More Glowing Reviews for Bandon, Sigh

I have hated Bandon Dunes since I found out about it. The location, the cost to play a course in Oregon, the stupid ghost tree, the rumors of the restaurant not being open every night.

I have also not played Bandon.

Spending money to play in the rain in a place that isn’t Ireland or Scotland didn’t sound appealing.

However, this recent review combined with my affinity for golfing along the ocean, has moved Bandon from not on my list to Receiving Votes.

The full tweet:

To all the golfers in the house, you have to visit Bandon Dunes.

In five days, I walked more than 100,000 steps and played nine rounds of golf. Some thoughts on the experience:

- Years ago, a friend told me that the best music festivals are the hardest ones to get to because only the die-hards will make the trek. So it is with golf resorts. Bandon is tough to get to, which makes it a place for people who love golf. If you don’t love golf, don’t go. But it’s paradise to those who do.

- What makes Bandon extraordinary isn’t the quality of its single best course. There are plenty of resorts where the best course is better, like Pebble Beach and Whistling Straits. What’s unique about Bandon is that there are five outstanding courses, two par-3 courses, and an 18-hole putting course — all within a five minute drive of each other. Each course has its own personality. Such sense and abundant variety makes Bandon elite.

- Save time for the Par 3 courses. I recommend playing them in the afternoon, after your first 18-hole round, if you don’t feel like playing 36 that day. Bring beers. Make bets. Talk trash.

- Pack for every weather condition: We got pouring rain, 35 mph winds, a dense marine layer, and shorts and T-Shirt sunshine, all within a four day span.

- One of Bandon’s delights is the way it’s designed for all-out golfers. For example, there’s a golf shoe dryer in every room to prevent blisters for people who are playing 36 holes (sometimes in the rain).

- Bandon made a conscious decision to prioritize golf at all costs, such as building the clubhouse away from the coastline so the best beach views would come from the golf course instead of restaurants and hotel rooms. There’s no infinity pool and no luxury spa. It’s about golf, golf, and golf.

- If I have one complaint about Bandon, it’s the speed of dinner service. The entrees took more than an hour to arrive every night (in fairness, the demand spikes are a huge logistical challenge because everybody wants to eat right after the sun goes down).

- Bandon has the best golf merchandise game I know, outside of The Masters. Don’t buy everything you need at the first course though. Every course has their own logo, and also their own strengths / weaknesses on the merch front.

- Go with a group. I was in a group of 24 guys. That’s too many. 8-12 is ideal. Big enough that you can keep playing with new people, but small enough to get to know everybody. - If you do a buddies scramble, do it at Sheep’s Ranch, a course without bunkers where you can tee it high and let it fly on just about every hole.

- If there’s a course to get a caddie, it’s Old MacDonald. It’s a study in optimal illusions. You’ll need help navigating all the blind shots and topsy-turvy green complexes that play tricks on your depth perception. Without a caddie, your eyes will betray you and you’ll find yourself frustrated.

- The quality of your caddie will majorly influence your experience. If you don’t like yours, ask for a new one. If you do like yours, work with them for the entirely of your stay. I had about four different caddies during my time there. Two were good. One was terrible. One was just fine. And I made sure to get the phone numbers of the good ones so I can work with the in the future.

- The pace of play is quick: When you get to the first tee, the marshall will put a GPS tracker on your golf bag right before you tee off to track your position on the course. And if you’re behind by a few minutes, you bet somebody will tell you to pick up the pace.

- Bandon Trails was the surprise highlight because it’s the course that looks the least like the other courses on the property because it’s tree-lined and built away from the water. But it’s a solid Coore-Crenshaw design where just about every hole is noteworthy. If you ask the caddies which course they like best, most of them will give the nod to Trails.

Perell is a New York based writer with over 466,000 followers on Twitter. I had never heard of him before yesterday.

He has yet to answer my question about the quality of the food.

My favorite part of his review:

The Lord of the Rings fan in me is now called to at least consider traveling to Oregon.

I have since entered the April/May 2027 lottery.

For now, I will be content to watch this TGJ video with a little more appreciation thanks to David’s Twitter review.