Bandon Dunes Resort

Our time at Bandon Dunes is over, sadly for us but maybe less so for those I bored daily with photos. The short verdict…. we absolutely loved it! After playing most courses twice, I now understand why the question “What’s your order?” yields so many different answers. Well my irrelevant ranking is in & it’s not what I expected it to be before we went. 1. Old Mac 2. Bandon Trails 3. Pacific Dunes 4. Sheep Ranch * 5. Bandon Dunes * 6. Bandon Preserve (13 hole short course) 7. Shorty’s (19 hole short course) * We played Sheep Ranch in a gale & had amazing fun, enjoying it far more than 2 loops of Bandon Dunes. So it’s at #4 but if we hadn’t played it in such insane conditions, it would likely be #5. I have absolutely no idea why Old Mac splits opinion. We absolutely loved it & all my favourite holes “on the property” were there. The set up & organisation at Bandon is amazing; so so slick. It’s an utterly brilliant destination for groups - I’d be amazed if there’s a better golf resort on the planet! The golf is of the highest quality; interesting, visually stunning & fun. Each course is very playable by all (ie wide off the tee) which isn’t something I generally like as a short hitter but it didn’t really feel that way due to clever & dramatic bunkering throughout. Friends who visited in 2024 reported poor green conditions. Fortunately, by March 2025, significant work must have been carried out as the greens were exceptional, and the overall conditioning was top-notch. Question I asked myself a lot before going, “is it worth it given the cost & effort from the UK given we have the best links courses in the world on our doorstep?”….. And after 9 days at Bandon my answer would be….. maybe! Would I go again - absolutely in a heartbeat.

Ah - the conundrum that is a high end US golf resort..........what's to like, what's not to like. I'll give my views on the courses later. OK, the good stuff: Customer service throughout the resort is absolutely top notch. We didn't stay on site due to everything being booked up - which tells you everything you need to know about the quality of the accommodation. We did sample the food which was extremely good. The practice facilities are huge and excellent - you're always hitting off grass and with high quality range balls. The starters are friendly and welcoming. The fairways soft, spongey and (unless you're ball ends in a divot - not unusual), a pleasure to play from. The less good bits: the greens on every course had been punched between 2 weeks and 2 days before we arrived! We were not told that would be the case when booking (and the maintenance is planned many months ahead) and it was never mentioned by staff on arrival nor a partial green fee refund offered. If you aren't staying on site, it's $390 a round, apart from Shorties which, whilst great fun, isn't worth $100 in my view, so I don't think an expectation of exceptional course conditioning is unrealistic. We actually cancelled our time on Old MacDonald as it had been punched 2 days prior to our arrival. Did the conditioning spoil our experience? I'd be fibbing if I said it didn't....... Also, be prepared to be out there a VERY long time. we took 5 hours on Bandon Dunes. Don't forget Americans on a "golf buddies" trip also don't have much idea about golf etiquette. We got stuck behind an 8 ball on shorties and they wouldn't have let our 2 ball through unless I'd asked. OK, let's focus on the golf courses. We started on the original Bandon Dunes, a David Mclay Kidd deign (he of the Castle in St Andrews), and this exhibited lots of similar traits - the fariways were some of the widest I think I've ever played - designed I suspect to get the tourists round without losing too many balls. Also a lot of hills and hummocks with rough on them. Enjoyable, yes, particularly the holes by the Pacific. Worthy of it's elevated ranking in then US top100? Absolutely not for me. Next was Pacific Dunes - a Tom Doak design and much more to my taste - again showing classic Doak design features such as minimal earth moving, large undulating greens and bunkers that look like they've been in situ for centuries. The highlights again are the holes by the Ocean, particularly the par 4s at 4 and 13. There are back to back par 3s at 10 and 11 which are world class and some good risk and reward par 5s. A thoroughly enjoyable course, and one I'd definitely want another crack at with the benefit of knowing where to go and more importantly not to go. Our last "proper" course was Bandon Trails, a classic Coore Crenshaw layout. This for me was the best of the 3 we played by a margin. No sight of the Ocean at all - the course winds its way through dunescapes, tall grasses and majestic Douglas firs. It reminded me of the classic Surrey and Berkshire heathland courses. Any of the holes would have fitted right in at Sunningdale or Swinley. The variety of holes was excellent too - lots of elevation and direction changes, asking lots of questions about strategy and club selection. Deserving of its ranking? Yes absolutely, and a course I'd happily play a lot of golf on with9out getting bored. Last, but not least, an honourable mention to Shorties, the 19 hole par 3 course with holes playing from 50 yards to 160 up down and through the most spectacular dunes on the property. Just brilliant fun - and many of the holes wouldn't be out of place on the 18 hole courses. Just head out in the early morning though - avoiding those buddies 6 and 8 balls! So, as I said, for me Bandon was something of a conundrum. I loved Trails, Pac Dunes, shorties and the practice facilities. I didn't really love Bandon Dunes, punched greens, exorbitant green fees and slow golf. Is it worth visiting - emphatically yes. Will I go back, probably. I need to play Old Mac as I'm a Doak fan and really should play the other courses when the greens are in better shape. Would I go back a third time? That's the question..............

Wat een geluksvogel moet je zijn om hier te mogen spelen. Op 27/9 Old MacDonald en op 28/9 Pacific Dunes. De eerste baan is prachtig, maar Pacific is echt van de buitencategorie. Niet voor niets de 4e openbare baan van de VS. De omgeving is met 6 holes langs de Atlantische kust adembenemend, de fairways prachtig en de greens sterk geonduleerd en snel. Sommige holes zijn zo intimiderend dat het moeilijk is gefocust te blijven. Een fout is zo gemaakt. Er is op het resort voor alle banen een oefen area. Dat is wat onhandig omdat je er met een shuttle heen moet. Op hole 3 een birdie shot van 145 meter, dus die vergeet ik niet snel meer. Deze baan is een must do voor de fanatieke golfer.

Golf resort con percorsi tutti PAR 3:

Premetto che non amo i campi di questo genere (stretti e con green imprendibili) ma devo ammettere che i green erano in condizioni perfetti e che la flora e la fauna vista ed incontrata durante i giri sono incredibili.

il resort di bandon dunes offre una selezione di campi impressionante. dal vero links a un semi parkland tutti molto belli e con mantenaince al massimo livello, negl usa certamente una vacanza a bandon è consigliata.