Bandon Trails, near Bandon, OR, is a coastal inland venue with traditional links features that awesomely blend with classic traits of the forested Northwest. Starting atop a range of sand dunes with an opening ocean view, golfers will head for the hills through a dynamic and distinct layout. Bandon Trails is easily the most unique of the resort courses, and is nationally acclaimed despite having no beach front property. A slight variation in proximity from the shoreline creates a significant change in environment, as well as terrain. Instead of open scenery and rolling earth, Bandon Trails is heavily tree lined and has plenty of elevation change as it advances toward the coastal highlands. Thanks to the dense wooded surroundings, most of the holes are isolated from one another, and relatively sheltered from the wind. Around every corner is a pleasantly new sight of rugged links amid natural sand features and tall timber. The common Bandon trait of extreme undulation joins forces with notable topography change and strongly sloped fairways to give Bandon Trails its defining character. Concluding among the long-grassed dunes of a Pacific panorama, Bandon Trails comes full circle and successfully weaves the nature of true links golf into the spirit of the Northwest.
Bandon Trails has large landing zones, yet many strategically placed fairway bunkers require a target golf approach. While there’s plenty of room to operate, and a fair mix of user-friendly holes, Bandon Trails has many hazardous areas and the least forgiveness for errant shots. There’s ample driving space between the outlying old growth forests, however, trouble spots reside around the greens which are often tucked into unplayable and precarious surroundings. From trees to long-grassed dunes, and from coastal brush to sandy and weathered terrain, Bandon Trails has the most potential for penalizing or costly strokes. It is even home to the resorts only prominent water feature, which guards the Par 4 11th. However, the biggest challenge here is clearly the unlevel grounds throughout much of the links. The climb and descent upon the hillside creates sizable elevation changes and a common theme of sloped, filtering fairways. From tee to cup, surveying the earth is essential to shot placement. The greens are tricky based on contour and shape as one would expect. Most are large in true links fashion, yet some are “small” by resort standards. There’s a shortage of safe collection areas as many greens are tightly situated among the various elements mentioned.
About Bandon Dunes Golf Resort
Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, on the southern coast of Oregon near Bandon, OR, is a world class golf mecca, and a defining piece of the puzzle regarding the quality and diversity of Northwest golf. Golf enthusiasts travel from all corners to experience this collection of nationally acclaimed golf. From the forested coastal inlands to the weather-shaped dunes of the ocean-front links, Bandon Golf Resort offers four captivating courses that are worthy of any golfers bucket list. Continuously topping the charts of many accredited golf rankings, Bandon is more than just a premier golf destination; it’s like a trip abroad to Scotland or a history lesson of golf and how it was intended to be played. Hand-crafted by nature, and plotted by man, Bandon Golf Resort has captured the spirit of the old game to the Northwest golfers delight.
