With the exception of one other place in the world, Bandon Dunes is my favorite place on the planet. I will say this without flinching, Bandon Dunes is the most important golf course in all of America. The best of American golf has always been personified by uninviting, tucked-in shirts, trespasser beware walled-up private courses. Or famed public courses that were so few and far between that a small fortune was required to play. Essentially, American golf has long been the is exact opposite of Scotland's accessibility and openness. Well at least until Bandon Dunes. Bandon Dunes success spawned 5 other golf courses on the property, all of which are world class and cost half what most the top golf courses in america cost...and with planning, they are accessible to anyone, un-tucked shirt and all.

Bandon's success has not merely been self-serving. It has opened the American golfers eyes to the greatness of links golf and jump started what many consider to be a second golden age of golf course architecture. Subsequently, numerous world class public access golfing destinations have been built. Thanks to Bandon's success we now have Streamsong, Sand Valley, Prairie Club to name a few (even Cabot and Barnbougle outside the US). It's importance cannot be understated. This also skyrocketed the career of architect David McCaly Kidd. Ok, I'll calm down and move on to the course itself.

With Bandon Dunes, it was love at first sight 5 plus years ago when I played it for the first time. I have now tee'd up 5 times on this golf course and I can honestly say it get's better every time. According to Golf Digest, Bandon Dunes is the # 7 ranked public golf course in America. Having played several of the top 20 public golf courses in America, I have no problem saying Bandon dunes is my favorite public access golf course in the United States.



It’s hard to imagine a golf course that is more fun to play, there are substantial elevation changes, blind shots sweepingly wide fairways, Several ocean holes, many short par 4’s and what I consider to be one of the best back-nines in the world.

Hole 1: After a good drive, This is the view from the fairway to the elevated first green, there is always more room left than you think.



The elevation seems subtle from tee boxes, but as you can see from my group's walk from the tee box to the green on the par three second hole, there is nothing flat about this golf course.


Bandon Dunes has excellent Par 5's. 18 is a memorable finish. 13 is quite the adventure, but #3 is my favorite. Only 489 from the green tees, this is a great 2 shot par 5 especially if the wind is helping. There is also a "speed slot" on this fairway just left of the center fairway bunker. I blasted a beautiful cut the last time I played this hole right in the speed slot hit the ramp in the fairway and blasted forward. My drive ended up about 375 yards from the tee, I only had 130 yards to the pin for my second shot.



My favorite holes on Bandon Dunes are numbers 4, 5 and 16, which happen to be 3 of the best par 4's in the world. From the tee box, hole 4 looks like a standard golf hole surrounded by sand dunes, The fairway is wide but not long, longer players take less than driver or a tee shot can run through the fairway. It is difficult to see from the tee is that this is a dog leg right, and a ball placed on the right side of the fairway will have a much shorter shot to the green. The approach the green is one of the more dramatic in Golf, a slightly downhill second shot leads to an infinity green seemingly hanging in the air over the Pacific ocean. This is your first glimpse of the ocean at Bandon Dunes, it could not be a more dramatic introduction.

View of the 4th fairway from the tee...it's not until your second shot the the ocean is revealed.


Approach from the fairway toward the 4th green



Photo I took from the 4th green with the 5th hole in the distance.


5th hole at Bandon Dunes, the 100 yard wide fairway sits along the ocean's edge and the green is long and narrow tucked inland surrounded by dunes. Golfers tend to go right off the tee, since it's far from trouble, but that will make the hole play exceedingly long and may even require a blind approach depending on the pin. Challenge the fescue in the middle of the fairway and yoh may have a much easier shot into this hole.



A view from behind the 5th green back toward the tee.



3 of Bandon's 4 par 3's sit on the ocean's edge. The 6th is the most challenging in my mind, 217 yards from the tips...I tend to bail out right on this hole..I'm so mentally weak!


Photo I took of my favorite par 3 at Bandon dunes, the 12th hole. I love the infinity green from the tee, shot's hit right tend to bounce off that mount toward the green. Long and short can be difficult pars. I also like that they made that front pot bunker much more tame since my last trip to Bandon. It's still tough, but it used to be nasty!


14 is one of my favorite inland holes at Bandon Dunes and a great opportunity for birdie if you can avoid the bunkers. So many options off the tee. 332 yards, you can aim right and go for the green, which is blind from the tee. Lay up short and right of the fairway bunkers or my preferred play to hit a shot up the left center, over the top of the bunkers. There is much more room there than you think and are left with a 3/4 wedge into the green. I have birdied this hole more than any other at Bandon Dunes.



Having played on the cliffs of Hawaii, Scotland, California and in some pretty incredible settings, there is still no hole that takes my breath away like the 345 yard 16th at Bandon dunes. The lower fairway is separated from the upper fairway by massive 20 ft tall bunkering. Exposed rock and the Pacific Ocean flank the hole on its right side with sand dunes left. You have so many options on this hole, you can lay up well short which would leave you a blind shot into the green, you can take fairway wood or hybrid out to the left side providing you with the safest play, or you can go for this drivable green with the ocean to the right and deep bunkers to the left catching errant drives. The hole plays considerably shorter if you go for the green. The diversity of available strategies is a common theme at Bandon dunes, and why this golf course is so highly ranked and so much fun to play.

As you can see here, I chose to go for the green. Of the two rounds on my last trip, this was my best shot on 16. this ended up pin high on the left fringe of the green. I two putted for birdie. My other round I had a similar line, ended up in a pot bunker left of the green and had to punch out sideways before bogeying the hole.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A7401S4zkc

Stock photo of 16.


My photo from the 16th tee. You can see the pin way on the right side near the cliff.


View down the cliff between the Tee box and the fairway on 16.



16 is the last ocean hole at Bandon Dunes, but the finish is exceptional. 17 and 18 play along side a deep crevasse toward the clubhouse. 17 is an excellent par 4 where you can challenge the crevasse by hitting down a thin strip of fairway left, or lay up short and play a mid iron to the green. 18 is an excellent par 5 and as long as you don't go right...it is an excellent chance at birdie to finish your round.

Here is an aerial view of the 17th and 18th holes at Bandon Dunes. the 17th is on the left and the 18th on the right, both holes follow the cliff up to the clubhouse. The par 3 course Bandon Preserve is seen at the bottom of the screen.


I could go on forever about Bandon dunes, Perhaps my favorite compliment is that I used every single golf club in my bag during my last two rounds there. It is a true test of golf and firm and fast as golf is meant to be played. It is majestic, without fault and so much fun. For those reasons and many more, it is number 4 on my top 21.