Bandon Dunes - Golf Heaven

Bandon Dunes Golf Resort is as close to heaven as a golfer can get in the United States. The "World Of" traveled to Bandon Dunes twice. The first time was in 2002 shortly after the second course, Pacific Dunes, was opened (the original course, Bandon Dunes, opened in 1999). And the second time was in 2005, just after the third course, Bandon Trails, was opened. With the opening of Old Macdonald this summer, it is time for the "World Of" to make another sojourn to the Oregon coast. You can reach Bandon Dunes by flying to Eugene and driving across the state and down the Pacific Coast Highway. The second half of the drive down the Pacific Coast Highway is beautiful although you do not see a lot of the ocean. The entire drive is about 2 1/2 hours. Or you can fly into Portland and take a puddle jumper to North Bend (not Bend!) and it is about a one-half hour drive to Bandon Dunes.

Mike Keiser, the owner of Bandon Dunes, made his fortune as the owner of Recycled Paper Greetings, an environmentally friendly greeting-card company. Keiser must have gone on a lot of men's-only golf trips in his day. Everything about Bandon Dunes is designed for the serious golfer. There are no houses surrounding the golf courses. You walk the golf course with a caddie. There are no concrete cart paths and you need a letter written in blood from your orthopaedic surgeon to get a special dispensation to ride a cart on the course. The restaurants are set up for tables of 4 and 8. The guest rooms are designed for two men with separate shower and enclosed bathroom. There is little else to do at Bandon Dunes other than play 36 holes of golf each day, eat dinner and fall into bed, and start again the following day. There is no "world class spa". Against his better judgment, Keiser had to install a business center and Wi-Fi service throughout the resort.

It would be sacrilege to pull out your blackberry on the courses at Bandon Dunes! I think that the caddies and course marshals are taught to shoot you first and ask questions later if you even think about it. The three courses at the resort, Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes and Bandon Trails, are all spectacular in their own distinct way. These are not Robert Trent Jones, Jack Nicklaus or Pete Dye-designed courses, where the golf course architect imposes his own style on the land, but designs that are born from the land itself. The architect's tours of Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes on the links above are interesting. Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes are true links courses with wind-swept sand dunes, thick goarse, constant wind whipping the flagstick and the Pacific Ocean crashing against the rocks below. You better know how to play the bump and run and the Texas wedge to play these courses. Bandon Trails is carved out of the spruce and fir trees and plays more like an in-land American course where you can shoot for the pins, but still has that rugged coastline feel.

Old Macdonald, which opens in June, pays homage to Charles Blair Macdonald, the father of American golf course architecture and founder of the U.S. Golf Association. It was designed by Tom Doak, who also designed Pacific Dunes. The rumors are that Old Macdonald may be the best of the four Bandon Dune Golf Resort courses, but that is like comparing a Ferrari to a Rolls Royce; it is just a matter of personal style and taste!

Any Bandon Dunes stories from the "World Of" participants (or other followers) are welcome.