I was always impressed when those famous commentators of the past such as Walter Cronkite and David Brinkley began a story saying they were reporting from London or Tokyo. This week I’m quite pleased to say that I am reporting from beautiful Bandon, Oregon. I have now been here for four days and I have to admit it is quite beautiful with temperatures hovering in the mid-60s and very little breeze in an idyllic setting alongside Oregon’s coast.
I initially went to Bandon in 2000 and played three rounds of golf. I was part of a group competing in a pro-am tournament. I went up on a Sunday, played a practice round at Pacific Dunes with Juan Lopez, arguably the best amateur golfer in Lake County during the past 15 years, and Brels Solomon, on a day very much like the last four. The pro-am was on a Monday and a Tuesday at Pacific Dunes and then Bandon Dunes. That’s when the weather turned 180 degrees. It was windy, cold, wet and downright brutal. Nonetheless I had a total appreciation for true links golf on the Oregon coast and I vowed I would return. It was just like Ireland and Scotland.
Marriage and three kids kept me close to home for the next 13 years. I returned to Bandon two years ago to play the golf courses with my son Nick, a scratch golfer who won the Lake County Open as a 17-year-old. After two great days of golf he was on board for a return trip. Last year we returned, played five golf courses in four days alongside six other local golfers from Adams Springs, and suddenly the table was set to make Bandon an annual pilgrimage for those who appreciate “Golf as it was meant to be,” which just so happens to be Bandon’s slogan. There is absolutely nothing contrived about this place. It’s Pebble Beach north.
This past Monday six of us returned to Bandon for another week of great golf. On Monday we played Old Macdonald, a Tom Doak- and Jim Urbina-designed links course that is a tribute to one of the godfathers of American golf course architecture, C.B. Macdonald (National Golf Links, Chicago Golf Club). Because of the unbalanced nature of our grouping, four members of the Adams family teed off together and Nick and I got paired with a father and daughter from nearby Reedsport. It was a still, benign day, slightly overcast, and the course was packed with serious golfers as well as a soccer-player-turned golfer, Landon Donovan.
Our fellow twosome was a gem pairing as we played with Chris Vaughn and his daughter, Monica. Chris is a really good golfer. Monica, a 19-year-old who attends Arizona State University, is nothing short of a rock-solid linkster with loads of talent. Currently she is the No. 2 woman on the ASU golf team following a fall campaign with a 73 average. Monica shot a pair of 71s at the Stanford Invitational and closed out the Pac 12 Preview Tournament at Kona with a final-round 67 to finish in seventh place overall. Monica played from the men’s tees at Old Macdonald and shot a 6-over-par 77 on a course that is rated 77.7 for women with a 136 slope. Monica Vaughn is a very good golfer and yet my one-day impression of her is that she is also a very good person. She demonstrated a lot of class on the golf course and I truly enjoyed our day on the links with Monica and her dad.
Tuesday was all about the golf at beautiful Pacific Dunes. Pacific Dunes is a Tom Doak (Aetna Springs re-do) design and has been ranked No. 1 in America, ahead of Pebble Beach, among public access courses. We got the same great weather, I had to put on my sunscreen twice, and as the third group off the first tee that morning, we breezed around a world class course in just four hours. Afterward Nick and I took on the 18-hole punchbowl putting course and I found it even tougher than the putting course at St. Andrews in Scotland. Nick beat me because he had nine three-putts and I somehow found a way to accumulate 11 three-putts. By the way, except for the punchbowl, I putted very well all week long.
On Wednesday it was off to Bandon Trails, the Ben Crenshaw-Bill Coore design (the future design team of The Brambles, the re-do of Pinehurst) that reminds me of a cross between Spyglass Hill and the new Poppy Hills. Unlike Bandon’s other three courses, Bandon Trails has trees framing its fairways. It is a beautiful but testy course and now that I have played it a couple of times I find myself understanding more of its intricacies. Later that afternoon, our sixsome headed out to Bandon Preserve, the 13-hole par-3 course at Bandon. I made up for my punchbowl failures by throwing four birdies at Nick who pushed me the whole way and carded three birdies. Johnny Brambles and Jurisprudence Fred also had birdies at the Preserve.
Our final day on Thursday featured a round of golf at the resort’s original course, namely the David McLay Kidd-designed Bandon Dunes. While I sometimes scratch my head at Kidd’s work at places like Tetherow and Stonebrae, I will always be a fan of his work at Bandon Dunes. It is a stunningly beautiful course with many holes framed by giant dunes. Some of the ocean holes remind me of Ballybunion in Ireland. For a course with next to no trees on what might appear to be featureless land, it is a true American links gem.
Part of the reason we go to Bandon in January is because it works best around our jobs and schedules. Rates are also decreased during the winter months. However, from my opinion, January alongside the Oregon coast is often the most beautiful time of the year, similar to October at places such as Bodega Harbour and Sea Ranch. On top of that, unlike some golf resort settings such as the Monterey courses or Palm Desert, there is a more distinct seriousness about those who golf at Bandon. Our caddie buddies from Mayacama were here once again and I am totally stunned that I get to play four outstanding tests of golf that are highly ranked among the top 100 golf courses in America. Monterey has two world class golf settings in Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill, and yet Bandon has four courses that measure up to the best in the world.
We agreed that we needed to return again next year. The courses are outstanding, the service at the resort is top notch, from the pro shop staff to the restaurant personnel to the housekeeping staff that always kept my cooler filled with ice daily. I will continue to return to the Oregon coast, even if it means someday playing from the senior or the novice tees. When all is said and done, I will always realize that the Bandon Resort is “All about the golf.”
