I've been to Bandon Dunes 4 times (last visit June 2014) and have a 5th trip planned later this year.The place is pricey but the quality of all 4 eighteen hole golf courses is unmatched. Most major golf publications rate the 4 courses in the top 10-15 courses in the country and I have played the majority of those top courses and would have to agree. I believe the Pacific Dunes course is a better course than Pebble Beach, at half the price! They also have a magnificent 13 hole par 3 course with unbelievable ocean views. The staff is super friendly and helpful and the food and drink are top notch. Check the excellent Bandon Dunes web site for great course photos and additional information.This is a "golf" resort with the emphasis on "golf", so if you want a lot of additional options stick with Scottsdale for your golf trip.However, if you want to play "golf as it was meant to be" you do not have to go to Scotland, it exist in the USA on the Oregon coast.
I live in Boston and could go to Ireland and save myself 4 hours of travel time.....but I love everything about this.....Bandon really gets golfers... A+++ every time.
our room at the Inn was large and comfortable, but a little bit away from the main areas. Staff could not have been more helpful. Pacific Dunes course greens were really in bad shape and the only negative of the whole experience. Bandon Dunes course was awesome and the greens were better. Old MacDonald was very nice also. Practice your bump and run before hand along with 50' putts - you'll need both. Our favorite restaurant on the property was Pacific. Go early and take your putter for the 18 hole putting course, but don't miss the sunset. If you have a car, have dinner at Alloro Wine Bar & Restaurant in Bandon, only ten minutes away.
Have had several meals in the pub and they have all been quite good. The establishment is well appointed and top notch.
"Outstanding Golf", "Best Golf Resort", "Excellent Service". Those were my expectations prior to our visit. The expectations were met! I cannot believe the 8 Poor reviews and could not bring them up on my iPad.We stayed at Chrome Lake Lodge. The rooms are expected to be spartan and they were. However they were not close to drab. In fact, one of our group thought they were better than Pebble Beach Lodge. Larger rooms, 2 washroom concept, one for shower and tub and the other for toilet. Each has a wash basin. I did not think they were better then Pebble Beach Lodge. The rooms were very comfortable, the beds were good. The only criticism is there is only a mini freezer rather than a mini fridge in the room.And the main reason to go there is golf. It is outstanding! I rate them from best first, Pacific Dunes, Bandon Dunes, Old MacDonald and Bandon Trails. However 2 of our group thought Bandon Trails was the best. I thought 16th hole on Bandon Dunes is the best golf hole I have ever played. The 4th hole on Pacific Dunes is rated one of the best 500 holes in the world and I think it is a close second in the 4 courses. The service throughout was excellent. The staff in every case has been trained to use common sense and ensured we felt wanted and appreciated. We were 5 golfers but they handled our changes and rescheduling effectively without ever making us feel that we were creating issues. We had Casey as our Caddie. I had planned to use him only for the first time we played a course and ended up hiring him every time I played. Need I say more? He was very good. Saved me many strokes! Thank you, Casey!No outstanding restaurants in the Resort but they all ranged from very good to near excellent.If you ever go to Bandon Dunes, you MUST go to Bandon. Go to Tony's Crab Shack for lunch - they close at 6:30pm. The best crab sandwich. All the other fish looked outstanding too. And, Angelo's for homemade Italian Food. We ended up going there twice and were scheduled to go there on the 3rd night but one of us was very very tired and just wanted to eat at the Resort and go to bed. Fantastic food and very reasonably priced wines. Angelo plays guitar and sings, his wife plays violin and his son is a jazz guitarist when he is not serving his Dad's customers!If you go there for "golf" you will not be disappointed, no matter how high your expectations going in will be. Bucket List for golfer.
Our road trip to Portland included a stop off in Bandon simply for the golf as we heard Bandon Dunes is not to be missed. Upon our arrival at the resort entrance we were greeted by a very nice woman who told us where to go to inquire about green fee pricing. We were very disappointed to hear the cost for a round of golf here and no matter how we tried to justify it, we could not! $290.00 green fees, $35.00 cart fee, and $120.00 to hire a caddie. It's mandatory to hire a caddy in addition to your green fees plus if you have any kind of walking issues (like my husband with Parkinson's disease) you need a cart but they don't provide carts unless you have a doctor's note which we did. Then you still cannot drive the cart yourself so you have to hire the caddie to do this. Just simply unreasonable. At least we got to see the course and it's snobby clientele.So make sure you're healthy with your legs AND your pocketbook if you want to play here. It seems like this place is a good ole boys club and that's exactly who they cater to. If you have any sort of walking issues at all don't bother going here. It's too bad they don't coddle people with disabilities like they do the healthy with the big bucks! This is NO PEBBLE BEACH!If you want to golf in this area, try Bandon Crossings Golf Course. The course is only 10 minutes south from the heart of Bandon and is much more affordable, ($45.00 + cart). It has a beautiful layout and you're guaranteed to enjoy yourself!
Bandon Dunes is a golf mecca on the southern Oregon Coast in the small town of Bandon. Before going, I thought this might just turn out to be an expensive, but not particularly special golf club. However, this golf resort is truly a homage to the history of golf, particularly links golf, reflecting the original courses in Scotland.Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes are both spectacular links courses along the edge of the Pacific. Pacific Dunes has more terrific vistas. The last couples of holes on Bandon Dunes are very challenging. I greatly enjoyed both of these courses. However, I found the Old Macdonald Course to be particularly special. Old MacDonald honors the first American golf course architect, Charles MacDonald. MacDonald had traveled abroad and seen the courses in Scotland. Most of the courses he designed are private. The Old MacDonald course has holes that copy holes on courses MacDonald designed (if the natural landscaped at Bandon permitted), holes inspired by MacDonald designs, and holes where lie of the land was used in a manner consistent with MacDonald’s designs. The fairways are wide with broad views of the landscape. The greens for the most part are large and easy targets, but often the putting is very challenging with many undulations. The holes were demanding in novel ways, and playing them was much fun. The shear variety of the holes was impressive, and made for great golf. This is a very special course. There are 2 more courses, which I didn’t play, plus the Punchbowl, which is 18 holes of putting and can be done in 45 min. There is no charge for the Punchbowl. There is an excellent practice area to warm up with large stacks of gleaming new golf balls on the driving range plus practice putting greens. There are accomodations at the resort, and also a small shuttle bus that will take you from the practice area to your golf course. We rented a beach house for the week, and were 5 miles by car from the golf course. The beach was lovely, but the water is cold with riptides, so not somewhere for swimming. The beaches are nice for walks and good for solitude. Dogs are allowed on the beach, and ours enjoyed the beach immensely. Good place for reading long novels. There is horseback riding on the beach through a local company. There are also fishing trips, birdwatching, crabbing and the small downtown has an assortment of shops and restaurants.
You can't come to Bandon and not tour the best "links style" golf courses next to St. Andrews in Scotland, now can you? You won't see golf carts at Bandon Dunes. What you will see are a bunch of wonderful links courses, many with ocean views, served by a small army of white-suited caddies. Old-school elegance. The lodge is an amazing structure, suitable for the upper crust it serves. Have a drive through the residential sections to see how the 1% plays & stays. I hear these courses keep corporate jets landing in Coos Bay on a daily basis. A trip to the resort will demonstrate why.
I just returned from Bandon Dunes golf trip. Wow! We played each course over 4 days. Pacific Dunes started in windy and rainy conditions. The next 3 days were mostly sun, no wind, a light sprinkle on the last day for 2 holes. I would not have enjoyed the trip if it had been rainy the entrire trip and that would have been a shame. The place is well organized and makes for a great golf trip. The courses from 6,200 yards are very challenging. I would have 3 putted every hole without the help of our top-notch caddies-Joe, Rick, Reanna and David. Great people and they will help shave strokes off your game if playing the courses for the first time. We played Shorty's short course which was fun (and free). The Punch Bowl was a blast and the waitresses could barely keep up with the drink orders when the course was packed. We could not get on The Preserve. The food was very good- I highly recommend the sweet potato fries! The prices were reasonable. We stayed in the Chrome Lake rooms and they were quite spacious. I have been to St. Andrews and surrounding area within the past 18 months. I would go back to Bandon Dunes before Scotland (the group of 6 guys want to make this an annual trip). The Bandon golf courses are just as natural as the links style courses in Scotland. We flew into Eugene. The drive to the resort during the day is pretty cool. I would highly recommend this resort and these courses. If I am able to go again, I would replay pacific, Bandon, or Old Macdonald. Trails, while beautiful with spectacular holes, is similar to Northern Minnesota so I want more coastline.
With 3 out of 4 course in world top 100, and all in best 20 public course, you are guaranteed a world class experience.