The beauty of Bandon

Slavish devotion to alliteration probably stems from having my synapses particularly well-oiled one fateful 9th grade day, but I can't resist the opportunity whenever it presents its verbiaged head. Sorry.

Bandon is a Pacific coastal town in Oregon with a golf resort by the same name. It is near nothing that one might also be visiting, except, of course, a possible relative whom I'm sure appreciates living in such bucolic delight or a marooned sailor on the lam from the I.N.S. My point is that one must want to go to Bandon in order to find oneself there and it does take effort. More than four hours drive from Portland, I had, instead, the relatively benign trek from Medford in mid-October of 2007 which shaved an hour off.

Only as a point of reference and not to boast, but I've had the pleasure/good fortune to have played/stayed at golf resorts which hosted two U.S. Opens, a Ryder Cup and several PGA events. All were wonderful, but none is on the same level as the Bandon Dunes complex of the namesake course, Pacific Dunes & the recently new Bandon Trails. A fourth course, again by Tom Doak (the original Pacific Dunes architect), is being built presently from what I gleened while taking lunch at the resort.

Playing out to the Pacific from a clubhouse not more than a mile away, Bandon is golf at its purest. There are no homes or other visual distractions on the links-style layout. Even the guest cabins are neatly tucked in back of the two ocean courses - Bandon & Pacific Dunes. In design and execution it is as pristine an effort as imaginable while deriving the optimal natural beauty of this truly glorious setting. The photos to the right don't do half justice to being there, I assure.

The day I had the privilege of teeing-up on Bandon Dunes was particularly propitious should you delight in the prospect of playing one of the great Scottish links fully bearing its teeth. The wind gusts, as measured at the clubhouse and not on the coastline, were +50 M.P.H. at tee time.

My group was the last let out for the morning due to the weather and we had to weedle the Starter a bit in order to get the green light. From a purist's perspective, the conditions could not have been more ideal. "When it's breezy, swing easy" is the maxim, but how about gale force gusts Mr. Hogan? Playing to an ocean-backing 153 yard Par Three, I flushed a full-blooded three metal that intentionally started-out more than fifty yards to the left and ended-up a few feet short of the green on the right side of the apron. Intense, baby!

As is traditional with a links course, you play out from the clubhouse and return back. Unlike many tracks across the pond, the 9th green/10th tee is not the furthest point on the course. Like most American efforts instead, the front nine ends back near the clubhouse.

What is the most striking - besides the Pacific Ocean lapping either directly beneath you or nearby on at least a third of the course - has to be the complete visibility of the place. Standing on any small hill, the entire complex is there for inspection and other foursomes appear like toy soldiers trudging, on this overcast day, around a wonderful backyard battlefield. Despite the inclemency surrounding, I encountered nary a sour puss amongst staff nor guests during my stay. My Caddie - the immensely talented 'Papa Cup' - told many a harrowing tale of equally severe rounds played; a loop, for example, just after Thanksgiving seemed to win the human endurance prize by second-hand recitation. A word to the wise, please avail yourself of one of the resort's Caddies. A player is allowed to carry their own bag, but the experience is diminished, I would have to imagine, and the green reading majesty of these gents alone is worth their rather modest fee.

To round-off this rave, be assured that Bandon has all the other amenities to be expected for this type of resort. The services + accomodations were quite reasonable for the value received. The grill room, shown to the right, is particularly pleasant for lunch and looks out directly on the practice putting green to one side while a cooing fire crackles discretely over one's other shoulder. Enjoying the local cream-based seafood stew alongside an admittedly sacrilegious glass of red, the round could only have been capped better by sitting on the patio afterwards with my day's compatriots and a Macanudo to regale our exploits. Regrettably the weather didn't allow for this last pleasure.

Be advised that you need not stay at Bandon to play this incredible conglomeration of tracks. There is a very decent Best Western not more than fifteen minutes away. It boasts a fine restaurant with quite splendid Crab Cakes, a house specialitie, paired to several Oregon whites available by the glass. The dining establishment is under the same roof as the hotel, which has, also, its own funky little golf course literally in the backyard. Of interest, too, is the Pacific look-out point not far from the small center of town. The inlets around the harbor are quite picturesque.

Lastly be firmly advised that dressing in layers is never more important to contend successfully with the ever-vacillating weather of this tempermental locale. On the other hand, patronizing the nicely appointed Bandon pro shops (there are several) is a wonderful rationalization to compensate for this planned inadequacy. In my case, it was necessity as I was thoroughly (but joyfully) soaked after holing out on 18 and desperately required, as I later explained to the cashier, a new longsleeve polo plus wind sweater - all with appropriate logos - in order to successfully stave-off a serious threat of ill health.

... and pulling my other finger plays Jingle Bells!