Golfasaurus

If there is one thing I have learned about playing the game of golf in the past couple of days, it is that writing a blog at the same time is just about impossible……….especially when it is 36 holes a day…….walking…….pushing your clubs. I’m not sure if I mentioned, but Bandon Dunes is a 100% walking only facility. You can hire a caddie and he will carry for you, usually two sets at a time, or you can carry yourself…….or, load them on a Riksha and push, or, choose the mid-range option as we did, which was to use the Riksha, but have a caddie along to help with shot direction, reading putts, raking bunkers, etc.,etc.. This has worked out well, and Dave from Boulder, Colorado has done a great job. There are no riding carts available.

Dave has a covid story, like so many others we have heard about. He was a chef, working for a 20+year established caterer in Boulder……..covid hit, and 95% of their business went down the tubes……actually 100%, because they closed the doors. His sister lives in a town close to Bandon and works at the club in foodservice, and she said get up here and become a caddie………you know how to golf and the money is good. He now spends the bulk of his time in Bandon, visiting his wife and two children when he can.

Bandon Dunes has had a huge effect on this entire area, the town of Bandon, named for a town in Ireland, and all other municipalities within commuting distance of the club have experience substantial growth since the original Bandon Dunes course was opened to rave reviews in 1999. New businesses have sprung up, and those already established have flourished.

Staying a night at the Inn on the property, gave us the ability to book tee times for two days, and have booked an additional round independently but it had to be after 10am…….like I am totally crushed I won’t get to drag this tired body out of bed 6am for an 8am tee time………woo hoo, sleep in time. Our night at the Inn was fine, and everything in the room was ok, then I went to take a shower………bathtubs had been removed some time ago and were replaced with big, bathtub size, nicely tiled shower stalls. I pulled the curtain, reached in, and turned on the water……….gave it a few seconds to get warm, and then stepped in. Wham, a jet of water hit me square in the chest and literally caused me to step backward to where I was pinned against the back wall with this water cannon pummelling me like there was no tomorrow. It was one of this adjustable shower heads, you know, the ones that can spray like you are watering daisies, but if you twist it around it becomes this machine gun massage jet………..I managed to step to the side and reached for the lever to turn it off, and noticed there was a substantial wear spot on the back wall tiles…………I’m just happy the head was aimed as high as it was because if it were lower, my golfing career and a lot of other things might have been over……….if I were a shorter man, I’m thinking concussion for sure.

We are up early, and have a plan for the day………go back to Sheep Ranch for one of their incredible breakfast sandwiches……trust me, the best……..stop at the practice facility to warm up………this is a full on operation…….I’m guessing 100-150 tees for full shots, organized in two rows back to back, multiple chipping greens, bunker practice, and of course a couple of big putting greens……..awesome. Then it’s off to the course…….first up is Pacific Dunes, where, along with Bandon Dunes, they played the US Amateur last year or maybe the year before?? I have played Atlantic Dunes (by Davis Love) at Sea Pines in Hilton Head, and I have to say that Pacific wins this one hands down. Beautiful and difficult golf course. We have a quick 90 minutes between rounds, and decide to lunch at the next course, Bandon Trails, which features an Asian Fusion menu, great food, but you can still just get a hot dog if you like. Trails is an inland course……..heavily treed (evergreens) and undulating……..like something you would see in Muskoka, or out west in the Rockies. At one point you have to load on the back of a truck to get a ride up to the next tee box……..the story is that someone had a heart attack trying to make the climb on foot, so for insurance purposes they had to start using the truck……….I think thats a pile of crap myself, but I was thankful for the ride up the hill.

The clubhouses here are very interesting……….the only one of any size is the original at Bandon Dunes………the rest are smaller, streamlined operations, complete with nice pro shops with logo’d golf wear and souveniers, relatively small food service venues, that work really well because of the flow of golfers through the facility all day long. Dinner tonight is at Pacific Dunes, where we tried to get in last night……..we have a reservation tonight……..lovely food……nice bottle of wine……..now back to Plan B for sleepy time.