Random Bandon Thread

[2bGood]

3 hours ago, PNWBBBogeyMaster8977 said:

 

 

Is this pretty common to find some single tee time slots this quickly or Pandemic related luck?

As a single it always easy to mingle.

 

I would suggest that 49/50 days of the year you can walk up and get out as single with a good tee time on one of the courses. More than a few times (typically in summer) I have been driving through the area, stopped if the weather was good and  got a good tee time. Afternoons have lots of spots, but if I stay overnight in the mornings there is always single times with 3 scenarios:

1. Just on open spot with no explanation, groups moved times or whatever

2. 'bill' dropped out that morning as he was not used to walking so much but the rest of his foursome is there

3. 'John' dropped out that morning as he was not used to drinking so much but the rest of his foursome is there

[PNWBBBogeyMaster8977]

Makes total sense.. I recall my Brother in Law Bill opt out of his final round on day 6 two years ago due to lower back pains.. we had a single fill in immediately!  Awesome... good to know as i think the 5 night stays may no longer be an option for a few years.. It will just be spur of the moment trips for awhile which Im digging.. higher potential for better weather days/rounds in dec/jan months of the year vs committed to a week stay that could deal you a few wild cards!

[rouges1922]

What time does reservations open in the morning on Sundays? Need to call this Sunday to add a round to our trip for the day before our lodging starts the first weekend of February.

[wtoomey]

Reservations open at 6am PST

[DFinch]

On 1/13/2021 at 9:33 PM, DFinch said:

 

Will do. We're hitting the road at 4am Friday morning from Portland for a 10:20 tee time. Will be back late Sat night after a sundown-chaser on Saturday afternoon, a quick dinner, and 4 hour shot home.

Bandon Dunes course report (Trails tomorrow).

 

Had one of those days that started in fog, teased that it would burn off, and never did. About 200 yard visibility all day which hindered the awesome views and made picking lines a challenge.

 

Was down to just a golf shirt by the 3rd hole despite the chilly temps (it was very humid).

 

Course was surprisingly soft and the greens were shockingly slow. Like putts of every length only getting halfway to the hole slow and it affected everyone in the group. I hit 7/9 greens on the front and shot 41 with four 3-putts (five total, 39 putts, ouch). Despite no real rain for several days there was a layer of moisture in the greens that was like putting on fly paper and the harder you hit it, seemingly the faster it grabbed and decelerated. 
 

I didn’t care, though, because I don’t come to Bandon to shoot a score. I actually had a great day tee to green but it’s more about enjoying being here in this magical place with great friends. Got some take-out ribs and beer in the belly and can’t wait for morning when we’ll mess around at the practice facility until our Trails tee time. Hoping we have less fog so we can enjoy the scenery. 

[TFavor]

2 hours ago, DFinch said:

Bandon Dunes course report (Trails tomorrow).

 

Had one of those days that started in fog, teased that it would burn off, and never did. About 200 yard visibility all day which hindered the awesome views and made picking lines a challenge.

 

Was down to just a golf shirt by the 3rd hole despite the chilly temps (it was very humid).

 

Course was surprisingly soft and the greens were shockingly slow. Like putts of every length only getting halfway to the hole slow and it affected everyone in the group. I hit 7/9 greens on the front and shot 41 with four 3-putts (five total, 39 putts, ouch). Despite no real rain for several days there was a layer of moisture in the greens that was like putting on fly paper and the harder you hit it, seemingly the faster it grabbed and decelerated. 
 

I didn’t care, though, because I don’t come to Bandon to shoot a score. I actually had a great day tee to green but it’s more about enjoying being here in this magical place with great friends. Got some take-out ribs and beer in the belly and can’t wait for morning when we’ll mess around at the practice facility until our Trails tee time. Hoping we have less fog so we can enjoy the scenery. 

The wife and I arrived late evening. 
We are playing the Trails tomorrow too, tee off I think at 12:30. 
Kinda bummed to hear about the greens and fog but dude seriously, how much better can I expect it. Weather is supposed to hold out, I extended all the way into Wednesday. Think we’ll get every course in, including the Preserve. 
Drove 7 and a half hours from other side of Seattle to get here tonight. 😆

[DFinch]

8 hours ago, TFavor said:

The wife and I arrived late evening. 
We are playing the Trails tomorrow too, tee off I think at 12:30. 
Kinda bummed to hear about the greens and fog but dude seriously, how much better can I expect it. Weather is supposed to hold out, I extended all the way into Wednesday. Think we’ll get every course in, including the Preserve. 
Drove 7 and a half hours from other side of Seattle to get here tonight. 😆

We’re 11:50 so we’ll be just ahead of you. Don’t want to jinx it but the visibility looks 100x better this morning than it did yesterday at this time. 
 

[TFavor]

1 hour ago, DFinch said:

We’re 11:50 so we’ll be just ahead of you. Don’t want to jinx it but the visibility looks 100x better this morning than it did yesterday at this time. 
 

Well, if we don’t finish I’ll know who to blame 😂

Must be that fricken 11:50 time holding everything up 😂

Man what a beautiful day 🤞🏻

[jmckito]

Hey, first time @ Bandon upcoming. I booked all 5 courses and then a second round on PD and BD. 
For Bandon vets, is SR worthy of replacing the second round on either PD/BD? Thanks.

[DFinch]

6 hours ago, TFavor said:

Well, if we don’t finish I’ll know who to blame 😂

Must be that fricken 11:50 time holding everything up 😂

Man what a beautiful day 🤞🏻

Ha! We were pressing the group ahead and the group behind was on our tail. Things were moving pretty good. Beautiful perfect day out there today. 
 

Last time on Trails I took an 8 on #7 and blew what was otherwise a good round. I commented today I was there for revenge and birdied it!

[DFinch]

1 hour ago, jmckito said:

Hey, first time @ Bandon upcoming. I booked all 5 courses and then a second round on PD and BD. 
For Bandon vets, is SR worthy of replacing the second round on either PD/BD? Thanks.

I have not played SR yet but everyone I’ve talked to has said it is a contender for new best layout on the property. The one caveat is a few have said the greens haven’t matured yet and are patchy...so if that would bother you you’d have to factor that in. 

[buzlin]

Random FYI:  Called to change our reservation yesterday, switching from OM to BD on our departure day.  When the reservation email came in that evening, I noticed that one of our replay rounds on Trails had disappeared (had 12:50 and 1:00).  This is for late February, a reservation I made Jan 1 of last year, and as most of you know, those replay times are tough to come by.  I sent an email back, and thankfully got a response first thing this morning.  The missing tee time was already rebooked to another party, but thankfully the time before it was available. so now we have 12:40 and 12:50.  So short of having 10 less minutes for "lunch" between rounds, no harm no foul.  I didn't want to dig too much to find out why it happened (no need for bad juju), but I was prepared to push back a bit had we not been able to get another comparable time. 

 

Anyway, just a reminder to always check your reservations completely in case something random like this happens.

 

Carry on.

[mallrat]

6 hours ago, jmckito said:

Hey, first time @ Bandon upcoming. I booked all 5 courses and then a second round on PD and BD. 
For Bandon vets, is SR worthy of replacing the second round on either PD/BD? Thanks.

Depending on when you are going and with how many SR maybe just be a day. Meaning stay on it for the day makes the timing between rounds easier. On this note something that shocked me was when making original tee times because of SR’s location they make you add a 1/2 hour. So if I remember correctly when booking your 2nd round of the day they use a 5 hr time frame from when you first tee off until your 2nd tee time but if your first round is SR it has to be 5 1/2 hrs. 

 

5 hours ago, DFinch said:

I have not played SR yet but everyone I’ve talked to has said it is a contender for new best layout on the property. The one caveat is a few have said the greens haven’t matured yet and are patchy...so if that would bother you you’d have to factor that in. 

SR, IMO, is going to be in the same mold as OM. Some will love it and others will just think it’s a nice addition to the portfolio (that’s me). I don’t think it does anything better than any of the other courses except have views. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s still a blast but at the bottom of my list. I still say it is the perfect buddies match play course. Short hitters will still be in play against long hitters and there is a LOT of room. I look at it as when you have a room full of 9’s, which one prefer comes down to personality because they all have the looks. 

[LooperCon]

6 hours ago, jmckito said:

Hey, first time @ Bandon upcoming. I booked all 5 courses and then a second round on PD and BD. 
For Bandon vets, is SR worthy of replacing the second round on either PD/BD? Thanks.

It's hard to say because everyone is gonna have different preferences/rankings, but it'd be hard for me to knock a second round at bandon out of the roto. Which leaves Pac...and then the question you have to ask yourself is do you want an easy round or a hard round? SR is generally easier than Pac. Both are super pretty, so you can't go wrong there. I think the finish at SR is way better - aside from 17, 14-18 at pac are pretty unspectacular, whereas 15-18 at sheep are some of the prettiest and most fun holes on the course. If you're a purist, Pac is probably a truer test if golf, but if you wanna have fun, dope views, and have real potential to go low, SR is your move. 

 

The beauty of it is, there's no wrong answer 🙂

[spud3]

As long as you have all five courses and the Preserve covered, you're good.  The replays are gravy.

 

And you can always check into switching up a round if one course or another totally rings your bell.

 

There really is no wrong answer...

[TFavor]

Played Trails today. 
One thing for sure is it is a hard walk. Iced my feet all evening off and on. Considerable elevation change. 
Greens running very slow and shaggy but course is in fantastic shape other than that. 
First time playing Trails and it’s a cool course, would be premier anywhere else, but isn’t on same level as BD or PD IMO, which is pretty much to be expected. 
The par 3’s are some of the best I’ve ever seen. 
It is a course you could probably expect to see in western Washington where I’m from, but if you did it would be top 3 or 4 in state. 
As it stands, it’s a in weather it would be great, but on a gorgeous day like today was, I’d probably prefer to be on a different course. 

[DFinch]

6 hours ago, TFavor said:

Played Trails today. 
One thing for sure is it is a hard walk. Iced my feet all evening off and on. Considerable elevation change. 
Greens running very slow and shaggy but course is in fantastic shape other than that. 
First time playing Trails and it’s a cool course, would be premier anywhere else, but isn’t on same level as BD or PD IMO, which is pretty much to be expected. 
The par 3’s are some of the best I’ve ever seen. 
It is a course you could probably expect to see in western Washington where I’m from, but if you did it would be top 3 or 4 in state. 
As it stands, it’s a in weather it would be great, but on a gorgeous day like today was, I’d probably prefer to be on a different course. 

 

They were definitely slow but to use those greens as a comparison since we played it the same day...the greens at Bandon Dunes the day before were (no exaggeration) twice as slow. Like crazy slow. The hills on the back are definitely a butt kicker. The single we were paired with described himself as being in "survival mode" by about the 16th. He was hurting bad. I hung in there pretty good but four hours in the car afterward had me cramping up pretty good at bedtime. I shot 80 with 3 doubles so I was pretty happy with my overall game this trip.

 

One of my travel mates hadn't played Trails before but had played the other courses (except SR) multiple times and declared Trails his new favorite course. I personally rank them PD/BT/BD/OM. The aesthetic and green complexes at Trails just have a sense of grandeur and there's a secluded peacefulness there that I love. Like you said, though, when you draw a perfect weather day like we had you definitely wish you had some ocean views to enjoy. Playing BD in the fog the day before where you couldn't see the beach or even the fairways past 150-200 yards was a bit of a bummer...especially for holes like #14.

 

BTW- I highly recommend the Chicken Obodo Bowl at Trails. That was some good vittles.

[TFavor]

1 hour ago, DFinch said:

 

They were definitely slow but to use those greens as a comparison since we played it the same day...the greens at Bandon Dunes the day before were (no exaggeration) twice as slow. Like crazy slow. The hills on the back are definitely a butt kicker. The single we were paired with described himself as being in "survival mode" by about the 16th. He was hurting bad. I hung in there pretty good but four hours in the car afterward had me cramping up pretty good at bedtime. I shot 80 with 3 doubles so I was pretty happy with my overall game this trip.

 

One of my travel mates hadn't played Trails before but had played the other courses (except SR) multiple times and declared Trails his new favorite course. I personally rank them PD/BT/BD/OM. The aesthetic and green complexes at Trails just have a sense of grandeur and there's a secluded peacefulness there that I love. Like you said, though, when you draw a perfect weather day like we had you definitely wish you had some ocean views to enjoy. Playing BD in the fog the day before where you couldn't see the beach or even the fairways past 150-200 yards was a bit of a bummer...especially for holes like #14.

 

BTW- I highly recommend the Chicken Obodo Bowl at Trails. That was some good vittles.

Don’t you think that’s the greens keepers fault? The caddie tried to blame the slow greens on moisture in the air, which is partly true but still, they could mow them down and roll them at least to a respectable speed right?? Maybe they just don’t have enough staff to keep the greens running at speed or something.

[mallrat]

4 hours ago, TFavor said:

Don’t you think that’s the greens keepers fault? The caddie tried to blame the slow greens on moisture in the air, which is partly true but still, they could mow them down and roll them at least to a respectable speed right?? Maybe they just don’t have enough staff to keep the greens running at speed or something.

Nope, this time of year there is only so much the staff can do. One issue is I believe Trails is mid transition from Fescue to Poa. The combination will lead to uneven growth and slower surfaces. Next you have moisture issues, moisture in the ground will slow them down but depending on the moisture in the plant you may or may not want to mow. If you have ever seen a green look kind of whitish in the winter that generally means the plant held a lot of moisture and got mowed and almost acts like grass that has been scalped. As for being rolled well there are factors for yes or no as well. 
 

Now there are other factors as well like did they spray recently, do they have the staff (like you asked), was there a frost delay, I’m just saying there are a lot of factors that go into the decisions on what to do. In winter mow heights get raised and rolling becomes infrequent. The other issue is was the growth unexpected? Right now grass is growing around here way more than it should. Most grasses in the PNW should basically be dormant right now and aren’t. 

[TFavor]

6 hours ago, mallrat said:

Nope, this time of year there is only so much the staff can do. One issue is I believe Trails is mid transition from Fescue to Poa. The combination will lead to uneven growth and slower surfaces. Next you have moisture issues, moisture in the ground will slow them down but depending on the moisture in the plant you may or may not want to mow. If you have ever seen a green look kind of whitish in the winter that generally means the plant held a lot of moisture and got mowed and almost acts like grass that has been scalped. As for being rolled well there are factors for yes or no as well. 
 

Now there are other factors as well like did they spray recently, do they have the staff (like you asked), was there a frost delay, I’m just saying there are a lot of factors that go into the decisions on what to do. In winter mow heights get raised and rolling becomes infrequent. The other issue is was the growth unexpected? Right now grass is growing around here way more than it should. Most grasses in the PNW should basically be dormant right now and aren’t. 

Played Bandon Dunes today and the greens, while not rolling 10 or 11, they were rolling quicker then the Trails was yesterday. There was an other poster who said he played Bandon Dunes 2 days ago and they were unbelievably slow. That was not the case today at all, they weren’t noticeably slow. Just average, but very very very pure. 
Bandon Dunes is far and away my favorite course I’ve played out here so far. 
Played well. Took a triple bogie on 11, which is an extremely difficult hole as it played into the wind. Hit a 4 iron shot from the fairway that put me up in the fescue on the ocean side, got the chip a little too crispy and put it back over the green and down into the valley on the club house side. From there a bad pitch, couple missed putts, wasn’t good. 
Recovered well though with a birdie on the par 3 12th and pulled out par on 13. 
Wind was difficult today and extra cold in the afternoon. Had my wife with me and she almost didn’t make it. Just kept piling my coats on her 😂

Old Mac and the Preserve tomorrow. Weather is awesome, just hoping the wind takes a little break compared to today. 
Wonder how long the weather will last like this 🤩

[DFinch]

1 hour ago, TFavor said:

Played Bandon Dunes today and the greens, while not rolling 10 or 11, they were rolling quicker then the Trails was yesterday. There was an other poster who said he played Bandon Dunes 2 days ago and they were unbelievably slow. That was not the case today at all, they weren’t noticeably slow. Just average, but very very very pure. 
Bandon Dunes is far and away my favorite course I’ve played out here so far. 
Played well. Took a triple bogie on 11, which is an extremely difficult hole as it played into the wind. Hit a 4 iron shot from the fairway that put me up in the fescue on the ocean side, got the chip a little too crispy and put it back over the green and down into the valley on the club house side. From there a bad pitch, couple missed putts, wasn’t good. 
Recovered well though with a birdie on the par 3 12th and pulled out par on 13. 
Wind was difficult today and extra cold in the afternoon. Had my wife with me and she almost didn’t make it. Just kept piling my coats on her 😂

Old Mac and the Preserve tomorrow. Weather is awesome, just hoping the wind takes a little break compared to today. 
Wonder how long the weather will last like this 🤩

 

Thats great to hear that Bandon greens sped up in two days time. I hit 12 greens but had 39 putts on Bandon on Friday and lag putts were throwing rooster tails. I hit a putt past the hole one time all day. 

[poppyhillsguy]

On 1/16/2021 at 3:55 PM, jmckito said:

Hey, first time @ Bandon upcoming. I booked all 5 courses and then a second round on PD and BD. 
For Bandon vets, is SR worthy of replacing the second round on either PD/BD? Thanks.

No Sheep Ranch is not worth replacing either BD or PD.  I found Sheep Ranch to be a beautiful walk, but having a bunch of forgettable holes and very short par 3's. The fescue greens at Sheep Ranch are not nearly as good at BD or PD greens.

[poppyhillsguy]

Just got back from my trip. Played 18 at Trails on Monday, 36 at Sheep Ranch on Tuesday, 27 at Dunes on Wednesday (frost delay), played 18 at Trails followed by 18 at Dunes on Thursday, and 18 at Pacific Dunes on Friday.  All courses in great shape.  New rankings-

1. Bandon Dunes

2. Bandon Trails

3. Pacific Dunes

4. Sheep Ranch

5. Old Mac.

[poppyhillsguy]

[poppyhillsguy]

[dutz]

Pictures look fantastic, 40ish days or so until I am back 

[jmckito]

On 1/17/2021 at 3:29 AM, spud3 said:

As long as you have all five courses and the Preserve covered, you're good.  The replays are gravy.

 

And you can always check into switching up a round if one course or another totally rings your bell.

 

There really is no wrong answer...

Yep. Changed schedule to 2 BD, 2 BT, 1 PD, 1 OM, 1 SR. 

[shoot72]

incredible photos @poppyhillsguy

 

Can't wait to be back in 25 days!

[NoCaution]

I finally made it out to Mecca Bandon for the first time last week. It was a VERY last-minute quick-trip (I booked my room and tee times about 3 hours before I arrived - lol). I drove in on Tuesday and had a couple hours to check-in, hit the practice center, and grab a bite to eat before playing the Preserve as my "warm-up round". I love a good short course, and this was BY FAR the best par-3 track I've ever played. I'm not saying I'd take a road-trip JUST to play the short course again, but if I were driving down to Cali for some other reason, I'd almost certainly make a detour for it. On Wednesday I booked Pacific Dunes for noon. There was a bit of a delay from the morning frost, but nothing too tragic. The weather was a tiny bit chilly to start, but once we got moving it was fine. It's tough to say how far into my all-time top-10 I'd place Pacific Dunes, but it's up there for sure. Since I hadn't swung a club in nearly 3 months I was playing like complete garbage, but there were a couple of highlights. Most note worthy: Hole 12 - I'd been topping my driver on the range, and still hadn't sorted out completely. I thinned the drive and just barely reached the fairway (maybe 150 yards - lol). I hit a fairly decent hybrid up the right side and still had about 200 yards left to the hole. Dead into the wind, I hit what might be the best hybrid I've ever hit: A high, soft, draw to 3 feet from the pin! It was one of those shots that as soon as you make contact, you KNOW it's gonna be special. I sunk the birdie putt, but I'll never forget that approach. I shot more than a few strokes above my usual and just barely broke 100, but I honestly don't care much about my score. The absolute scale of the place is just unreal. I had to check out the next day and drive up to Portland for some business before heading home, so I didn't have time for another full round. I was also sore after not swinging a club or walking hardly at all for months, but I just couldn't help myself, so I went ahead and played the Preserve one more time before I left. I finished my very last hole at Bandon by hitting to 6 feet and lipping out an easy birdie putt, which seems about right. Anyway, here's a picture that turned out OK...

Edited January 26, 2021 by NoCaution

[TFavor]

I’ve been in Bandon 2 or the last 3 weeks and headed back again next weekend.

Spent 6 days there a couple weeks ago. Played every course including the preserve. Nothing but amazing. Sun shined the whole time. 
This weekend, we flew into Eugene on Friday night, rented a car, drove into Bandon about 10;00 at night. Slept. Woke up and played Trails. Course was in fantastic shape. Little breezy but no rain. Greens were quicker than usual. I always find the Trails greens to be the fastest on the property. I dunno that could just be how it’s played for me.

Today (Sunday) played Bandon Dunes. Shot a 41 and a 46. Wheels came off on the final 4 hole stretch at 7 over in those 4 holes 😞

Awesome no rain but again kinda breezy. More good weather on its way this coming weekend. You’ll know where to find me.

Pac dunes and Old Mac (unless Sheep Ranch opens up I’m on the waiting list). Can’t beat the golf this time of year when you’re as lucky (favored) as I am when it comes to the weather. 
5 more days of work, and back at Mecca again. ☀️☀️☀️