UNBEATABLE BA DO
N N But the soul of Bandon lies in its
links spirit. Sprawling sepia-soaked swaths of golfi ng bliss sweep across Oregon’s rugged coast, revealing infi nity views of untamed shorelines draped in blooming bright yellow gorse above a foreboding sea. It’s a links spirit that stirs the
creative soul and awakens a dormant corner of your imagination—putts from 100 yards, drives that bound 350 in one direction and fl oat and fi ght to fl y 150 in the other, irons hit head- high, scooting approaches that skid 20 and 30 yards short of the green before funneling toward the fl ag. Bandon is the most authentic links
experience this side of the Atlantic, from the fescue to the freezing rain. It should be noted that in our 60-plus rounds, we’ve only been washed off the course twice. Be prepared for anything, but a stock 20-mph wind and temperatures in the 50s are what we typically dress for in March. If you can wear a hat, it’s a calm day. The weather can get downright
biblical, but the amazingly resilient and sieve-like courses are playable again after the slightest breaks from downpours. As a starter once told us, “If you don’t like the weather in Oregon, just wait 15 minutes.” It’s joked that going to Bandon is
just like going to the British Isles, only it takes longer. This is very nearly true, but the remote Bandon—it’s four hours south of Portland, nearly three hours west of Eugene, two hours north of the California border and a half hour from a limited regional airport—also captures many of the ideals golf still embraces across the pond.
“Golf in America evolved into
a fi rst-class sport,” Bandon Dunes developer Mike Keiser shared with Golf. “But if you go to Scotland and Ireland, golf is an everyman’s game, like bowling. I wanted to get as close to the Scottish, Irish experience as I could. It’s part of the fun.” And so Bandon boasts four walk- ing-only courses under 7,000 yards,
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a fl edgling caddie program, a speedy pace-of-play culture, and dialed-down green speeds that squeeze out every inch of fun from some of the most provocative putting surfaces you will encounter. (Thankfully, Bandon bet- ters the Scottish and Irish dining and lodging experiences, as well as the exchange rate, while offering similar post-round revelry at McKee’s Pub and the lively late-night Bunker Bar.) Then there are the two par-3 op-
tions that can be played in less than two hours, a psychedelic miniature golf encounter (complete with drink holders on every hole), an endlessly entertaining practice facility, and refreshingly reasonable rates—our two-a-days in March average out to an unbeatable $95 per round. Throw in the slightly scruffy and sustainable links conditions that make rounds of golf perpetually more stra- tegic, fl exible and fun, plus the rabid, loyal and unabashed fan base it grows (see: me), and doesn’t Bandon seem to have a remedy for every ailment that affl icts the golf industry? Now, onto a question that is much
more diffi cult to answer: What is the best part about Bandon Dunes?
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Pacific Dunes (2002) After Alister MacKenzie fi rst
toured the site that would become Cypress Point Club, he glowed,
The spectacular 11th hole at Pacifi c Dunes is the second of two straight par 3s along the ocean.
“Cypress Point has interested me more than any land I have ever had to deal with. For the sake of my reputation, I should like to make you the best golf links in existence.” Fast forward a century, and Tom Doak was struck with a similar sense of duty after contemplating what would become Pacifi c Dunes. “It may well have been the best
site for a golf course that any designer has been given since the 1920s,” Doak refl ected on his website. “Since its opening, we have been lucky enough to work on other beautiful sites, but in the end, this is the stan- dard by which the rest of our courses must be measured.” Pacifi c Dunes opened three years
after the original Bandon Dunes golf course debuted—and I’m pretty sure it’s my favorite of the two. Unless I’ve just walked off the 18th green of Ban- don Dunes. But then I tee off Pacifi c Dunes, and I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be playing. The difference between the two is akin to another unanswerable 19th hole debate: do you prefer golf in Scot- land or Ireland? St. Andrews or Bally- bunion? I stress that it’s purely personal preference at this point, but I enjoy the rush of shooting through, around, over and against towering Irish dunes, fairways that bob like a stormy sea, and sunken greens cradled by scrubby fes- cue and wind-shaped blowout bunkers
PHOTO: JOANN DOST
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