Bandon Trails

Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw have produced a marvellous golf course that is Bandon Trails. This was the third golf course to be built at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. While it plays like a links, "Trails" has predominately a parkland setting with huge mature pines lining the fairways.

Bill Coore is quoted as saying, "In the profession of golf architecture, all one can ask for is to be given an extraordinary site and the freedom to work with it. We were afforded both at Bandon Trails. We have tried to tread softly on this spectacular landscape, laying out a golf course that require little alteration to the site while providing golf as diverse as the land itself. As its name implies, Bandon Trails will take you on a journey, a nature walk if you will, through windswept dunes, meadows of vegetation framed by indigenous shrubbery, and through woodlands of towering fir and spruce trees. Sometimes the journey and the golf will be wild and tumultuous, sometimes serene. Whichever, we hope it will always be interesting and enjoyable."

While I prefer Pacific Dunes (played yesterday), Bandon Trails has some great par threes and short par fours. It really is a beautiful setting and difficult to not enjoy even if not playing all that well.

My favourite hole was the 15th, a 406 yard par four with a slight dogleg to the right. Playing into the prevailing wind, the cross bunker (shown in the photo to the right) could not be reached.

Having reached the fairway successfully, a seven iron approach was followed into a stunning green sight, seamlessly integrating into the surround vegetation and landscape.

As for the golf, we were joined by a tremendous guy from Chicago. Jim last visited Bandon Dunes three years ago and fortunately, was able show us where to hit on the holes that required some local knowledge.

The standard was somewhat ordinary at times. Apart from being being 1 up on the fourth, I was down all match. Dad played some solid golf for much of the next 12 holes to be 3 up with 4 to play. With the last four holes playing tough and into a stiff breeze, he collapsed and found areas of the golf course he had yet to see.

Result: Square