Bandon: From A Woman’s Perspective
Bandon Dunes Golf Resort is the ultimate golfer’s paradise. The first time I had the privilege of playing there was in 2018. I surprised my husband with a Valentine’s gift trip to Bandon, OR. We had only been together for a year at this point, and I was scoring some major points :) If you want to give your golfing husband the best gift ever- take him to Bandon! Even if you don’t golf, the resort is amazing- pool, restaurants, bars, massage spa, coastal views. I really didn’t know that much about the course prior to booking our room and tee times. Chris had told me a story of the one time he tried to play there a few years back with his dad and best friend. They were on their way there and it started to snow… it kept snowing… it snowed so much they had to cancel their golf(on the Oregon coast)! I was so excited to be able to give Chris the opportunity to finally play there.
We arrived late on the eve of St. Patrick’s Day. After checking in, we headed to McKee’s Scottish Pub. Walking in you feel like you are being transported to Scotland. The music, decor, and menu transport you across the pond. After a few Guinesses, some fish & chips, and a corned beef reuben, I couldn’t be more satisfied with the beginning of our St. Patty’s celebration. The next day, I would come to find out that the links style golf courses at Bandon which line the Pacific Ocean, only add to the feeling that you are not in America anymore. We stayed at The Inn. When I awoke the next morning, I looked out my window to see the 18th green of Bandon Dunes. The sight was breathtaking; especially with the fog rolling in off the ocean. Little did I know it was just the tip of the iceberg to what I would see and experience that day.
Bandon Dunes
We played two rounds back to back. If you play a second round on the same day, you get a discount. Our first was the namesake course- Bandon Dunes. The weather can be quite dicey at Bandon. Knowing that, we were prepared for the worst. Luckily, we had light on and off rain and mild wind for our first round. This would be the first time in my life I had a caddie. This would be the first time in my life I would play a links style course. This would be the first time I would walk 36 holes in a day. The awe and wonder of the place was a little intimidating at first. We were paired with another couple and their caddie. I was happy to be playing with another girl! So the 6 of us set out. My caddie was phenomenal. The course was hard. I am a 20 handicap. The slope is 128 from the women’s tees. The greens were super fast and undulating. That is why having a caddie is a must- especially if you aren’t a single digit handicap. My caddie had me use a bump and run shot on almost every hole. There are extremely tight lies around the greens so getting a wedge in close would be challenging. My caddie also had me put from off the green way more than I am used to. I remember rarely having a flat lie in a fairway, so be prepared for that added challenge as well. Having a caddie eliminates the need to have mental control and overthink your shots(which messes up your swing). Once you trust your caddie, they hand you a club, tell you where to aim, and you can swing freely without overthinking, questioning, or worrying about the outcome.
Staring down a par 3 at Old Mac with our caddie
By the time we got to our second round at Old MacDonald, I was starting to figure out my game. For this reason, I would say the round at Old Macdonald was my most favorite round of golf of my life. The course is pretty wide open, minus the fairway bunkers(my caddie was excellent at steering me away from those thankfully). That is good for anyone who doesn't always hit it straight off the tee like me.
Old MacDonald in the afternoon
The sun came out for our second round and we witnessed the most beautiful sunset. We had made friends with the other couple who was from the east coast, and halfway through our second round they introduced us to a new course cocktail: The Transfusion. It was vodka, sprite, and little grape juice! Apparently they are really popular where they are from. They were surprised we had never heard of it. It was sweet and bubbly, and helped us finish our long day strong.
#18 Old Mac
After our round was over, we had dinner at The Gallery. The food and drinks at Bandon are next level; we were consistently blown away.
After dinner we made a final pit stop at The Bunker. It was one of the coolest experiences ever. It is a little hidden cigar and bourbon bar downstairs at the main lodge. It is smoky and crowded and wonderful. There were no other girls there. In fact, there were very few women to be found anywhere at the resort. Bandon is most commonly known as a guys trip. But to me, it was an amazing couples golf trip. I think it would be a fantastic girls golf trip as well! If more of my girlfriends golfed, I would've loved to have had my bachelorette party there!
We woke up the next day anticipating to head home. But when we awoke to the most incredible, sunny, blue, windless skies, we knew we had to extend our trip. Luckily the pro shop was able to accommodate us in playing Pacific Dunes. This course has the most incredible views of the whole resort. It has the most coast lined holes. We didn’t book a caddie, and attempted it on our own. We got to play as a twosome, which was really fun. I really struggled with my golf that day. My body was sore from the 36 holes the day prior, and without a caddie, I found way more fairway bunkers than the previous day. The absolutely perfect weather and stunning views made it a great day, no matter how poor the golf game was. I was totally in awe and overwhelmed by the whole trip. I had never been to a place like Bandon. A place where everyone who is there is as crazy about golf as I am. A place with views that are other-worldly. A place where the raw, nature-embraced course layouts challenge you on every shot. An place and experience I will never forget for the rest of my life. “Golf as it was meant to be” indeed.
Going Back
For my birthday this year, Chris took me back to Bandon. Best husband ever award, check! We wanted to experience the rest of the resort that we didn’t get to the first time. We played Bandon Trails. We started off with two Bloody Mary’s: my go-to cocktail for morning golf rounds.
We sat by the fire pit and took in the views, then headed to the putting green to warm-up. None of the courses have driving ranges. Though, there is an incredible practice facility a short drive away from the courses. So if you want to warm up, make sure you arrive early! I had a new caddie this time around. His name was Jaime. He was funny and encouraging and he made me put from so far off the green I thought he was crazy.
Bandon Trails is set back in the coastal forest and is more protected from the elements than the other Bandon courses. Of the four courses, I definitely shot my best Bandon round here. The fairways were wide open and the undulations funneled your ball into pretty flat lies which made iron play much easier. The par 3 women’s tees were also very short on most holes making it a fun little wedge or 9 iron tee to green. The only par 4 or 5 I couldn’t hit driver off of was number one. That makes for a fun day for me since driver is my favorite club in my bag. Although there are minimal ocean views on Trails, the picturesque backdrops were still there. The greens are framed beautifully and some of the holes reminded me of Augusta National. Due to the pandemic, social distancing procedures were in place and many of the restaurants were closed or had limited availability. With that being said, we still got to eat out for the first time since the pandemic started. We went to the Gallery after our round. It was so good I could cry. We had wine and fish tacos and watched golfers come in off of Bandon Dunes. I finally felt normal.
The next day we came back to Bandon with my mom and our friend Carol. We were there to play Bandon Preserve. It shares a clubhouse with Bandon Trails. We introduced them to the amazing Bloody Mary’s and fire pit at the clubhouse. The bartender told us that the last hole on Preserve was designed to be able to put off the tee! He said if you do it correctly, it funnels towards the hole with a chance for a hole in one! Preserve is a 13 hole par 3 course. It was super fun and challenging. Most of the forward tees had the same distances, so I recommend switching around which tees you play from on every hole to add in some club variety. We had the most beautiful weather: partially sunny and light wind. Preserve weaves through sand dunes, has many elevation changes, and has stunning ocean views! Par 3s are easier birdie holes, so we got to celebrate with the birdie bottle on quite a few occasions. When we finally got to the last hole on the course, I grabbed my putter. I took a big whack at my ball and watched it roll down the hill, onto the green, and right towards the hole. I held my breath and hoped it would go in, but alas I left it a little short. It was still super exciting and such a fun way to end the round.
We made a quick pit stop at the Gallery for lunch. I had the pork belly BLT-yum! Then, we went to the Pacific Dunes clubhouse. Neither my mom, nor Carol had been to Bandon before, so we wanted to show them around a little. We ordered a bottle of wine. The weather was starting to go a little south. You can watch players coming in on the 18th hole of Pacific. It was cloudy and the wind was blowing steadily. At the Pacific Clubhouse, there is an 18 hole putting course called the Punchbowl. We questioned whether or not we should attempt it in the elements, but decided to give it a go. Wine and putter in hand, down we went. To our surprise, the Punchbowl was super sheltered from the wind. We began our little competition. My mom and I got a little competitive and there was some smack talking that occurred. I’m pretty sure I won- though she had the lead early on! The Punchbowl is a blast and I highly recommend it for groups. Behind us, there was a group of about 10 playing it, and by the sounds of their cheering and laughter, you could tell they were having a really good time. So that was the end of my second trip to Bandon. We have gotten to experience all the golf that the resort had to offer up to that point. Unfortunately, Sheep Ranch was not scheduled to open for another week… I guess we will have to plan another trip in our future. The problem with “once in a lifetime” experiences, is that once you experience them, you realize they can never be “once” in a lifetime.
