Played old mac, wed 3/26,. 8:30 tee time...Another awesome trip to Bandon Dunes. Today was sunny , but super windy. I was in short sleeves and a beanie. It was a 3-4 club wind, which at times af... Continue »

Played old mac, wed 3/26,. 8:30 tee time...Another awesome trip to Bandon Dunes. Today was sunny , but super windy. I was in short sleeves and a beanie. It was a 3-4 club wind, which at times affected balance. Flighted shots were needed. And a good caddy to help you negotiate the wind. Definitely got lucky on this trip as it rained hard before arrival and will rain hard after our trip. course in great shape. Greens were great, running a solid 10ish. I love Old Mac, and find it challenging and interesting. I wish I could rank it higher on my list. The whole resort is in great shape, so my current ranking hasn't changed in terms of hole quality and fun: BD, BT, SR, OM, PD.

Day 4, rd 5, last round before we hit the road. Tues 3/27 810 tee time, 4:45 rd. course in great shape... probably the best of the bunch (or Trails). Greens the smoothest on the resort, true, a litt... Continue »

Day 4, rd 5, last round before we hit the road. Tues 3/27 810 tee time, 4:45 rd. course in great shape... probably the best of the bunch (or Trails). Greens the smoothest on the resort, true, a little bumpy, slow 10. Been a while since I played this one... But it is really fun. climbing the hill on 3 after teeing off past the ghost tree, and seeing the reveal of the 14 holes on that side of the hill is a spectacle to behold. Had a great time.

Old Mac often gets tepid reviews when compared to the other courses at Bandon. It certainly does not have as many ocean views as SR, Bandon, or Pac Dunes. But aside from that metric, it checks all the... Continue »

Old Mac often gets tepid reviews when compared to the other courses at Bandon. It certainly does not have as many ocean views as SR, Bandon, or Pac Dunes. But aside from that metric, it checks all the other boxes. Most importantly, it’s a fun golf course. The greens are huge and have wonderful shapes, mounds and contours—but nothing unfair. All of the courses are in very good shape, but I thought Old Mac’s greens were the best of the bunch. Loved this course.

I played Old Macdonald on Tuesday, August 8, 2022.

Old Mac is another amazing course at Bandon Dunes. Based on the “template” holes there are some exceeding difficult shots that reward precision ... Continue »

I played Old Macdonald on Tuesday, August 8, 2022.

Old Mac is another amazing course at Bandon Dunes. Based on the “template” holes there are some exceeding difficult shots that reward precision and blind faith. You play out to the ocean near and old dead tree called the ghost tree and you can see that tree from a lot of the holes on old Mac because that is one of the few trees on the windswept course. There are pot bunkers and very large sand dunes ready to eat any wayward drive or iron shot. Caddie was really valuable here due to the numerous blind shots and angles of approach not to mention that this is one of the hilliest courses at Bandon.

Heard of people skipping Old Mac when they go to Bandon and I would say if you skip Old Mac you are missing out on an amazing test of golf, amazing views and holes types that you don’t see anymore. 100% recommend.

Day 2 (of playing) at Bandon was at Old Mac. Started off a little earlier (9:20) in the fog/drizzle. Not cold and no wind so it wasn’t bad especially while walking. Weather cleared up to sun and... Continue »

Day 2 (of playing) at Bandon was at Old Mac. Started off a little earlier (9:20) in the fog/drizzle. Not cold and no wind so it wasn’t bad especially while walking. Weather cleared up to sun and a 1 club wind by the end. Conditions are very similar to Bandon Dunes as far as the fairways, bunkers and tee boxes go. Greens hadn’t been punched but rolled slower. Layout of Old Mac is definitely links style golf. Wide fairways with lots of mounds to direct and redirect your ball as it lands and rolls out. Old Mac has more fairway pot bunkers some of which are HUGE and deep!! Greens – largest in the world. They are huge and have severe, no make that VERY SEVERE undulations! Definitely on the gimmicky side. Three putts are very common. I had 6 three putts on the front nine alone. It’s an enjoyable layout with some short par 4’s and a couple long par 4’s to go along with the normal ones. Having a caddie helped with shot alignment off the tee. Especially since the driver came off vacation mode today and was working well. Course has it’s own clubhouse which is small and incorporates a small snack shop. There is also a snack shop on the ocean cliff next to the 8th tee box. Old MacDonald doesn’t have too many ocean views but you can hear the waves crashing the entire time due to being so close to the water. As a side note, Tony's Crab Shack 5 miles down the road is a must eat. I got this recommendation from MichaelKo and it was so good we ate there twice!

Last of the Bandon courses on my trip up here. This course was being built last time I was here so I was curious to get out here since Sheep Ranch has been completely booked up. Teed off a little af... Continue »

Last of the Bandon courses on my trip up here. This course was being built last time I was here so I was curious to get out here since Sheep Ranch has been completely booked up. Teed off a little after 8 and we finished right about 4 hours or maybe a tick over.

Holy smokes these are the biggest greens I have ever seen. Not only are they some of the biggest but have some of the largest slopes I have ever seen too. The are these little white spray painted dots that mark the edge of the green because the fringe and greens almost run together. I'm guessing this how it was done back in the day. I thought the greens were really smooth but slow. To me it doesn't seem like the grass on the greens on this course could ever get super fast. It seems like a much different type of putting surface than Trails and Dunes that I previously played.

Fairways are generous. I would say this course would be a place where a new golfer could play and enjoy because there is a lot of room here. I thought it would be very difficult to lose a ball here. The conditions were very good here too. Nice roll out on drives but you'll get some slopes and little pot bunkers that you'll have to deal with.

As I indicated earlier there is a lot of space here but the rough very much like Bandon is more of the sand dunes. You'll find your ball but may have to play off such a lie. There are a couple of places you don't want to miss like a few gorge bushes.

I was in one greenside bunker and I literally could not see the flag stick but like 40 yds away. I was just happy to get out of that. Course has some deep natural looking bunkers. Like the Bandon course the sand is pretty similar, more firmer.

Played 3 courses at the resort and I think I played 3 different courses in a sense. I like the resort can offer this bit of a variety to keep things fresh. Course is a little unique in the first 2 holes and the tee shot on 3 are on one side of a ridge along with the last 2 holes. The remaining holes are more exposed to the ocean on the other side of the ridge. Was a few degrees cooler and a little more wind over there too.

Played Old Macdonald on Monday, 6/20 teeing off at 8am. Weather was a little cooler, 60 degrees and overcast, with winds starting at around 5mph and bumping up to 20mph by the 8th hole.

Conditions... Continue »

Played Old Macdonald on Monday, 6/20 teeing off at 8am. Weather was a little cooler, 60 degrees and overcast, with winds starting at around 5mph and bumping up to 20mph by the 8th hole.

Conditions at Old Mac were outstanding. Tee to green was in perfect condition, with lush, firm conditions everywhere. The greens on Old Mac are different than the other 3 courses. They are entirely fescue, and were probably running a point and a half faster on the stimp than the others. These greens actually had some roll-out to them. Also, Old Mac's greens are absolutely enormous, with some being 60 yards long! I had a 5 putt on the treacherous 7th green...eeek! The greens also invite lots of creativity, as I played my putt on 18 90 degrees left of where the hole was! An experienced caddy can really make a difference on the greens at Old Mac.

Many of the guys in my group have played the best courses in Ireland and Scotland, and they all said Old Mac is the truest links course at Bandon. There are some spectacular holes. The tee ball on the 3rd hole is amazing, having to decide whether to go left or right of the huge iconic Sentinel Tree that is directly in your line. The views from the top of the 7th green are some of the best on the property, and you can see the Sheep Ranch just to the north. Man, I want to play that someday!

I rank Old Mac tied for 2nd with Bandon Dunes. Bandon has more ocean front holes, but the views from Old Mac aren't bad themselves, and the fescue greens are a dream to putt on. My next trip I'll probably skip Bandon Trails and play Old Mac or Bandon a second time...it will be very hard decision on which one to pick. Maybe I'll just flip a coin, because it's win-win.

Played here first on a 3 day trip, 1st of 36 holes, Sat May 21, 7am tee time, first off... Everything you think you would expect from Bandon Dunes... it's better. All of the greens were perfect, firm... Continue »

Played here first on a 3 day trip, 1st of 36 holes, Sat May 21, 7am tee time, first off... Everything you think you would expect from Bandon Dunes... it's better. All of the greens were perfect, firm and smooth, about a 10 on the stimp. You have to play them to roll out... so i always played 10 yds short.. took me about 13 holes to figure it out. All four courses definitely would benefit from playing more than once... as I feel like I lost 4-5 strokes a round on course knowledge, that even a caddy would not have helped. We did not take caddies our whole trip. brought our own push carts. they encourage you to take the carts right across the greens. did not leave one ball mark. There is a huge practice facility that services all 4 courses, so you have to drive or shuttle. Stayed in the Lodge, and it was a very comfy bed and perfect for a bed and shower. We had views of the Bandon Dunes GC and the ocean from our rooms. The food is excellent everywhere we went.

As for the golf. The weather was fantastic. Sunny, wore shorts, no wind for the first hour, mild 10mph wind the rest of the round. One of our players is from England, and he said old mac is as close to british links golf as he's seen. some fabulous holes.. I think it's #7 you go up a hill for your approach, to find yourself on an ocean bluff. It's an amazing view. Most of the course stays inland with the ocean visible on most holes. All of the holes I thought were interesting. A lot of bunkers that you have to avoid. There is a road hole bunker whose green is similar to st. andrews. I would play this course again and again.

This was the second course played, which was on Tuesday 12/16. First off so able to get around in 3:05. How wonderful it is to move along with out any delays/wait. Another unexpected day of great w... Continue »

This was the second course played, which was on Tuesday 12/16. First off so able to get around in 3:05. How wonderful it is to move along with out any delays/wait. Another unexpected day of great weather. A little cooler today. (low 50's) but never a drop of rain and wind of only 3-5mph. I did not enjoy this course nearly as much as Bandon Trails. Without local knowledge, it was very difficult to get a sight line on many of the tees. The greens, as undulating as I have ever experienced. Shots that I thought were decent ended up 30,40 feet from the hole or off the green completely. The only 1 putt greens I had were the two birdies I made, otherwise there were way more 3 putt greens than 1 putt greens. While I had a great time and enjoyed the experience, was not a great fan of this course The staff at Old Macdonald was fantastic ! Much better than at the Trails ! I can'y imagine playing here in the winds they frequently experience. I shutter to think what my score would have been had the weather been severe ? Tomorrow is Bandon Dunes and maybe Pacific Dunes (Weather permitting)