Bandon - Staying Off-site Options

[jrg75]

Hey All,

 

Like many of you, I am still in recovery mode from my rejection letter from Bandon and the prospects that it will not be a regular part of my golf travel.  

 

Anyway, I got to thinking that while lodging may be next to impossible to guarantee for the foreseeable future, I know there are opportunities to visit Bandon staying off-site. Unfortunately, these are probably more solo trips that will require maximum flexibility which is still better than nothing.

 

Rather than bog down the Random Bandon Thread, I thought I'd start a new one so we can all share best practices on how to make the most out of the new normal.

 

My initial thoughts:

 

Best Lodging: Bandon Inn, 100%. This has been my pre-trip go to lodging option for my last 3-4 trips which usually allows me to fly in the day before, crash in Bandon, then get two tee times the day of arrival at the resort. I actually think I like the Bandon Inn as much as some of the on property lodging other than the obvious proximity advantages.

 

Honorable Mentions for Lodging: Best Western at Face Rock and the Inn at Old Town. I've also stayed in Coos Bay but definitely a step down from the above options.

 

Tee Times: This is the biggest unknown for me as I've only played there as a resort guest. It seems like non hotel guest can book 21 days out (fees are about $50 higher) but replays are available at the normal 50% which is cool… For those of you who have gone without staying onsite, what are your experiences with getting an early morning tee time allowing for a replay?

 

Alternative, I see they added a premium day guest option which is $100 more but allows you to make a tee time a year out with replay still available. It has a restriction that you can't make a tee time before 10am which makes a replay seem difficult except for the longest parts of summer.  Anyone recently use this option, how did it work out?

 

As for courses, my guess is Pacific and OG Bandon times are the most difficult with the other courses being less difficult. I'd honestly take Trails every afternoon if I could get it and have really grown fond of Old Mac my last few trips so no issues for me on selection.  Maybe the strategy is use the premium option for Pacific/Bandon and roll the dice on the other three.  I guess the short courses are also available as fillers.

 

Dining: Seems manageable, grab and go breakfast, lunch wherever and a seat at the bar for dinner. The city of Bandon has good dining too, so this doesn't seem like a major impediment.

 

Give me your thoughts, what did I miss, where are the pitfalls.  Probably going to try a off-site solo trip in the neart future.

 

Edited January 10 by jrg75

[Golfnuck]

Don't give up yet.

 

I would call back and see when the draw winners have finished their booking period.

 

I suspect that if you want to get last March or April times you will be out of luck but I bet there are still times available.

 

I am trying to get some early fall times and I don't have a good feeling about that.

[jvincent]

I have stayed offsite at Bandon several times. I've done both last minute trips, within the 21-day period, and booking advance tee-time only spots at a premium 6-9 months in advance. Here's what works for me.

 

- I typically get an AirBnB in North Bend. Having a living/dining area is nice, especially if you are not solo. I've generally done the last minute trips as a twosome or solo.

 

- When I book in advance I usually get one tee time per day. Once I get to within 21 days of the first tee time I call and try to juggle times to get replays. I've had good success doing this but YMMV depending on the time of year and if you're trying to do it for a foursome. Solo or twosome is a lot easier.

 

- We'll generally not fussy about food. We'll eat on site if we can get a reservation or McKee's isn't too busy or just grab something in North Bend.

[mallrat]

If you have a group and don’t mind splitting up your tee times at the resort, Bandon Crossings offers some cool lodging options. They are also stay and plays so you can play as a group at Crossings then split up into 2 somes at the resort. 1 house is literally 20 steps off the back of the range. That said, I’m a Bandon Inn guy
 

The Broken Anchor used to be my go to for food in town but after Covid they really shrank their menu. Still good food but not a big menu. Had a couple great simple meals at Tony’s. Bandon Brewing has great pizzas but gets busy. 

[Kernel]

I have been five times and stayed off-site each time. Each time I went with one other player, so we were booking a twosome. And every time our trip was Thurs-Sun, so weekends were included.

 

We generally play each course once with two days of 36 and two days of 18. Despite booking 21-days out, we have always gotten the tee times we wanted (roughly speaking) at the courses we wanted (just maybe not the exact day of sequence). It has gotten more challenging in recent years compared to 10 years ago, but it has still been doable. 

[Golfnuck]

23 hours ago, Kernel said:

I have been five times and stayed off-site each time. Each time I went with one other player, so we were booking a twosome. And every time our trip was Thurs-Sun, so weekends were included.

 

We generally play each course once with two days of 36 and two days of 18. Despite booking 21-days out, we have always gotten the tee times we wanted (roughly speaking) at the courses we wanted (just maybe not the exact day of sequence). It has gotten more challenging in recent years compared to 10 years ago, but it has still been doable. 

 

Have you found M-F more difficult to find tee times?  Every time I have been there on a larger corporate / business group it has been during M - F.  I think it is because they do not want to infringe on family weekends.

[Kernel]

42 minutes ago, Golfnuck said:

 

Have you found M-F more difficult to find tee times?  Every time I have been there on a larger corporate / business group it has been during M - F.  I think it is because they do not want to infringe on family weekends.

Hmmm, I haven't really noticed a material difference other than Fridays have had tighter tee sheets than the other days more often than not. But my sample size might be too small to draw any conclusions. 

Edited January 14 by Kernel

[dmsalle]

The longer the days, the easier to grab a tee time without warning. I went down with a buddy for the 4th of july and played 36 on the 3rd and 4th booking both the day of. The first tee times will always be booked as well as 5 hours later when those people would potentially play their second round. If it's your first time it's worth scheduling in advance to get to play all the courses but if you're flexible there is generally times available on the tee sheets. 

[spud3]

Like those above, I generally take a solo trip down from PDX once during the "slow" season, and it is often booked less than a week out.  I'll watch the weather forecast for the time I'm targeting and if I see a two or three day window that doesn't have a monsoon in the forecast, I'll make some tee times and a reservation at Bandon Inn (if I don't get lucky and the resort happens to have a room available).

 

I have not had a problem getting tee times, mainly because I'm not at all picky about which courses I play.  As noted above, this usually means a morning(-ish) slot on OM, BT or SR.  I usually don't make an afternoon reservation, but just check in with any of the pro shops when I finish the morning round as to which course has an open tee slot, grab some food and head over.  This approach has resulted in more than my share of solo rounds on all of the courses, including BD and PD.  That time of year usually means I don't get a full 18 in before sunset, but there's enough short loops on all the courses to make it worth the half-price greens fee.

 

Staying in town has a couple distinct advantages, and the only real drawback is you have a ten minute drive either way in the morning and evening.  Food options are good, especially the breakfast sandwiches at Bandon Coffee and anything from Tony's Crab Shack.  It's also a lot quieter in town at night.  I've stayed at Bandon Inn and Inn At Old Town, and much prefer BI, though prices there have almost hit the mark for the resort rooms, at least in the off-season.

 

I don't go during the high season, as my experience is the courses play almost exactly the same in July as they do in December (heavy rain notwithstanding), and I have the full arsenal of gear to deal with the difference in temps and rainfall.  And you can definitely hit a bluebird stretch of weather any time of the year.

[puttnforthe8]

I like the BW - 2 minute walk to the beach where you can imbibe and pass out on the beach!  Back road to town is quick.  Quieter.

[Swingem]

There are a number of rental houses off site if you have a group of up to eight players. For a number of years our group of eight stayed at one of these for our annual trip to BD. We are attached to a larger group, most of which stay on site. The rental has 4 master suites with 2 queen beds and bathroom each, kitchen, dining room, and pool room, and is ~5 min drive to any of the courses. It also works out cheaper with eight guys than staying on site, and the accommodations are a step up. Obviously wouldn't be for singles or twosomes, but for a group of eight that can get tee times but are challenged by lodging, it's a great alternative.  

[cjblake09]

We had a group of 8 and stayed here and it was great.  Just on the other side of the Sheep Ranch range.