Day 3, round 4, Mon 3/26 11:30 time, 5 hr round. Forecast said clear, got about 2 1/2 hrs of rain, at times pretty heavy. 1-3 club wind at times... but most of the course is sheltered due to the for... Continue »

Day 3, round 4, Mon 3/26 11:30 time, 5 hr round. Forecast said clear, got about 2 1/2 hrs of rain, at times pretty heavy. 1-3 club wind at times... but most of the course is sheltered due to the forest. This is my 2nd favorite track, and it was in the best shape (tied with old mac). Greens withstood the water great... rolled mostly true, a slow 10. This course does suffer from divot hell on some landing areas, and there are nets there to prove it. but generally, the course is in great shape. fwiw, this course is way better than spyglass, to give you an idea of my opinion, and I love spy. If I had a choice in its current conditions, I would play this, pac and old mac if it wasn't my first time.

Played Thurs 3/25, 10:10 tee time, 4:45 round. Walking only, we took a caddy. Btw, caddy was money with the yardages... I would've misclubbed all week long. I love this course. Spyglass on steroi... Continue »

Played Thurs 3/25, 10:10 tee time, 4:45 round. Walking only, we took a caddy. Btw, caddy was money with the yardages... I would've misclubbed all week long. I love this course. Spyglass on steroids. My #2 on the resort. Greens were slow and sandy, but smooth. a slow 10. course runs through the forest and you don't see the ocean on more than 3 holes from afar. I think it gets the short shrift because of that. This is a quality course. Other than #14, which I think is the worst hole on the resort, but has one of the best views on the resort.. weird, right? but other than that, it has 17 awesome holes. The worst weather day, overcast most of the day, with no more than a 2 club wind... but beautiful by bandon standards. I had a great time.

Played yesterday with an 10ish tee time. Finished in 4 1/2 hours and really we didn't see the group in front of us or behind us. With Monday being very warm (over 90 degrees) we expected some warm t... Continue »

Played yesterday with an 10ish tee time. Finished in 4 1/2 hours and really we didn't see the group in front of us or behind us. With Monday being very warm (over 90 degrees) we expected some warm temps. It was a little cooler but we were told that there was a fire that started in Napa over the weekend that was pushing up the smoke which caused a hazy look to the course. The sun even had the orange glow to it.

Greens were pretty great even though I 3 putted 4 times out here. I think what messed me up was going to the Punch Bowl the day before. I thought the greens might be a little slower than I usually play but were very smooth. The greens themselves are pretty firm and I hit some high shots that didn't seem to make a ball mark.

Fairways were pretty good too. Some might be a little longer than normal but that is more the exception than the norm. Good coverage, I don't remember that many bare spots or areas that needed attention.

Rough (native areas) was actually not bad to hit from. You do risk it going into this stuff as there is some big areas of grass where ball could be lost. I was fortunate not to find any.

I was in one greenside bunker and it was pretty soft. Fairway bunkers seemed like a darker type of sand, almost dirt like color. I think the design really played into the natural surroundings.

For a drink I recommend the Bandon Pale, that was a pretty good treat after the round. I didn't like this course the last time I played here over 10 years ago but I have a better appreciation for the course now. Even though this is on the property it feels completely different than the Dunes courses. There is more tree lined holes which is a nice change for the courses here.

Finished up a 3 night/4 day golf trip to the Bandon property for Memorial Day weekend. I have a lot to review and many pictures to post. Bandon Dunes (the property inclusive of all courses) is a world... Continue »

Finished up a 3 night/4 day golf trip to the Bandon property for Memorial Day weekend. I have a lot to review and many pictures to post. Bandon Dunes (the property inclusive of all courses) is a world class golf destination that may not have many rivals in terms of number of top 100 courses all within a stones throw from each other. Places that come to mind that can compete include maybe Pinehurst & Pebble Beach. I will go into detail on each course on the property but I will say this, what makes Bandon perhaps the best golf destination in the world is the variety of golf they offer. From Bandon Trails to Old Mac & everything in between. Bandon Trails was the first course we played on our weekend trip & I was blown away at the layout. Many visitors overlook Trails when coming to Bandon as it is not a true links golf course. But the demanding layout sits far away from any of the other golf courses on the property and has a very remote feel to it. I would argue Trails to be the toughest course on site or at the very least tied with Old Mac. Once you get past the 1st hole, the course slowly switch backs up to the highest point on the property, hole 14 tee box, which is also said to be the location for which Mike Kieser decided he would purchase the property some 25 years ago. Trails is well protected by massive pine trees which make it a great option for the 2nd round of the day when the wind is picking up. There are a handful of driveable 4's (8, 14) reachable 5's (2 & 9) which can provide some chances at birdie/eagle. What makes Trails truly exceptional is Coore/Crenshaw's ability to blend three distinct settings Ocean/Forrest/meadow and create what I think is a course without a single "bad" hole. Once you get into the forest section there is a stretch of 6-7 holes where you feel like you are the only people on the property. I wont dive much into course conditions at Bandon in my reviews but I will just say that all courses were in superb conditioning. This is links golf so the conditions vary significantly throughout the year. But one thing to note, the greens at Trails are getting heavily spotted with Poa and late in the day they do get bumpy. I heard from multiple people the Greenskeeper is planning to stop fighting the Poa and slowly let it take over. In no way did this impact my enjoyment of my second favorite course on site.

Played Bandon Trails as my second 36 on Sunday 6/18 teeing off at 1:40pm. Weather was a perfect 67 degrees with about 15mph of wind. Conditions at Trails followed suit with the other courses on proper... Continue »

Played Bandon Trails as my second 36 on Sunday 6/18 teeing off at 1:40pm. Weather was a perfect 67 degrees with about 15mph of wind. Conditions at Trails followed suit with the other courses on property...perfect.

Trails is very different than the other courses at Bandon because there are no ocean views. I feel like Trails is a course that you either love, or don't. It didn't really fit my eye so I tend to fall into the second category. Don't get me wrong, the course is spectacular. From tee to green, it's in perfect condition. I've never been to Augusta, but it reminded me of it with it's rolling hills and meadows. Trails is a pretty tough walk, especially as your second 18 of the day. The course routes up into the hills and big pines, and is way less windy than the other courses, so the time to play it is in the afternoon when the winds are blowing hard by the ocean. It's much warmer as well...some of the guys had on pants and were regretting it. There are some very unique and challenging holes on Trails, and I'm very glad I played it.

I put Trails at 4th place in my course rankings at Bandon. A couple of guys in my group ranked it 1st. It is a must play, regardless of your feelings at the end of the round. I'm very glad we didn't skip it.

Played here third on a 3 day trip, 1st of 36 holes, Sun May 22, 8am tee time. Everything you think you would expect from Bandon Dunes... it's better. All of the greens were perfect, firm and smooth, a... Continue »

Played here third on a 3 day trip, 1st of 36 holes, Sun May 22, 8am tee time. Everything you think you would expect from Bandon Dunes... it's better. All of the greens were perfect, firm and smooth, about a 10 on the stimp. You have to play them to roll out... so i always played 10 yds short.. took me about 13 holes to figure it out. All four courses definitely would benefit from playing more than once... as I feel like I lost 4-5 strokes a round on course knowledge, that even a caddy would not have helped. We did not take caddies our whole trip. brought our own push carts. they encourage you to take the carts right across the greens. did not leave one ball mark. There is a huge practice facility that services all 4 courses, so you have to drive or shuttle. Stayed in the Lodge, and it was a very comfy bed and perfect for a bed and shower. We had views of the Bandon Dunes GC and the ocean from our rooms. The food is excellent everywhere we went.

The weather today was not as perfect as yesterday. Pretty heavy rain for the front 9. Definitely rain gear weather. Wind was mild, maybe 15 mph, and not cold. The back 9 was intermittent drizzle.. stripped off the rain gear.

this is the toughest walk of the 4. The course meanders through the hilly forest. Think Poppy Hills, but way more interesting. No ocean view at all, but amazing views in it's own right. Again, not an uninteresting hole in the bunch. Course knowledge again would have helped. If it's "driveable", you better be on, cuz a bad spot puts you in line for double. I would definitely like another crack at this course.

This review is actually for the Bandon Preserve 13 hole par 3 course If you go to Bandon Dunes, you need to play this little course ! The longest hole, even from the tips is 142 yards. The holes ar... Continue »

This review is actually for the Bandon Preserve 13 hole par 3 course If you go to Bandon Dunes, you need to play this little course ! The longest hole, even from the tips is 142 yards. The holes are all very interesting and at times, a challenge. The views are incredible and it only took us about an hour to play.

The only downside is the cost. $50 is a lot for a par three course, but if you're already there, spring for the $$ and go for it !

First of my rounds at Bandon. Lucked out with really good weather. Teed off at 8:00am and played about 1/2 the round in my shirtsleeves. Only a few holes with light drizzle. How wonderful. Finis... Continue »

First of my rounds at Bandon. Lucked out with really good weather. Teed off at 8:00am and played about 1/2 the round in my shirtsleeves. Only a few holes with light drizzle. How wonderful. Finished in 3 hours 10 min. Loved this course ! A challenge but not unfair. Not all that thilled with the greens. Very firm and difficult to read. Took several holes to get used to the undulations. Very easy to 3 putt these greens. The golf coourse is right out in front of you. What you see is what you get. A wonderful experience.

Review #3 of 4

Just returned from playing Bandon Dunes from SAT, April 27th to Tuesday, April 30th.
We were able to get the last April rates before they go up significantly for the summer.
This w... Continue »

Review #3 of 4

Just returned from playing Bandon Dunes from SAT, April 27th to Tuesday, April 30th.
We were able to get the last April rates before they go up significantly for the summer.
This was recently voted the #1 Golf Resort in America by Golf Digest. It was truly golf mecca. No where else in the US, can you play the #1, #5, #10 and #13 best rated courses all on 1 location.

What a memorable trip! Let me first by saying the pride of ownership is really what separates this golf resort from the rest of the resorts I have been too. Everyone from the caddies, to the bus drivers and staff all truly take pride in their resort. Customer service was A+++, best ever at any golf resort. This resort is for serious walking golfers only. You can't ride any carts to check off any bucket list wishes to play golf, so you weed out a lot of jackasses (they go to Pebble Beach instead). We played Bandon Dunes (#5 best course you can play) the 1st day, Old MacDonald (#10) & Bandon Trails (#13) (back to back) the 2nd day and the 3rd day, we played Pacific Dunes, (#1 rated public course in America according to golf.com)

Review #3

We played Bandon Trails @ 1:40 pm after finishing our round @ Old MacDonald in 4 hours. Bandon Trails was my #2 favorite course on the resort. You have spectacular ocean less views, but instead you see the many trees and tops of trees as Hole #15 is the highest point at the resort. The hike up there is so brutal, they have a truck that drives you up there because a caddy had a heart attack walking up there. Many of the holes seemed like they are carved right into the forest by the golf gods. Many holes were beautifully framed by the Oregon trees and the bunkering blends the holes into the nature terrain. This was the toughest walk with many up and down elevation changes. It's the equivalent of walking Eagle Glen in Corona (funny thing is they don't let you walk Eagle Glen because of the terrain). Greens were immaculate running @ 10. Fairways were lush and had plenty of roll. I think Bandon Trails gets less play and love so the course was in great shape. There is a scenic walk between many of the holes...as you get wander through the forest only to discover the gems of the next hole. I would recommend walking this course first...as it is tiring and demanding.