Why Bandon Dunes is the greatest golf resort in the world

In 1999, businessman Mike Keiser set out to solve a problem he believed had long plagued American golf, which had become obsessed with pristine landscaping, ultra exclusive memberships, and parkland designs that blocked out the natural elements. This separation from traditional Scottish golf is what originally inspired Bandon Dunes.

During his pursuit to bring tradition back to American golf, Keiser found his holy land on a remote section of the rugged Oregon coast. With sweeping sand dunes, punishing gorse, and hostile ocean winds, the property at Bandon Dunes feels as if it was hand sculpted for traditional links golf.

Nevertheless, the property operated as a failed wind farm and a sheep ranch before Keiser came along. This history has become infamous, as one of the most famous courses on the property is now named Sheep Ranch as an ode to it.

The Golf Courses at Bandon Dunes

Bandon Dunes is home to seven truly amazing golf courses. The original Bandon Dunes, designed by David McLay Kidd in 1999 as his first major design, is one of the purest forms of traditional links golf one can find in North America. Buried in the sweeping dunes and awe-inspiring coastal views, Kidd created a course that not only feels as if it has always been there but also evokes the feeling of one of the historic Scottish links.

In 2001, Tom Doak was chosen to add the second course on the property, and from there the legendary Pacific Dunes was born. Bigger, bolder, and more modern than Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes truly is the ultimate combination of traditional links golf and grand American sporting culture. The dunes are bigger, the coastline is more dramatic, and the golf is more challenging.

Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw were later chosen to add a third course in 2005, facing the daunting task of following the world-famous Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes. Coore and Crenshaw did something unexpected and moved away from the coastline to create a unique experience blending dramatic dunes, coastal views, lush meadows, and dense forest. This was the birth of Bandon Trails, debatably the most challenging course on the property, but often described as the most underrated. It is a truly beautiful combination of masterful routing, pristine nature, and challenging but fair golf shots.

The site was expanded even further in 2010 under the direction of Tom Doak and Jim Urbina. Old Macdonald pays homage to the historic links of the British Isles. Exposed to the elements with massive greens and forgiving fairways, Old Mac serves as the ultimate compliment to the grand designs of Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes. Forgiving yet challenging for all skill levels, Old Mac also offers one of the best closing stretches you can find on the resort.

The next addition came with the infamous Sheep Ranch. Back in 2001, while designing Pacific Dunes, Mike Keiser tasked Tom Doak and Jim Urbina with laying out thirteen greens on an adjacent coastal property deemed too small for a standard 18-hole course, and this is how Bandon Dunes acquired its secret course. From 2001 to 2019, those thirteen greens operated as a secretive course where golfers could choose their own tee boxes as well as their own greens. The original Sheep Ranch was not advertised in any way, rather visitors had to know where to go and who to speak to. Golfers were able create their own routing, all while playing some of the most dramatic coastal golf on the property. The quirky and fun identity from its secretive past was upheld when Coore and Crenshaw transformed the site into a formal 18-hole design in 2020.

Today, Sheep Ranch lives on as the strange little brother to Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes, but thanks to its coastal views and unique layout, it is often a fan favourite among resort goers.

There is So Much to Enjoy Here

In addition to the championship courses, which consistently live among the top 100, Bandon Dunes is home to two elite par three courses, Bandon Preserve and Shorty's. Both courses showcase the breathtaking coastal beauty that Bandon Dunes has become synonymous with.

However, Shorty’s and Preserve offer a more fun, accessible, but yet still challenging introduction to links golf.

Shorty's is a great warm up course or a fun post round dessert, a 19-hole par three layout with yardages ranging from 51 to 161 yards. Preserve, meanwhile, is one of the truly special par three courses in the world. Coore and Crenshaw designed thirteen holes which weave through meadows, gorse, and coastline. Yet, Preserve is the one course on the property where the golf and the landscape are overshadowed by the experience. Groups of up to eight are allowed to tee off and play together, a dynamic unlike almost anywhere else in the world, and one that offers some of the most fun you can have on a golf course.

In a similar vein to Preserve, one of the best pastimes on the resort, if you exclude the delicious food, is The Punchbowl. Designed by Tom Doak and Jim Urbina, The Punchbowl is the largest putting green in the United States, measuring in at 100,000 square feet. Inspired by the Himalayas putting course at St Andrews, The Punchbowl offers massive slopes, hills, and breaks. Two courses are hand picked every morning by the Pacific Dunes staff, and with no tee times or green fees required, it is an ideal place to warm up, wind down, or settle some bets.

Spectacular Dining Experiences

The dining scene is equally varied. The Ghost Tree Grill serves a Pacific Northwest steakhouse and raw bar menu, while the Gallery and Puffin Bar in the Main Lodge keep things Italian. Pacific Grill, perched above the Pacific Dunes clubhouse, leans into seafood with a Mediterranean touch, and Trails End at Bandon Trails offers a pan-Asian focused menu.

McKee's Pub brings traditional British pub culture with pints, cocktails, and classic bar food. In addition, the Bunker Bar offers cigars, single malts, and light bites. Sheep Ranch Clubhouse keeps things simple with quick serve Irish favourites.

However, no trip to Bandon is complete without a famous pre round breakfast burrito from Sheep Ranch, and a mid round transfusion from the halfway houses. Once the clubs are put away and the golf shoes are off, the communal fire pits scattered throughout the property become the ultimate place to wind down.

The Accomodation is Special

Life outside of golf on the resort is every bit as special. Accommodation ranges from single rooms in The Lodge, The Inn, and Cut Creek, to the spacious four-bedroom Grove and Lily Pond cottages favoured by larger groups. The newer Round Lake rooms offer a quieter, forest bound setting beside Bandon Trails. Although the accommodation is incredible, it is quite limited. This means regular lotteries are used to ensure booking is fair and even for all guests. This means trips to Bandon should be planned and arranged well in advance.

Why You Simply Must Visit Bandon Dunes

Lastly, reaching Bandon Dunes is in itself part of the adventure, as the resort sits in a wonderfully remote stretch of the southern Oregon coast. Most visitors fly into Eugene or Portland, both large international airports. The drive south that follows is one of the most memorable parts of the trip in its own right. The route winds through dense forest and alongside flowing rivers before the Pacific suddenly opens up beside the road. By the time the final tree lined stretch leads onto the property, the journey already feels like part of the golf experience. Once on site, there is little need to think about logistics at all, as a 24-hour shuttle service ferries guests between courses, lodging, and restaurants.

Bandon Dunes as a resort is truly the closest thing to a religious experience one can have on a golf course. The site evokes emotion, appreciation, and camaraderie, not only as a haven of golf, but as a spectacle of nature. The sweeping dunes, dramatic cliffs, and crashing waves of the Oregon coast are a destination on their own. With seven breathtaking courses, eight world class restaurants, and onsite lodging with shuttles to and from each course, all wrapped in an atmosphere carefully curated to enhance the golf trip experience, Bandon Dunes truly is the ultimate golf resort.

If you would like to know more about it, please visit https://bandondunesgolf.com/.