Random Bandon Thread

[spud3]

I would not be getting your hopes up about night golf.  As much as they are sticklers for keeping track of everyone at all times on the courses (one member of your group will be getting a little tracking device at the first tee of every round), I very much doubt they will allow anyone out after dark.  And yes it gets very dark out there once the sun goes down.  There are more than a few places where a misstep could land you, at best, in a massive gorse grove; or, at worst, 100 feet down to the beach below.  I can't image they would be okay with the inherent risks involved.

 

And the old Shorty's (now called "Charlotte's") is still a thing and is open Thursdays-Sundays as it always has been.  It's almost as much fun as the new Shorty's, quite a bit cheaper and easier to get on.

 

Sounds like a great itinerary for your first trip.  You're going to have a blast.

[edub1321]

Thanks, Spud. Do we need to make reservations for Charlotte’s? (Is there a restaurant/dining option called Charlotte’s? Maybe that’s why I was confused?)

[VNutz]

2 hours ago, edub1321 said:

Thanks, Spud. Do we need to make reservations for Charlotte’s? (Is there a restaurant/dining option called Charlotte’s? Maybe that’s why I was confused?)

No reservations, just walk up and put in for the suggested donation. It's only open Thursday - Sunday as they change the direction of the range to keep it from getting beaten up.

 

I believe you are correct, I think the new BBQ truck is called Charlotte's as well.

[VNutz]

And Punchbowl is great for night putting if you'd like. On my first trip my group brought glow in the dark balls for putting, was a lot of fun. I think I saw something where they may have put in lights recently so that might change the dynamic.

 

But otherwise I would not suggest night golf out there. As mentioned there is so little ambient light that we're used to with regular civilization, and it's quite dark.

[Edaw68]

They’re not gonna let you night golf. They have marshals out there to track the last groups and make sure you get in before dark and you get lost. I’ve had a couple solo rounds where I’m the last one out there and the marshal follows me the whole time. When you tee off near the end of the day they ask your plan to get back in time.

[jrg75]

Can confirm they will get everyone off the course before dark, too many drop offs, hazards and general liability for them to allow night golf.  I was there a few weeks ago and a buddy and myself played a few extra holes at Pacific on our last night.  We got to hole 11, was pretty close to the last people on the course and a marshal followed us from  hole 7 all the way until we walked back to clubhouse.

[Swingem]

I'll neither confirm, nor deny that it's been done... But if one(s) were to launch a stealth mission to night golf with glow in the dark balls, I'd guess that considerable (till closing time) planning and preparation at the Bunker bar would be required. Dark clothing and find your way out to BT 7-10 would do the trick. Not sure you could pull it off now, but back in the day...   

[edub1321]

17 minutes ago, Swingem said:

I'll neither confirm, nor deny that it's been done... But if one(s) were to launch a stealth mission to night golf with glow in the dark balls, I'd guess that considerable (till closing time) planning and preparation at the Bunker bar would be required. Dark clothing and find your way out to BT 7-10 would do the trick. Not sure you could pull it off now, but back in the day...   

 

I've night golfed many times (usually with the analogous planning and preparation you mention). But it's in the city, more or less, so there is a lot of ambient light. Sadly, when I booked this trip 18+ months ago, I did NOT check Poor Richard's Almanac to note that the moon will be waning crescent this weekend. If it were a bit fuller, I'd feel more emboldened. I'll still be taking headlamps and dark clothes (you can never pack too much, I've been told), but I doubt anything will happen. 

 

(I do like the BT 7-10 suggestion. No cliffs to fall off there, plus it's pretty darned close to the Grove Cottages..........)

[Swingem]

16 minutes ago, edub1321 said:

If it were a bit fuller, I'd feel more emboldened.

That's what the prep at the Bunker Bar is for. From what I've heard eyes adjust pretty well, at least as well as possible considering the prep. If you must do headlamps, red would probably be the best option. And yes, walking (and I use the term loosely) is advisable, again considering the prep.

Edited May 22 by Swingem

[Edaw68]

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[dcl5dcl5]

Just booked my dates for next Oct. I called the caddie services asking how far out we should book a caddie if there is a specific guy we want. They said 3 weeks before. Is this accurate? What are folks experience here if there is a specific caddy you want. How far out do you call? Thanks.

[spud3]

On 5/21/2025 at 5:01 AM, edub1321 said:

Thanks, Spud. Do we need to make reservations for Charlotte’s? (Is there a restaurant/dining option called Charlotte’s? Maybe that’s why I was confused?)

Yes, the BBQ food cart that is open in the warmer season at the practice center is called Charlotte's, too.

 

The short course is open Th-Su, no reservations, donation box on the first tee.  Mon-Wed, you can still play three of the holes on Charlotte's. A bunch of the greens on the short course are actually the target greens for the south range, but you can still bang around the first few holes relatively safely.

 

It's a great way to get your fescue feels before you head out on the big courses.  Just take a couple wedges and a couple balls and you're good to go.

[mallrat]

Has anyone heard any updates or anything on New River Dunes?

[007iron]

13 hours ago, dcl5dcl5 said:

Just booked my dates for next Oct. I called the caddie services asking how far out we should book a caddie if there is a specific guy we want. They said 3 weeks before. Is this accurate? What are folks experience here if there is a specific caddy you want. How far out do you call? Thanks.

 

My understanding is that 3 weeks is plenty in advance as the requests get accumulated and then put up on a board about two weeks before the gig (maybe into the app now too) and the caddies can accept or decline the request. Then if declined caddie services will assign caddies from those available a few days before your trip.

 

If you have specific caddies in mind and can contact them directly you can let them know your dates and to be on the lookout for the request to be on the board in the shack. A lot of the caddies do like to know about requests as early as possible as they make their schedules or get a lot of requests.

[graveydellic]

22 hours ago, mallrat said:

Has anyone heard any updates or anything on New River Dunes?

Asked the same a couple days ago, but doesn't seem any info is out there.  If it's under construction now then they could have preview play next fall, but the lack of updates anywhere regarding construction says to me they may have faced more delays.  

[dcmidnight]

3 hours ago, graveydellic said:

Asked the same a couple days ago, but doesn't seem any info is out there.  If it's under construction now then they could have preview play next fall, but the lack of updates anywhere regarding construction says to me they may have faced more delays.  

 

Our caddies this week (total years at BD, 48) said essentially nothing is happening. Combination of a lot of things. Kaiser has a ton of other projects going right now so maybe doesn't have all the manpower he would need to start/build. They might also have had some permitting/approval issues related to - among other things - Kaisers relationship with the former governor who had paved the way for the project.  But when they became the former governor, there may have been more permitting issues or things that needed to be reconsidered. Also a lot of discussion about how practical it would even be for employees, you would have to have a dedicated fleet of shuttles to even get people/caddies there.

 

Tldr: nothing is happening and not sure if anything will be anytime soon 

[mallrat]

20 minutes ago, dcmidnight said:

 

Our caddies this week (total years at BD, 48) said essentially nothing is happening. Combination of a lot of things. Kaiser has a ton of other projects going right now so maybe doesn't have all the manpower he would need to start/build. They might also have had some permitting/approval issues related to - among other things - Kaisers relationship with the former governor who had paved the way for the project.  But when they became the former governor, there may have been more permitting issues or things that needed to be reconsidered. Also a lot of discussion about how practical it would even be for employees, you would have to have a dedicated fleet of shuttles to even get people/caddies there.

 

Tldr: nothing is happening and not sure if anything will be anytime soon 

I know the Oregon Coastal Alliance is pushing back against the course, I wonder if that is what’s holding things up. I know they filed a suit or something

[sniper]

On 5/22/2025 at 10:48 PM, mallrat said:

Has anyone heard any updates or anything on New River Dunes?

My caddy last week said that he spoke with Davis McClay Kidd and he is ready to roll and thinks all the legal issues will be worked out.  He also said Keiser isn’t doing well health wise (dementia).  Not sure if that is a contributing factor or not.  Sounds like it is in good hands with the kids though. 

[dcmidnight]

Must have passed Sniper on the stairs, we were in the Inn from Sunday through this morning.

 

Will write up all the good stuff later when not on my phone but (just about) everything was a 10/10 as expected. 

 

Couple things I think could use fixing 

 

1. They really need another casual dining spot for dinner. Trails is closed, McKees upstairs is closed (it was open last time I was there) and people probably aren't eating at Ghost Tree every night. Gallery was never crowded but it's just the same menu. And McKees food was just meh over two meals.

 

2. Big groups might be ruining the short courses for the rest of us. It's the right place for them and it looks like they were having a blast. But you can't stagger tee time intervals like you are planning on foursomes or twosomes - and then let 8somes and 10somes out there. It was brutal. On Shortys we had to skip three holes because our foursome was behind a threesome who was waiting on every tee for 5 minutes for two huge groups. Same with Preserve, we were behind two 6somes and it really sucked. Took longer to play Preserve than it did to play the front 9 at Pac. Kind of ruined the whole thing and for $110, honestly just not worth it.

Edited May 24 by dcmidnight

[dcmidnight]

Random BD notes:

 

#IMO

 

Overall

 

Bandon was just spectacular. Four of us played 10 rounds in 5 days, well 11 if you include a loop around Charlottes. Its probably right up to the line of being too much golf. If I did it again, I think I'd go back to 4 x 36 and just skip the short courses - not worth the time or the money, comments above on those. 

 

You also do not get a replay discount if its your second round, so its $110 or $125 for those rounds. And I thought $50 at the Cradle in Pinehurst was a lot...

 

Weather was a 9.5/10 - got sprinkled on two mornings but that was about it, otherwise it was sunny/windy, maybe low 50s in the morning into the low 60s by early afternoon. I would absolutely go back in late May again, great weather and the yellow gorse was still out.

 

Courses

 

My new ranking is 

 

Pac

SR/BD

Trails

Old Mac

 

I dont think I could give Pac a fair shake on my last trip because of how foggy it was but to me its still the 1 seed. It is just a good fun mix of holes from start to finish. I still hate 18 but I dealt with it.  SR is pretty close behind. Trails gets bumped down because we had a round where about half the pins were completely inaccessible. Even our caddies said more than once they had never seen a pin there. We were supposed to double up on Trails rounds but swapped out for a second at SR and I am really glad we did. Except for the ocean you can literally hit the ball anywhere off the tee at SR and chances are you can go play your 2nd.

 

We were first out three of the five days. We played BD in 3:45, SR in 3:50 and PD in 3:55. Four of us walking, with caddies. We stopped at the halfway house or the turn, we were not running but we play ready golf. I dont know why this isn't more the norm. The marshall at BD said to one of your caddies that you never see anyone in the green anymore - not sure what that was about but maybe a way they track with the caddie tracker whose behind pace? At SR the group behind us was almost 40 minutes behind at the end. Now they played in 4:20 from their time, which we can debate if thats good for the 2nd group out. But we had finished, eaten lunch on the patio and were having a beer when they finally finished - and it was backed up behind them.

 

I dont know how I'd go out and play without having the first tee time out on at least three of the days, man it makes such a huge difference.

 

Lodging

 

The Inn is IMO the best of both worlds for lodging. You are close enough to the Lodge to be a 5 minute walk from all thats going on there - without the noise at night. I dont know how the Lodge single rooms are at night but it sure looks like they basically open right into the lobby/Gallery bar area. The Library Lounge at the Inn is also a sneaky great quiet hang for a nightcap.

 

Food

 

Trails still has the best menus/food on the property (Ghost Tree notwithstanding). Fantastic chicken/waffles for breakfast and the ramen was a big hit at lunch. Innovative menu and everything is excellent. Unfortuantely they are not open for dinner unless its private parties - which I dont understand. 

 

McKees was just meh over our two meals. The first night we went I dont think any of us had a good meal. The meatloaf was better than I remember it but its not life changing. And as I said in another comment, they are only open on the first floor so they have a pretty limited capacity, a lot of people crowding around waiting, sometime *right* next to your table.

Ghost Tree was really good, even better than I expected. Food, service, wine selection - top to bottom it was a great final meal of the trip. 

 

Gallery bar is a good casual spot to eat a few times, the menu is the same but the food/pizza was good. Its just the same menu. But if you are only there 3-4 nights, its probably not an issue.

 

I still think they *really* need another casual option there for people who are on longer trips. Maybe reopen McKees 2nd floor, I dont know. 

 

Misc

 

Normatec boots were a lifesaver at night, as was the Theragun. I noticed they stock a bunch of Theraguns now in the pro shop and gift shop in the Lodge. I had a fully packed 100L duffel bag and I think 1/3 of it was recovery gear LOL.

 

Shuttle service is extremely fast - its actually so quick that you shouldnt call one if you're just waiting on one person to come down from their room, it will be there before they are. Honestly I could see getting a van service from Eugene next time and save the wear and tear on the driver. It was great having a car there but you certainly dont *need* one.

 

Shipsticks is so easy to use at BD. They keep them there before you arrive, they will deliver them to your room when you get there if you ask and you can drop them off when you leave. It could not be easier.

 

 

[dcmidnight]

Few pics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jrg75]

@dcmidnight, great review and great photos.  Your review is spot on.

Edited May 27 by jrg75

[thechief16]

5 hours ago, dcmidnight said:

I still think they *really* need another casual option there for people who are on longer trips. Maybe reopen McKees 2nd floor, I dont know. 

 

I think we may have to moderate this take (I agreed with you onsite).  Somehow, we all completely forgot about the Pac Dunes option for dinner, right?

 

But the lunch options on property are spectacular.  I could spend the rest of my life eating lunch at Trails and Sheep.  

[dcmidnight]

No, I remembered, I think I meant another option that we didnt have to drive to. 

[VNutz]

Agree on the need for one more place, but like with Trails dinner I think it's a staffing issue. Pac is ok but seating is still pretty limited.

 

This fall staying at The Lodge we ordered in from McKee's. Super fast service and highly recommended if you don't want to wait a ton.

[dcmidnight]

Just now, VNutz said:

Agree on the need for one more place, but like with Trails dinner I think it's a staffing issue. Pac is ok but seating is still pretty limited.

 

This fall staying at The Lodge we ordered in from McKee's. Super fast service and highly recommended if you don't want to wait a ton.

 

Agree on a staffing issue. In a town of 3,000 people there are only so many executive chefs and sous chefs etc that you can hire. I get that. But Trails is "open" for dinner - but only for private party/family style - so there are clearly people there working.

 

McKees was very mediocre though - I cant imagine it would have been any better if it was 10 minutes colder being delivered to the Inn. Maybe we just hit it on a bad week!

[edub1321]

Just got back from my trip. No night golfing. Honestly, we didn't really have that much energy. Not completely wiped, but tired enough, and with the promise of more golf the next day, it really just wasn't very motivating. 

 

I played really well, but that's mainly because the courses are, quite frankly, very easy, especially if you can get over the nerves of finally getting to play Bandon. My issues have generally been spraying balls off the tee causing re-tees and chipping. There is almost nowhere you can't hit it off the tees and still find your ball. And there really isn't "rough" around the greens, so I was just putting it from everywhere.

 

We (8 guys) stayed at a Grove cottage. The rooms were fine, but we were all a bit disappointed that there wasn't more of a kitchenette sort of thing. We stopped in Coos/North Bend on the drive down and bought a bunch of food/drinks/liquor for breakfasts and lunches. This was certainly a cheaper way to do things, but, for instance, our cottage didn't even have utensils to spread the mayo on our sandwiches for lunch. The dinners we had were very good (Gallery, Ghost Tree and Pac Grill).

 

We were able to play both short courses as eightsomes. We were only caught by one group, and we let them play through. I don't know if that was a function of the time of day we played or what, but it was fine. I probably wouldn't play Shorty's again if I went back, and I would only play Preserve again if it were the only possibility due to timing/scheduling.

 

Course rankings:

1A) Trails - 78 - I'm sure more digital ink has been spilt on this, but it's really a neat course with the three zones

1B) Pac - 94 - This was easily my worst round of the trip, but I think it's probably about as good of a course as Trails, but gets ranked higher because it has the views.

3) Bandon - 79, 72 - A very similar feel to Pac, but also a much easier and more open course

4) Old Mac - 79 - Played this in by far the strongest winds of the trip, probably 20-25mph, and so I think that hurts it in my rankings, but there are certainly some great holes.

5) Sheep - 75 - Without the ocean, this is kind of a crappy muni. Coore/Crenshaw should be congratulated for shoehorning 18 holes into it, but it's kind of a boring course that just has unfettered access to the Pacific. Would definitely include it again, if I were making the trip for the first time just for the views alone.

 

10 rounds

3 each at Trails and Pac

2 each at Old Mac and Bandon

0 at Sheep Ranch

[edub1321]

On 5/21/2025 at 8:24 AM, VNutz said:

And Punchbowl is great for night putting if you'd like. On my first trip my group brought glow in the dark balls for putting, was a lot of fun. I think I saw something where they may have put in lights recently so that might change the dynamic.

 

But otherwise I would not suggest night golf out there. As mentioned there is so little ambient light that we're used to with regular civilization, and it's quite dark.

Oh, after dinner at Pac Grill, we did take out the glow in the dark balls and putted at the Punchbowl for like 10-15 min. One of us would just throw the “target” ball somewhere and then we’d have to putt to it (without kind of knowing where the elephants were buried). It led to some very funny putts. 

[bigeasygator]

Regarding night golf, I’ve played night golf both trips I took to Bandon.  These were with fairly big groups (24 or so).  They set up a mini-loop with glowsticks ringing parts of the green, the hole, the flagstick and placed around the fairways and in bunkers.  The mini-loop is 1-2-3-9 on Bandon Dunes.  All of that was set up through the resort and they had people with each group guiding them the whole time.  It was a blast.

[WesternRacing]

I posted this in the other thread, but I’ll drop it here as well.  Recently did my first trip up to Bandon and was really impressed with pretty much everything.  The courses certainly lived up to the hype, and I just loved the vibe of the whole place.  Did not get to play Sheep Ranch, but played the other four and would rank them as follows:

 

1. Pacific Dunes

2. Bandon Dunes

3. Bandon Trails

4. Old MacDonald

 

I liked all the courses a lot, but Pac Dunes was clearly my favorite.  Just an epic golf course IMO.  I put Bandon Dunes slightly above Trails, but I might reverse that if I get the chance to play them both again.  My caddie was very good, which really added to the experience.  I couldn’t imagine playing those courses without a good, experienced caddie.

 

Honestly, the only slight negative that I would say about the trip was that the food was a bit inconsistent, some good, some not so good.  On the plus side, the food and drink was relatively inexpensive compared to a typical high end resort like Pebble.