Bandon Dunes - Great Golf Destination

I have been fortunate enough in the last 4 years to play at Bandon Dunes twice, once at the Bandon Dunes track and once at Pacific Dunes. If you love links golf, then this is the place to go in the US. I can't say enough about the quality of the courses there and how much it feels like Scotland.

The property sits on the dunes, high up over the beach below - a very typical Scottish landscape. There are currently 3 top level golf courses at the resort; Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes and Bandon Trails. Though I have never played Bandon Trails, I've seen many of the holes and it looks like it's right up there with the other two. If you can only play one course and you want the toughest one, then Pacific Dunes is for you.

If you're looking for a place to play golf and also party, then this isn't your destination. This is hard core golf at a fair price. The full price in peak season is a bit stiff, but it's greatly reduced from November to April. If you're worried about the weather, then you're not a real Scottish links golfer. You may encounter a bit of wind and rain, but this is golf as it's typically played in Scotland. (I once inquired of a Scotsman who planned a week's golfing trip in Scotland for myself and a friend about what would happen if we got rained out of a round. His response, 'I don't know, I've never known it to happen' - meaning they don't stop playing for a 'wee bit of rain'.)

You can also knock down the price of a round by staying at the hotel. It's not a bad idea to consider as there aren't many alternatives in the area. A bit of advice, don't get the room my wife and I had that is over the downstairs bar, you'll be up until the last golfer's go to bed. The food at the resort is not to die for, but it's reasonable fair.

If you go, plan in advance as the course can be booked out at certain times. Be prepared to walk, I don't think they even have carts. For those of you not used to hoofing it, there are caddies available. There are also pull carts readily available. It's an easy course to walk, as most links courses are because they are relatively flat. Though I haven't played the 'Trails' course, it looks a bit more up and down than the two 'Dunes' courses.

If you can possibly swing a trip to Bandon - do it! I'm not being compensated in any way by the people who own the resort to promote it. In fact, they don't even know I'm writing this. If you get a chance to play any or all of these courses, please let me know how you fared.

Golf in the Desert - Take 2

I've just finished playing two more beautiful desert courses - Silver Rock and Desert Willow. Silver Rock will be the site of next year's Bob Hope. It's a brand new course, built in the middle of desert rock and sand next to the base of the mountains. Within a couple of years the place will be surrounded by new million dollar plus homes and a sister course. Apparently this whole area will double or triple its population in a matter of only a few years.

The course itself is quite spectacular, as most of the high end plays are out in this neck of the woods. The back tees are all but unplayable if you're not a card carrying PGA professional. There are plenty of tough traps, filled with something that's a close cousin of kitty litter - but very playable. There's little in the way of rough that's grass, most fairways being surrounded by the desert - more aptly labeled giant waste bunkers. To make matters worse, these bunkers are filled with small plants that act as ball magnets. Bottom line; hitting a ball into these areas is a double penalty. First take an unplayable lie and then try to hit a 200 yard shot out of the sand to a green that has water on at least one side.

The good news at Silver Rock is we saw some beautiful bighorn sheep. They come down to the course to 'graze' in hot weather. Watching them climb near vertical rock with ease was the real treat of the day. Back to golf - the course was in great shape, but the greens were not as good as at The Classic.

Desert Willow is owned by the town of Palm Desert. It may be the most beautifully planted course in this whole area. It looks much like the other courses, but because of the landscaping you never really feel like you're playing in the middle of a desert. The course personnel are all very friendly. For some reason, the speed of play was much better. At Silver Rock we had to wait on almost every shot. I suspect this is because the course is more difficult than most players are capable of handling.

The bottom line after playing 5 courses, they are all too similar. After awhile you can't keep them straight in your mind. It's as if the course architects are all working off one master plan. Maybe you can only do so much in the middle of the desert.

If you've read any of my blogs before, then you know I don't like carts. Out here they are mandatory. I've never seen one person carry or pull a cart yet. I'm not sure what hitting a golf ball while driving a cart is called, but it sure isn't golf. Give me my old pull cart and the simple plebeian courses back home and I'm a happy camper!

Golf In The California Desert

Thanks to friends, my wife and I are spending a couple of weeks golfing in the southern California desert.

First let me say that this area, from Desert Hot Springs and Palm Springs to the Palm Desert and Indio is packed with golf courses. This may be the highest concentration of golf courses anywhere in the US in such a small area. I don’t have the statistics, but I it’s every bit the equal of Phoenix. Second, everybody I’ve met so far uses Standby Golf to book tee times at reduced prices. With this service you call anytime after 4 pm to get low cost tee times for the next day. From what I can tell, most every first rate course in the area uses this service.

The first 3 days here we played Terra Lago - the old Landmark Golf Club and home of many skins games, Desert Dunes and The Classic Club - site of this year’s Bob Hope Classic. All three courses are in the middle of the valley that sits between two desert mountain ranges. Where there isn’t a watering system, you see only dirt, sand, stones, and scrub brush. All these courses sit in the middle of the valley. You definitely know you’re in the desert.

All 3 use lots of gentle undulations to sculpt the holes. In many cases the fairways are banked on at least one side by earthen berms. Bunkers are everywhere, but in general the sand is course and compacted. I was particularly surprised by the traps at The Classic. I heard the sand was soft and fluffy during the Hope, but somehow it’s developed a hard crust in many areas since then. Terra Lago has a little water, Desert Dunes a bit more and at The Classic water is everywhere – to the left, right and sometimes straight ahead. It almost seems out of place in the desert, but the many waterfalls and flowing streams are a welcome counterpoint to the surrounding desert.

Terra Lago had recently aerated their greens, as a result they were slow and not predictable. Desert Dunes looked like they were cutting back on their watering. The greens were true, but definitely not top notch. The Classic Club, on the other hand, had beautiful greens that were lightning fast. Get above the hole and you’re going to add at least a shot to your score.

All of these 3 courses are somewhere between links and parkland style. I guess you could call them desert links. The Classic Club had very few straight holes, many of the fairways trace shoreline arcs. At times, this puts water into play on almost every shot. If you can’t control your direction, make sure you bring plenty of balls!

On all 3 courses we played the gold or white tees, which seemed pretty fair for male golfers with handicaps between 10 and 20. Playing the back tees at The Classic radically changes the course. If you can’t carry your drive 289 yards, don’t bother even trying.

The Classic Club is definitely the hardest, which can mean it’s less enjoyable if you don’t have your A game. Desert Dunes was my least favorite, the upkeep just wasn’t where it should be. I enjoyed Terra Lago a lot. It’s not overly penal and has an interesting links type feel to it. All of these courses grow serious fangs when the wind blows, almost to the point of being unplayable.