Played Pac, Mon 3/24,. 1:10 tee time,. 2nd of 36.. Another awesome trip to Bandon Dunes. Had wonderful weather the whole time. Sunny, wind picked up for this round where it was 1-2 clubs at times. ... Continue »

Played Pac, Mon 3/24,. 1:10 tee time,. 2nd of 36.. Another awesome trip to Bandon Dunes. Had wonderful weather the whole time. Sunny, wind picked up for this round where it was 1-2 clubs at times. Shorts would've been appropriate, but short sleeves most of the day. Definitely got lucky on this trip as it rained hard before arrival and will rain hard after. course in great shape. Greens in great shape, running a fast 10ish. Of the 5, I'm not a huge fan of this one, though it's scenic and has some nice holes, it also has holes I really don't like. You have to play it once at least and form your own opinion, it's still a great course, and i'm nitpicking. 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 2, round 3, 2nd round of 36, Sun 3/24, 1:10 tee time, 5 hr round... weather pleasant the whole round; sunny most of the round. A little colder towards the end. No rain. Mild wind. These greens... Continue »

Day 2, round 3, 2nd round of 36, Sun 3/24, 1:10 tee time, 5 hr round... weather pleasant the whole round; sunny most of the round. A little colder towards the end. No rain. Mild wind. These greens were better than BD and SR, but still a little bumpy. Slow: a slow 10. This course has amazing views. It's a favorite for some, its 5th out of the 5 for me... but still a great course.

Played Wed 2:30 pm, 2nd of a doubleheader. Beautiful sunny, crisp day, with a mild 1-2 club wind. 4 1/2 hr round. Course in great shape. Big, undulating greens. It's a tough walk. Great views. A... Continue »

Played Wed 2:30 pm, 2nd of a doubleheader. Beautiful sunny, crisp day, with a mild 1-2 club wind. 4 1/2 hr round. Course in great shape. Big, undulating greens. It's a tough walk. Great views. A little quirky. Greens about a 10 on the stimp. Had a caddy, which clubbed me great all round. Would've misclubbed all day on my own. Best resort I've been to.

I’m in southern Oregon with the family for the last summer vacation this year, and I managed to sneak in a round at Pacific Dunes. I asked a friend who had played here which course to play if I only h... Continue »

I’m in southern Oregon with the family for the last summer vacation this year, and I managed to sneak in a round at Pacific Dunes. I asked a friend who had played here which course to play if I only had time for one, and this is the one he recommended. And I’m totally satisfied with the choice.

Conditions throughout were just phenomenal. Tee boxes were very flat, with no significant divot damage, even on the par 3 holes. Fairways were very firm, offering tons of roll and a great surface to hit from. There’s a little bit of rough off the fairways, that can be very tough, or not a problem at all, really a roll of the dice. The fairways here are very wide, so I didn’t find rough very often. If you stray really wide and go into the gorse, it’s a guaranteed lost ball. Bunkers are deep and punishing, with very heavy sand. The sand in the few that I found was very consistent, although unfortunately a couple weren’t very well raked. Greens were very pure, rolling super smooth and very quick. Shots into them didn’t hold very well for me as they were super firm. Even hitting a high, well struck wedge would release, and not leave much of a ball mark. Very tough greens to read as well, lots of subtle breaks.

The layout is really awesome, lots of holes that shouldn’t be too tough, and some that I would think always are. Wind wasn’t much of a factor in the beginning of the round, but picked up a bit over the day. I shudder to think of how a seriously windy day (like there was here a few days ago) would make the course insanely tough. Every hole is really nice to look at as well, not just the ocean side ones. And man, those ocean side holes are just amazingly jaw droppingly gorgeous.

Customer service was very good, check in was easy and it’s a quick shuttle ride over to the practice area to warm up. If I were staying here I could see spending an entire day just practicing and really having fun. Perfect all grass driving range, a massive putting green, and a really nice chipping green available as well. I’m sure there’s more than one bunker for practice as well, I just didn’t bother looking for them. I had Brian as a caddie, and he was very helpful, and a very pleasant kid working towards the Evans Scholarship. If I were to play here again, and I hope I do someday, I’d definitely spring for the caddie again, the help is so worth it. I was really worried that I was going to be hung up on the price tag for the day, and that I would be feeling like I wasn’t getting much value (I paid the rack visitor rate of $345, plus $100 for the caddie, plus gratuity). In the end though it was absolutely amazing and totally worth it.

Review #2, Pacific Dunes:

Pac Dunes is the pinnacle of public golf in the US. After playing 36 at Bandon Dunes and Old Mac, I decided to head over to the only course on the property I had yet to pl... Continue »

Review #2, Pacific Dunes:

Pac Dunes is the pinnacle of public golf in the US. After playing 36 at Bandon Dunes and Old Mac, I decided to head over to the only course on the property I had yet to play. Also, for anyone wondering the 3rd round is always free at any Bandon course. Instead of heading over to the Punch Bowl putting course or to the Pub I decided I would play until sunset at Pacific. I was quickly blown away and immediately vaulted Pacific to my favorite track on the property. Hole 1, a short par 4 has a great tucked green which, although nothing special, was my favorite opener on the property. Once you hike up to the second tee box, you know this is a special place. Holes 2 & 3 eventually route you adjacent to the ocean, with 3 being a monster Par 5 playing straight into the teeth which was my favorite par 5 on the property. All 3 times I played it it was playing close to 580 yards and offers absolutely 0 room for error for the long hitter trying to get home in two. Once you finished hole 3 you turn the corner to what many regard as their favorite hole on the property, a cliff side par 4. Holes 5 - 9 take you off the ocean, including hole 7 which is a terrific long par 4 (#1 handicap). Holes 10 - 13 prove to be the most scenic & difficult ocean holes you will ever find. This stretch will test you as they play directly north into the summer prevailing wind. If you can manage those holes at even par you've done well. Holes 14/15/16 a par 3, 5, and 4, respectively, give you your last real chance at birdie as 17/18 prove to be a difficult closing stretch.

It's amazing how people rank the courses at Bandon. You can talk to people all weekend long on what courses they thought were the best and you will get a different answer from everyone. This is what makes Bandon such a special place. For me, Pacific and Trails were the clear cut winners and I would go with 1a) Pacific, 1b) Trails, 2) Old Mac, 3) Bandon Dunes. I heard many people rank Old Mac dead last and others had it number 1. Pretty awesome if you ask me. Quick note on the conditions at Pacific Dunes. They were perfect.

I played Pacific Dunes twice last weekend, 6/17 and 6/19, at 4:20p on Saturday and 1:50p on Monday afternoon. First of all, this is the most beautiful course I have ever played. I got perfect weather ... Continue »

I played Pacific Dunes twice last weekend, 6/17 and 6/19, at 4:20p on Saturday and 1:50p on Monday afternoon. First of all, this is the most beautiful course I have ever played. I got perfect weather the entire trip. Saturday it was sunny and 65, with the wind starting around 7mph and going completely flat on about hole 11. Monday the wind was blowing about 15-20mph and changed things a bit. Course conditions are exactly what I expected...perfect with a distinct ruggedness to it. Tee boxes were all flat and lush. The fairways had great coverage, and were definitely more firm than I'm used to playing in SoCal. Tons of run out with a low drive. The only gripe I have about all of the fairways on property are the amount of divots. Being a walking only resort, there are quite a few unfilled divots in the landing areas. I had multiple gorgeous drives end up in some nasty spots. Oh well, play it as it lies! The bunkers on Pac are phenomenal. Huge blowout bunkers await any directionally challenged shots. It's like they have ball magnets in them. They're full of soft beach sand that can be quite difficult to get out of if you go too deep. Many are so penal you're just trying to find any direction to get out. The rough was very deep, with some areas having tall grasses as long as 18" with long, splotchy beach grass and fescue underneath. The length made finding balls a challenge. The greens were gorgeous! Very firm, but not near as fast as they feel under your feet. They're fescue based, with poa creeping in, and were running around a 9 on the stimp. It definitely took me a few rounds to figure out the pace. Very few ball marks because of the firmness. I had an awesome caddy named Jeff Cunningham for all 5 rounds. I'd say he saved me at least 5-10 strokes per round. Plus, he was just a nice guy. Practice flighting down shots, and long putts from everywhere before you head to Bandon, because those are the most important shots in the bag. Pacific Dunes is everything I could want in a golf course. Amazing views, perfect course conditions, and a great layout that tests every part of your game. I rank Pacific Dunes as my favorite of the four courses at Bandon Dunes. I'm dreaming of the day I go back...

Played here second on a 3 day trip, 2nd of 36 holes, Sat May 21, 12noon tee time... and then again on the 3rd day 8am tee time. Everything you think you would expect from Bandon Dunes... it's better.... Continue »

Played here second on a 3 day trip, 2nd of 36 holes, Sat May 21, 12noon tee time... and then again on the 3rd day 8am tee time. 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.

The weather the first day was gorgeous. Shorts, wind picked up slightly on the back 9. The second round on Mon was light rain through the first hour, then partly cloudy and a 20mph wind, short sleeve weather.

This is a gorgeous course that has the ocean as a border for 5 or 6 holes. Again, every hole is interesting. Lots of bunkers that you must avoid. 2 or 3 amazing holes with great views and high shot values. 2 back to back par 3s right on the coast. greens placed on the top of bluffs, where tee shot placement is the difference between easy bogey or easy par. I played this course 10 strokes better the second time, and i think a combo of better putting and course knowledge helped that. For example, #6 is a short "driveable" par 4. wind at your back under 300 yds elevated tee. but really, there is no place to drive your ball. so first round took driver: bogey. Second round took 5 wood to 40 yds short... pitched on: birdie. Anyways, had a blast. legs were getting tired the second round. probably the 3rd hardest walk of the 4.

It was a real pleasant surprise that I ended up playing Pacific today. I went up to the resort while in the area for the holidays to finally play Bandon Preserve (awesome!!!), along with Shorty's and ... Continue »

It was a real pleasant surprise that I ended up playing Pacific today. I went up to the resort while in the area for the holidays to finally play Bandon Preserve (awesome!!!), along with Shorty's and The Punchbowl putting course. The nasty morning weather scared everyone away, but it turned out to be a decent day for this time of year. I was finished with everything else by 11:00 and the sun was shining, so I headed over and walked right out on Pacific. Non-resident, non-resort-guest winter rate of $100 is a decent deal for the "best" public course in the country (if you believe Golf Magazine). I saw groups on the back nine while I played the front, but never caught anyone and it was basically like having the place to myself. The weather changed every 5-10 minutes and I got a little of everything during my day, but that's part of the fun here. The course is in solid winter shape, with things showing a little greener because of so much rain this month. Otherwise, typical nice Bandon with the fescue turf. Good tee boxes, tight fairways that were a little softer underneath than normal and good greens. Greens always look odd, but they rolled smooth and true at medium speeds. Bunkers had good sand, but the extra moisture made them very tough and compacted in areas. A few were even flooded, which shows how much rain there's been on a course that is built to drain so well. This was my second time playing Pacific and I loved it just as much this time. It's a special course, as are all of them at this resort. The layout is unique and challenging, the views are excellent and the staff is always super friendly. In the past, I've said that Trails is actually my favorite course here, but Pacific may go back to the top. That said, Preserve really was a treat today, too. It almost seems like whatever one I played most recently is the new favorite (except for Old Mac, which is still at the bottom of the list for me).

My second round today after finishing Bandon Dunes. This was my favorite course of the four. The views, the general layout, unique holes, etc. However, still struggled with the fescue greens. The ... Continue »

My second round today after finishing Bandon Dunes. This was my favorite course of the four. The views, the general layout, unique holes, etc. However, still struggled with the fescue greens. The wind blew for the entire round, making this one very tough course to play. Shots which appeared to be "all over the flag" frequently ended up 40-50 away or totally off the greens, and often in the very deep greenside bunkers. I think that this course is scoreable, but not under the conditions I played.

As has been the case, the staff was wonderful. Friendly, helpful and seemed to actually care that we were enjoying ourselves. After having played all the courses, i liked Bandon Dunes the best, followed by Bandon Dunes, then Bandon Trails and last by a wide margin .... Old McDonald. Also played Bandon Preserve which was fabulous (13 hole par 3 course)

I would love to return, but playing in the summer is costly and winter has short daylight hours. The suspect the weather is a factor all year long. Sadly, this may have been my only visit here. (only in part because there are so many great places to visit to play golf)