This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
UNBEATABLE BA DO


N N


piece, Keiser felt confi dent enough to set Doak loose on Pacifi c Dunes, which undoubtedly inspired Florida’s Streamsong Resort, Washington’s Chambers Bay and Gamble Sands, as well as many more Keiser creations, from Tasmania to Nova Scotia to the sand hills of Wisconsin. And it’s all because Kidd created a Scottish links course just north of a two-stoplight fi shing village of 2,500 people in Bandon, Ore.


+


Bandon Trails (2005)


In the beginning, the site that would become Bandon Dunes Resort was swallowed up by a forest of spire- like conifers, and the shapely sand dunes were swamped with miles of prickly gorse.


But then Keiser climbed a trail that led to what has become the launching pad for the devilish driv- able downhill par-4 No. 14 at Ban- don Trails—the highest point a golf course scales on the property. The perch yields an expansive view, but it took a special eye to see what Keiser envisioned. “At that moment, I knew I had found a site for links,” recalled Keiser


The greens at Old Macdonald are the largest in the U.S., and even bigger than the Old Course at St. Andrews.


in a revealing interview with Ashworth Golf. “I couldn’t believe that I was looking at 1,200 acres on the ocean that were for sale, that were so perfect for a Ballybunion or a Royal Dornoch kind of course in America.”


Keiser would fi nally utilize the exact spot where he uncovered his epiphany in 2005, when he hired heavyweight architects Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw to craft a unique third course for the property that dips through a saddle of dunes before ducking into the lush forest of the Pacifi c Northwest. The artfully sculpted Bandon Trails


is an aptly named nature walk that cuts through a serene and enchanting corner of Oregon timberland. And it’s perhaps the ultimate il-


lustration of the overwhelming ocean bias that washes over us. I’m guilty of it, too.


Coore-Crenshaw chisel all of their


classic fi xings in a creative and cap- tivating way at Bandon Trails. Their distinctly ragged bunkers brighten any hole. Their welcoming fairways are bisected with innovative intrigue, including decision-forcing diagonal hog’s backs. Their greens melt into their environments the way you would dissolve into the soft cushions of a


La-Z-Boy. The overfl owing 17th green that spills like a fountain into its sur- rounding garden-like setting might be the best on the entire property. Bandon Trails is strategically stimu-


lating, a challenging examination of your game, an exhilarating hike and an all-around delightful experience. She’s a real sweetheart. And I thought I was a more sophisticated and evolved golfer than this. It’s just that the mesmerizing ocean


holes at Pacifi c Dunes and Bandon Dunes serenade me and steal my heart every time. You deserve better, Bandon Trails.


It’s not you, it’s me. +


Old Macdonald (2009) So Golf Digest came out with a


ranking of the Top 50 Most Fun U.S. Public Courses, and Bandon Dunes properties fi lled in at Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 6. The most fun Bandon Dunes


course, second in the country only to Pebble Beach, was Old Macdonald. That’s an interesting interpretation


of fun—like if you asked a serial killer if he was having fun while sawing you up, limb by limb. I guess one of us is having fun? I’ve played the victim at Old Mac- donald far too many times than I care


32 / NCGA.ORG / FALL 2015


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76