Bandon Trails makeover

[Swingem]

Have our annual Bandon trip coming up in Feb. I always look forward to playing Trails, and played the 13 open holes last year. Looking for feedback and maybe photos of the reworked holes from those that have played it since the makeover.

[bird206]

Just out of curiosity. What make Bandon Trails a great course? I've read it's because it's different from the other 3 Bandon courses and has a serene vibe to it. The layout and routing is great. Or could it be folks from other parts of the country never get to play a woodland style golf course because they don't exist in other areas of the country? I'm looking forward to play it but I've played many woodland and mountain courses and that's the only thing I can compare Trails to. Am I right on this?

[ryu123]

Bird, you’re wrong. I can’t speak for other folks, but I’ve played many mountain and parkland courses on the west coast.

 

Trails is a great course in its own right.

[bird206]

Bird, you're wrong. I can't speak for other folks, but I've played many mountain and parkland courses on the west coast.

 

Trails is a great course in its own right.

Please enlighten me then. What makes it great? I'm sure what people say the like about it is real.

[DFinch]

Just out of curiosity. What make Bandon Trails a great course? I've read it's because it's different from the other 3 Bandon courses and has a serene vibe to it. The layout and routing is great. Or could it be folks from other parts of the country never get to play a woodland style golf course because they don't exist in other areas of the country? I'm looking forward to play it but I've played many woodland and mountain courses and that's the only thing I can compare Trails to. Am I right on this?

 

It's hard to put a finger on it. The "mood" is definitely different. Even though you don't get ocean views you know you're on the coast due to the types of foliage and the course conditions. It's uniquely beautiful and not like what most people are used to in a parkland type course. I think the design of the holes as a layout are second only to Pacific. I think comparing it to or calling it a woodland/parkland layout doesn't come close to doing it justice.

 

The ocean holes on the other three courses are fantastic and memorable. It's hard to "give that up", but if you really pay attention to the unique aeshetics and ambience of Trails you can really appreciate what it has to offer on its own merits.

 

Reflecting out loud here, but one thing that comes to mind is the other three courses, which start inland, are a journey to and from the ocean. There's almost an anticipation toward and "let down" away before and after those stretches. With Trails, you get the Trails experience and aesthetics for the entire layout (except for maybe #1).

[puttnforthe8]

Bird, you're wrong. I can't speak for other folks, but I've played many mountain and parkland courses on the west coast.

 

Trails is a great course in its own right.

Please enlighten me then. What makes it great? I'm sure what people say the like about it is real.

 

Fantastic designed holes, excellent mix of style of holes, great par 3's; elevation changes, risk reward elements; changes in playing strategy and of course the beauty.

[duffer987]

Trees schmees - it's simply a really enjoyable course.

Personally for me, I think it has the best collection of mid-length par 4s at the resort: 4, 6, 13, 15 are all top drawer stuff. Of course not that 7 and 11 aren't quality long 4s.

[mallrat]

Bird, you're wrong. I can't speak for other folks, but I've played many mountain and parkland courses on the west coast.

 

Trails is a great course in its own right.

Please enlighten me then. What makes it great? I'm sure what people say the like about it is real.

 

Fantastic designed holes, excellent mix of style of holes, great par 3's; elevation changes, risk reward elements; changes in playing strategy and of course the beauty.

 

This x10 for me.

 

First off, for me, you don’t get many tree lined courses that play as a true links course or you can play it on the ground just as well as in the air. The setting is serene, you feel like you are the only group on the course.

 

From the opening tee shot where you can hit anything from a 7 iron to driver (depending on weather) and still have a wedge in. Walking down the 3rd and looking over and seeing where they used to get all the bunker sand from for the whole property. The risk reward holes, the routing as a whole.

 

If I could only play 1 course that I have played the rest of my life it would be Trails.

[PorkChopExpress]

It’s classic Crenshaw course

Fairways are wide open with all the trouble around the greens.

Lots of shot making, risk and rewards.

Just simply a great course

[The Pearl]

Agree with Malllrat. It would be my pick of a course to play everyday for the rest of my life. It is not a parkland course in the general sense and it is not close to a being a mountain course. In fact, I would go so far as not even classifying it as tree lined despite being carved out through the forest.

 

As somebody said above, I have never played a course that creates a "vibe" like Trails. It slowly embraces you with a serenity that you can't get anywhere else on the property. It is like the Enchanted Forest from a fairy tale.

 

And my goodness, the par 3's are to die for. 17 is my favorite hole that I have ever played in my life.

[spud3]

What makes Trails a great course?

 

What makes any course great? There's a ton of different answers, but for me it's design and playability, but for others it's location, location, location.

 

Trails has some of the best shot values on the entire property. And I'm with Pearl - my favorite par 3's on the whole Resort are on Trails.

[njlam]

Trails is like a beautiful intelligent woman whose sisters are supermodels...

 

I have been going to Bandon since it opened and I continue to think that Trails is one of the best courses in the world.

 

Each hole is beautiful and unique and have enough real estate for several holes. This added space gives a feeling of grandeur to the whole property.

 

The design and layout of Trails is nuanced and there are risk/return decisions to be made on almost every shot.

 

The opening three holes are sequenced perfectly and really set a wonderful calming vibe for the day.

 

#4 gives you a choice; drive it up the right side and have a blind approach, or go left and crest the ridge to have a clear but longer shot to the green.

 

#5 is a beautiful par 3 with a long green

 

#6 gives you another choice, this time with a fairway bunker in the center of the fairway to penalize indecisiveness.

 

#7 is just beautiful with plenty of inland beach on the right and the left.

 

#8 is a drivable par 4 where we always have our LD comp to make sure everyone goes for it.

 

#9-#10 beautiful holes with enough real estate for an entire 18 hole par 3 golf course.

 

#11 A wonderful sweeping dogleg right with the only non-ocean water hazard at the resort.

 

#12 Long par 3

 

#13 A remarkable hole with the most difficult green complex. Missing the green left or right can lead to complete disaster.

 

#14 Trails most controversial hole. I must admit in the early years I hated it, but now I love it. Driveable par 4...you have to go for it.

 

#15 Beautiful hole

 

#16 Long hole (par 5) probably the least remarkable on the course

 

#17 Gorgeous par 3

 

#18 Originally a blind tee shot, but since reworked. Nice finishing hole. Great to have the Trails restaurant overlooking the 18th green.

[newg33b]

It's been almost five years (!) since I went to Bandon and played Trails, but what I remember so vividly about Trails is the sense of joy and peace I had while playing it. Especially during the walk from 4-15 through the woods, it was probably my most peaceful experience on any golf course ever: even though there are people playing around you, you probably interact with wildlife more than you do other groups on Trails. The sense of scale and quiet and beauty there sticks with me and really makes me want to go back to Bandon. It's special.

[Matt J]

It's extremely difficult which makes it interesting. Like all the seaside courses, it's very weather dependent. The first time I played it was one of the wettest days I've ever played. Even using the bag cover, multiple dry towels, and full gore tex rain gear, everyone in the group was soaked to the skin by the time we walked off the 18th green. Full survival mode. The next time the weather was perfect, no wind, warm and sunny. The shot values were very different.

 

Probably the things that are the most different from the seaside links courses on the resort are the trees and the type of elevation change. At Old Mac, for instance, you see these big contours as you make your way to the sea you're climbing and then when you return you're dropping. Looking at the property the western and northern boundaries are the high points and then it rolls around in the meat of the golf course. At Trails, the trees hide some of the hills, and you have shorter steeper ascents and descents. But, the base is still sand, the bunkers are still beach sand, and the greens roll into the first cut just like the seaside courses. Most of the shots are very straight forward demanding golf shots with the occasional blind shot or tricked up green complex contour. The aren't overwhelming, more like, I want to remember that next round. I must say the greens were beyond bumpy last I played it, but it was winter and they did not seem to be mowed very tight. With Poa greens the faster the green the truer the roll usually.

 

If it tells you anything the 18th handicap hole is a 242 yard par 3 :)

[buzlin]

Even though I rank other individual holes higher at the other courses than Trails, nothing beats the serenity of Trails as others have said. I still recall the glass cracking echo of balls landing on the green during a cold spell in 2013, talk about majestic and eerie. And yes, the overall layout and flow is ridiculously good.

[duffer987]

Even though I rank other individual holes higher at the other courses than Trails, nothing beats the serenity of Trails as others have said. I still recall the glass cracking echo of balls landing on the green during a cold spell in 2013, talk about majestic and eerie. And yes, the overall layout and flow is ridiculously good.

LOL! I remember us talking about that before :)

The blind approach to #4 was where we got that, was that the same spot for you guys?

[buzlin]

Even though I rank other individual holes higher at the other courses than Trails, nothing beats the serenity of Trails as others have said. I still recall the glass cracking echo of balls landing on the green during a cold spell in 2013, talk about majestic and eerie. And yes, the overall layout and flow is ridiculously good.

LOL! I remember us talking about that before :)

The blind approach to #4 was where we got that, was that the same spot for you guys?

I believe it first happened on 4, but I think it was all the greens enclosed by trees. For me 9 and 10 were the loudest for whatever reason. So cool. Too bad it also meant that your ball had bounced 50 yds over. At least there was no ball mark to repair.

 

I also recall scraping up dirt to make a tee since no way were you getting a wood tee in the ground. Unlike at the range where you could get hot water from the shack to melt the ground to get a tee in.

 

Ah, good times at Bandon making memories no matter the conditions.

[ebrasmus21]

Bandon is just magical. How many threads are on this site describing the place? The passion people have to describe and articulate their experiences while on one of, any of, the courses. It’s magic.

[duffer987]

^Ha, indeed. For those of us that don't have access to the Long Island privates or the Eastern US blue-bloods in general, this really is as good as it gets.

Especially during the offseason when a lot of us here go, everyone has gone in the past couple months or is going between now and April - and with us Westcoasters being able to hop in the car and get there in 9hrs or less, vs the trans-Atlantic flight to our other best option.

[spud3]

^Ha, indeed. For those of us that don't have access to the Long Island privates or the Eastern US blue-bloods in general, this really is as good as it gets.

Especially during the offseason when a lot of us here go, everyone has gone in the past couple months or is going between now and April - and with us Westcoasters being able to hop in the car and get there in 9hrs or less, vs the trans-Atlantic flight to our other best option.

 

+1.

 

This was a great year for the Watch & Dash, and everyone I know has taken advantage of the (until now) very mild winter and scored on the weather.

[Edaw68]

Trails is like a beautiful intelligent woman whose sisters are supermodels...

 

 

 

That is such a perfect metaphor.

[jamie]

I think Trails is the best designed course on the property!! The way the course routes and flows through the geography is perfect.

[Dsevans8]

Sometimes I feel as if there is some sort of Augusta like quality to Trails. Almost a sort of reverence that you have on it.

[Davidelliott100]

Not so much about what makes Trails great, but I've played it twice in the summer, and a buddy played it in the Spring the year prior. Hole 2 I hit 9 iron down wind. He hit driver the year before and was short of the green. The wind can get absolutely insane there, and it's so freaking cool.

[philsRHman]

My caddie explained it well. You’ve seen Trails before in one form or another. For me it reminded me at times of golf in the Canadian Rockies, and other times of Bethpage Black. You don’t make the trip to Mecca for Trails. BUT ... that doesn’t mean it’s not a contender for the best course on the property. I absolutely loved it even though I was dead tired and back was shot and basically flailed my way around the back 9 incapable of making a swing.

 

Something mystical about it, and just really fun, great holes.

[spud3]

> @Edaw68 said:

> njlam wrote:

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> Trails is like a beautiful intelligent woman whose sisters are supermodels...

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> That is such a perfect metaphor.

 

Agree. That is the perfect metaphor

[DustlnTheWind]

I have Bandon Trails as 1B to Pacific Dunes 1A in my ranking of the courses. You feel like you are the only one on the resort when you play Trails.