Bandon TR (Part 1)

[41eater]

I promised a trip report from my recent trip to Bandon Dunes. Here it is.

Let me start by addressing the travel. You pretty much have to fly to Portland and then catch a connecting flight to North Bend. The flight to North Bend is short, about 45 minutes. The resort is about 35 minutes from the airport by van or car.

Once you're at the resort, you should know that this is a golf resort, with an emphasis on golf. There really isn't anything else to do.

That said, the resort is first-rate. The owner (a guy named Mike Keiser) has really thought about how to make the experience a good one for people who are serious about golf. We stayed in the Grove cottages, which are 4-bedroom cottages surrounding a single great room. The service at the cottages was top-notch.

As far as weather, we saw all kinds in 48 hours, which I think is typical. I played a round in rain gear and I played a round in a golf shirt and shorts. The wind is always blowing, it's just a question of how hard.

Then there's the golf courses. I'll review each course separately -- I played Trails twice, the others each once. Let me say at the outset that these golf courses are all very challenging. While Bandon Dunes is a golf resort, this is not resort golf. If you can't break 100 at home, I can't imagine how playing these courses would be any kind of fun.

Bandon doesn't allow carts, so you're going to walk. I saw a lot of people who carried their own bag and I saw a lot of people who used pull carts. We took caddies -- if you're playing these courses for the first (or second or third) time, I would think a caddy is a must. There are just too many holes where you must have local knowledge to play the hole successfully.

Anyway, I give the entire experience an A. I went in with high expectations about the resort and the golf courses, and those expectations were met. I was literally smiling ear-to-ear as I played the first few holes, just because it was such a cool experience.

Next post -- in a couple days -- Bandon Trails.