Round Lake rooms will be about $60 more than the Inn (for a single - doubles are available, too)

4. Really tired of listening to the DMK hole-by-hole narration they have instead of muzak...

 

If you're even thinking of a shoulder-season trip in 2022, you should be calling now.  They will eventually go back to their 30 day cancellation policy, which is still pretty good, so fairly low risk to make sure you have some dates.

[tad950]

The NCGA has two trips scheduled for Bandon. One the last weekend in March. And one the first weekend in April. The March trip has been around for maybe 7 or 8 years. Not exactly sure. I’ve been going for 5. The first 3 years I was given Bandon view rooms with no up charge. The last two years it’s been a view of the parking lot. And replay round tee times used to be readily available without advance planning. That’s no longer the case. The popularity of Bandon seems to have exceeded capacity. 
 

The SCGA also had (has?) trips to Bandon in late March. 

[2bGood]

2 hours ago, spud3 said:

Spent the whole morning on hold, waiting to connect with the reservations folks.  The call got dropped after the first hour and a half, then dropped again after the second two hour wait, just as I was saying hello to the person on the other end.  Thankfully, she called me back and I was able to get set for March 2022.

 

A few things:

1. Their server is not keeping up with the demands on the phone system.  She told me many calls had been dropped.

2. Rooms are going fast.  Lodge is completely booked for the entire month of March (I didn't even ask about February).  As of this afternoon, there were still singles at the Inn and in the soon-to-be-completed Round Lake rooms.  Apparently, there are some large groups that are taking up much of the Lodge availability.   This has been happening more often, and I don't like it.

3. Round Lake rooms will be about $60 more than the Inn (for a single - doubles are available, too)

4. Really tired of listening to the DMK hole-by-hole narration they have instead of muzak...

 

If you're even thinking of a shoulder-season trip in 2022, you should be calling now.  They will eventually go back to their 30 day cancellation policy, which is still pretty good, so fairly low risk to make sure you have some dates.

 I never understood why they switched to taking all of next years reservation on Jan 1 from the old system where you booked 365 days in advance of your first day. Seems like it makes way more sense to spread out the call volume a bit. 

Edited January 2, 2021 by 2bGood

[Edaw68]

31 minutes ago, tad950 said:

The NCGA has two trips scheduled for Bandon. One the last weekend in March. And one the first weekend in April. The March trip has been around for maybe 7 or 8 years. Not exactly sure. I’ve been going for 5. The first 3 years I was given Bandon view rooms with no up charge. The last two years it’s been a view of the parking lot. And replay round tee times used to be readily available without advance planning. That’s no longer the case. The popularity of Bandon seems to have exceeded capacity. 
 

The SCGA also had (has?) trips to Bandon in late March. 

Whelp that explains part of it. How big a group is the March one? Reservations mentioned a large group each morning booking about 2 hours worth of tee times.

[Edaw68]

14 minutes ago, 2bGood said:

 I never understood why they switched to taking all of next years reservation on Jan 1 from the old system where you booked 365 days in advance of your first day. Seems like it make way more sense to spread at the call volume a bit. 

Yeah, the Reservations agent I talked to said she volunteered to come work OT today knowing how busy it would be and her boss approved it without hesitation.

[payerasjl]

Same deal for me this morning. After about a 2 hour process I booked some 2022 times. I guess they are at an all time high as far as demand goes. 

[tad950]

42 minutes ago, Edaw68 said:

Whelp that explains part of it. How big a group is the March one? Reservations mentioned a large group each morning booking about 2 hours worth of tee times.

Right now it’s at 72. I’m not sure if the wait list has started. I think in the past it was capped at 76. The second trip has fewer 4somes. The tee times are split up between courses each day. 
 

And I believe a large group from the East Coast goes in March every year.

 

Edited January 2, 2021 by tad950

[mallrat]

4 hours ago, spud3 said:

Spent the whole morning on hold, waiting to connect with the reservations folks.  The call got dropped after the first hour and a half, then dropped again after the second two hour wait, just as I was saying hello to the person on the other end.  Thankfully, she called me back and I was able to get set for March 2022.

 

A few things:

1. Their server is not keeping up with the demands on the phone system.  She told me many calls had been dropped.

2. Rooms are going fast.  Lodge is completely booked for the entire month of March (I didn't even ask about February).  As of this afternoon, there were still singles at the Inn and in the soon-to-be-completed Round Lake rooms.  Apparently, there are some large groups that are taking up much of the Lodge availability.   This has been happening more often, and I don't like it.

3. Round Lake rooms will be about $60 more than the Inn (for a single - doubles are available, too)

4. Really tired of listening to the DMK hole-by-hole narration they have instead of muzak...

 

If you're even thinking of a shoulder-season trip in 2022, you should be calling now.  They will eventually go back to their 30 day cancellation policy, which is still pretty good, so fairly low risk to make sure you have some dates.

Honestly the group thing kinda stinks. They have the Chrome Lake and other places for a reason, wish they would push the larger groups that way. 

[2bGood]

1 hour ago, mallrat said:

Honestly the group thing kinda stinks. They have the Chrome Lake and other places for a reason, wish they would push the larger groups that way. 

Curious how big of group do you take issue with ? (truly curious with out judgement)

 

We are typically 8-12. 16 in 2022 due to some pent up demand for a golf trip. Bandon is the ultimate group trip - what are you going to do, the resort just naturally lends it self to a bunch of golfers going at once.

 

Funny fact I found out when organised a trip for 24 guys - larger than 20 groups  have to actually pay more (an extra $15 per night per person) and make larger deposits with much stricter no refund rules, so there is some built in deterrent for larger groups. 

 

As for Chrome Lake I could see it being not that great fit for many larger groups as it is all shared rooms / suits. If you are signing up to be part of something like the NCGA trip you likely want your own space and not be bunking with a stranger. 

 

The unfortunate (for us) and likely thing that will continue to happen now that even the winter sees huge pressure for tee times is prices will go up to control demand. Fingers crossed that instead they build more accommodations and start work on a sixth full length course! (too greedy? 😁)

 

PS: keep in mind the lodge only has 17 regular rooms, so it does not take much to book it up - our group of 16 would wipe it out in one phone call.

Edited January 2, 2021 by 2bGood

[spud3]

1 hour ago, 2bGood said:

Curious how big of group do you take issue with ? (truly curious with out judgement)

 

We are typically 8-12. 16 in 2022 due to some pent up demand for a golf trip. Bandon is the ultimate group trip - what are you going to do, the resort just naturally lends it self to a bunch of golfers going at once.

 

Funny fact I found out when organised a trip for 24 guys - larger than 20 groups  have to actually pay more (an extra $15 per night per person) and make larger deposits with much stricter no refund rules, so there is some built in deterrent for larger groups. 

 

As for Chrome Lake I could see it being not that great fit for many larger groups as it is all shared rooms / suits. If you are signing up to be part of something like the NCGA trip you likely want your own space and not be bunking with a stranger. 

 

The unfortunate (for us) and likely thing that will continue to happen now that even the winter sees huge pressure for tee times is prices will go up to control demand. Fingers crossed that instead they build more accommodations and start work on a sixth full length course! (too greedy? 😁)

 

PS: keep in mind the lodge only has 17 regular rooms, so it does not take much to book it up - our group of 16 would wipe it out in one phone call.

 

My idea of "Golf As It Was Meant To Be" doesn't include 71 (or 23, or 15) other guys....

 

Guess we can forget about the Punchbowl on our weekend, probably the Preserve, too, although we're lined up to play there inside the Hangover Zone, so we might actually have a peaceful round.

 

And if the prices keep going up, then only the large groups will be able to afford the place (see: Pebble Beach) and Keiser's intent to serve the "retail golfer" will have died.

[mallrat]

1 hour ago, 2bGood said:

Curious how big of group do you take issue with ? (truly curious with out judgement)

 

We are typically 8-12. 16 in 2022 due to some pent up demand for a golf trip. Bandon is the ultimate group trip - what are you going to do, the resort just naturally lends it self to a bunch of golfers going at once.

 

Funny fact I found out when organised a trip for 24 guys - larger than 20 groups  have to actually pay more (an extra $15 per night per person) and make larger deposits with much stricter no refund rules, so there is some built in deterrent for larger groups. 

 

As for Chrome Lake I could see it being not that great fit for many larger groups as it is all shared rooms / suits. If you are signing up to be part of something like the NCGA trip you likely want your own space and not be bunking with a stranger. 

 

The unfortunate (for us) and likely thing that will continue to happen now that even the winter sees huge pressure for tee times is prices will go up to control demand. Fingers crossed that instead they build more accommodations and start work on a sixth full length course! (too greedy? 😁)

 

PS: keep in mind the lodge only has 17 regular rooms, so it does not take much to book it up - our group of 16 would wipe it out in one phone call.

my issue doesn’t come from large groups. My issue comes from large groups taking all the single rooms at the Lodge and the Inn. IMO, they have the Chrome Lake and The Grove rooms for those groups. 

[dcmidnight]

LOL, so groups who want single rooms shouldn't be able to enjoy the Lodge or the Inn? Not even sure the correct response to this. Not sorry? At some point I reached the age where I don't share hotel rooms - especially if I'm on a trip where it would mean sharing a room with a rando stranger I may not know. So...book earlier? Just because you travel with a large group doesn't mean you all have to share rooms - thats not the way it works.

 

The nice thing about BD is that it offers all sorts of options, albeit each one of them is extremely limited.

Edited January 2, 2021 by dcmidnight

[2bGood]

10 hours ago, spud3 said:

 

My idea of "Golf As It Was Meant To Be" doesn't include 71 (or 23, or 15) other guys....

 

Guess we can forget about the Punchbowl on our weekend, probably the Preserve, too, although we're lined up to play there inside the Hangover Zone, so we might actually have a peaceful round.

 

And if the prices keep going up, then only the large groups will be able to afford the place (see: Pebble Beach) and Keiser's intent to serve the "retail golfer" will have died.

Well yes and no. Wether is is 'large' groups coming or several small groups coming, the net effect is the same as the course is booked up. The difference with the large groups as one phone call can wipe out large chunks of availability. 

 

As for the affordability part, I think large group or small group is pretty irrelevant. Pebble beach is not overrun with large groups, I can't actually say I have ever encountered more than a foursome there where as it Bandon I have run into plenty of 8,12,16 guy groups over the years.

 

I have a large group of golfing friends, most year we go on two or three golf trips. The general rule is the less expensive trips have more guys who want to come, so I don't think increasing the price would make groups larger.

 

Of course I have never considered our typical 8-12 guys a 'large' group.

 

My $.02

[2bGood]

2 hours ago, dcmidnight said:

LOL, so groups who want single rooms shouldn't be able to enjoy the Lodge or the Inn? Not even sure the correct response to this. Not sorry? At some point I reached the age where I don't share hotel rooms - especially if I'm on a trip where it would mean sharing a room with a rando stranger I may not know. So...book earlier? Just because you travel with a large group doesn't mean you all have to share rooms - thats not the way it works.

 

The nice thing about BD is that it offers all sorts of options, albeit each one of them is extremely limited.

I agree with most of this....but you literally can not book any earlier than Jan 1, when we all called in. 😀

 

Once again though I will point out the lodge only has 17 rooms. It just takes 1-4 people calling before you and it is not an option. in 60+ nights at Bandon I have not once been in the lodge.

 

[mallrat]

3 hours ago, dcmidnight said:

LOL, so groups who want single rooms shouldn't be able to enjoy the Lodge or the Inn? Not even sure the correct response to this. Not sorry? At some point I reached the age where I don't share hotel rooms - especially if I'm on a trip where it would mean sharing a room with a rando stranger I may not know. So...book earlier? Just because you travel with a large group doesn't mean you all have to share rooms - thats not the way it works.

 

The nice thing about BD is that it offers all sorts of options, albeit each one of them is extremely limited.

In the Chrome Lake & Grove accommodations many of the rooms are designed for singles with a shared common area. There are quite a few rooms for doubles throughout the resort if I have a group of 4, we have no problem booking most of the rooms that sleep 2. Now here’s the thing, there are a lot of situations for rooms that only sleep one. There are singles, there are groups with odd numbers and there are females within a group. So why are you the more important than any of that group?
 

I have also reached an age where I prefer a room to myself, but more importantly I have reached an age where I realize the world does not revolve around me. I let people play thorough if my group is slow. It’s ok to be the group that slows everyone on Bandon down because you want to time sunset up with when you are on 16, but understand to are holding up a and inconveniencing a lot of people. 

Edited January 2, 2021 by mallrat

[dcmidnight]

Have not kept up with the current reservation policies but when I first called in July '19 for an October '20 trip - for two - the first weekend I picked was almost fulled booked and the Lodge was already sold out. So I picked new dates and stayed at the Inn. Have to be flexible.

[mallrat]

7 minutes ago, 2bGood said:

I agree with most of this....but you literally can not book any earlier than Jan 1, when we all called in. 😀

 

Once again though I will point out the lodge only has 17 rooms. It just takes 1-4 people calling before you and it is not an option. in 60+ nights at Bandon I have not once been in the lodge.

 

I have stayed in the Lodge once in 14 trips, I actually prefer the Inn. I have actually stayed at The Bandon Inn more than I have stayed in the Lodge. 
 

One more thing about my previous post, for the financial health of the resort, it is better for groups to pair up and take the rooms designed for them. 

[Edaw68]

Flexible is one thing, but the lodge is completely booked for the entire month of March 2022, less than 6 hours after opening up for 2022 reservations. That can’t be the result of a few callers being ahead of us singles and small groups. Either they’re allowing large groups to book in advance if the public reservations policy, or the lodge is shutting down for some reason for some of that month. Anyone know if they have renovations planned?

[2bGood]

12 minutes ago, mallrat said:

In the Chrome Lake & Grove accommodations many of the rooms are designed for singles with a shared common area. There are quite a few rooms for doubles throughout the resort if I have a group of 4, we have no problem booking most of the rooms that sleep 2. Now here’s the thing, there are a lot of situations for rooms that only sleep one. There are singles, there are groups with odd numbers and there are females within a group. So why are you the most important of that group? 
 

I have also reached an age where I prefer a room to myself, but more importantly I have reached an age where I realize the world does not revolve around me. I let people play thorough if my group is slow. It’s ok to be the group that slows everyone on Bandon down because you want to time sunset up with when you are on 16, but understand to are holding up a and inconveniencing a lot of people. 

By the way when I called in all the Chrome lake lofts were gone too🤨. We thought this would be a good option for the guys that needed/wanted a single room. The Grove looks great but are more than double than staying in the other locations per person.

 

Maybe they just need more single rooms?

Edited January 2, 2021 by 2bGood

[mallrat]

2 minutes ago, Edaw68 said:

Flexible is one thing, but the lodge is completely booked for the entire month of March 2022, less than 6 hours after opening up for 2022 reservations. That can’t be the result of a few callers being ahead of us singles and small groups. Either they’re allowing large groups to book in advance if the public reservations policy, or the lodge is shutting down for some reason for some of that month. Anyone know if they have renovations planned?

Or it could be 1 or 2 large groups that all want single rooms?

[2bGood]

3 minutes ago, mallrat said:

I have stayed in the Lodge once in 14 trips, I actually prefer the Inn. I have actually stayed at The Bandon Inn more than I have stayed in the Lodge. 
 

One more thing about my previous post, for the financial health of the resort, it is better for groups to pair up and take the rooms designed for them. 

Yes, we tend to stay in shared rooms but always have a couple guys that prefer their own space.

[Edaw68]

Just now, mallrat said:

Or it could be 1 or 2 large groups that all want single rooms?

Yeah, but the whole month? 

[2bGood]

1 minute ago, Edaw68 said:

Yeah, but the whole month? 

It does not take much to fully book the Inn and the Lodge.

 

The Lodge = 17 single rooms

The Inn - 21 singles and 18 doubles

Between the two the max they can handle is 72 golfers - that is not very many.  And actuality what found was not that they were 'fully' booked, just that if they were booked on some of the nights we wanted and unless we wanted to move rooms once or twice they were not an option.

 

[mallrat]

12 minutes ago, 2bGood said:

By the way when I called in all the Chrome lake lofts were gone too🤨. We thought this would be a good option for the guys that needed/wanted a single room. The Grove looks great but are more than double than staying in the other locations per person.

 

Maybe they just need more single rooms?

I actually think they need more The Grove type rooms but at a more affordable price. Or cabin types that comfortably sleep 4 with their own bedrooms. As you said above, it shouldn’t be more expensive to stay in a Grove cottage. If it’s $200 a night for a room in the Inn but $350 a night per person in a Grove, where are people going to stay?

 

 

[2bGood]

4 minutes ago, mallrat said:

I actually think they need more The Grove type rooms but at a more affordable price. Or cabin types that comfortably sleep 4 with their own bedrooms. As you said above, it shouldn’t be more expensive to stay in a Grove cottage. If it’s $200 a night for a room in the Inn but $350 a night per person in a Grove, where are people going to stay?

 

 

 Yes if it was more cost effective we would stay in the cottage for sure. But given we spend all our time out of rooms when there we tend to just book the best bargain and move on.

[spud3]

1 hour ago, 2bGood said:

Well yes and no. Wether is is 'large' groups coming or several small groups coming, the net effect is the same as the course is booked up. The difference with the large groups as one phone call can wipe out large chunks of availability. 

 

As for the affordability part, I think large group or small group is pretty irrelevant. Pebble beach is not overrun with large groups, I can't actually say I have ever encountered more than a foursome there where as it Bandon I have run into plenty of 8,12,16 guy groups over the years.

 

I have a large group of golfing friends, most year we go on two or three golf trips. The general rule is the less expensive trips have more guys who want to come, so I don't think increasing the price would make groups larger.

 

Of course I have never considered our typical 8-12 guys a 'large' group.

 

My $.02

 

My comments were mainly concerning the atmosphere on the Punchbowl and Preserve when large groups are there.  The Punchbowl can get pretty rowdy in the evening, and the Preserve can be downright dangerous when they are letting out large (8+) groups of players.  Several of the holes are real close, and I've had to dodge wayward shots more than once.  Both places are typically visited after the last full rounds, when the drinking has begun in earnest, and can quickly turn into the equivalent of a frat party.

 

I'm not saying it's wrong for a bunch of guys to cut loose, I'm just saying that I prefer my golf trip to be more on the Zen side of the scale.

 

And, yeah, I have a problem with one phone call wiping out all the single rooms in the lodge/inn for a large chunk of time.  Dunno the answer, but I don't think that's fair.

[tad950]

11 hours ago, mallrat said:

my issue doesn’t come from large groups. My issue comes from large groups taking all the single rooms at the Lodge and the Inn. IMO, they have the Chrome Lake and The Grove rooms for those groups. 

On the NCGA trips, I don’t think there was ever more than four or five of us staying at The Inn. Most stay at Chrome Lake. And no one ever stays at The Lodge. A lot of people don’t want to pay the not insignificant premium for a single. 
 

When these trips first started, there was a very modest discount for the package. That is no longer the case. It’s just a case of more golfers than rooms at the resort. 

[mallrat]

42 minutes ago, tad950 said:

On the NCGA trips, I don’t think there was ever more than four or five of us staying at The Inn. Most stay at Chrome Lake. And no one ever stays at The Lodge. A lot of people don’t want to pay the not insignificant premium for a single. 
 

When these trips first started, there was a very modest discount for the package. That is no longer the case. It’s just a case of more golfers than rooms at the resort. 

I feel like that is something that Bandon should address. IMO, it should be cheaper for a group and encouraged to book the larger rooms. 

[2bGood]

19 minutes ago, mallrat said:

I feel like that is something that Bandon should address. IMO, it should be cheaper for a group and encouraged to book the larger rooms. 

At the end of the day, they run one of most successful golf resorts in the world, with loyal base of return customers, despite being far from any major city. I am not sure they have mach need to address anything.

 

 

Edited January 2, 2021 by 2bGood