When planning my trip to the US, this resort was the one I was most excited about, which golf enthusiast would not be,5 top courses, few of them on the top rankings and all in one place, sounds too good to be true, and it actually is.
The first thing you need to know about Bandon, it will take some time to figure out the logistics of getting there. When I flew in, I was lucky enough to get a sit on a flight to North Bend, a small airport about 25 minutes from the resort. There seems to be one flight per day from San Francisco international, and the aircraft used is just about the smallest one I ever flew on. The alternative is to fly to Eugene (2.5h drive) or Portland (4.5h drive) and then drive to Bandon, obviously, people living in the driving distance just use their cars. In all cases, the logistics of getting there are something you need to investigate a bit more than for some other courses while planning your trip and they might take some precious golfing time from you.
I did not book a shuttle with the resort (I recommend you do so), the plan was to use a Uber/Taxi to get there and then rent a car on the day I was leaving and drive to Portland from where I was flying out. Now, what I did not know is, there are no Ubers in that area and the taxis are about as commonly sighted as a Big Foot, suddenly,5 small shuttle buses fom Bandon picking up people from the plane we just landed with made perfect sense (I think 100% of the passengers on my plane were golfers). Luckily, the car renting place was at the airport and I just took the car I was supposed to pick up in a few days anyways. From there, it’s a pretty straight forwards drive to the Resort. While you are driving it quickly becomes clear that the area is not the most developed one and that the resort is actually the main source of income for most Bandon residents, and I would assume it does take quite a few people to operate it properly, as I was told, the resort even offers some sort of scholarships for universities for the local high school kids.
The resort features accommodations, restaurant(s),4 18hole golf courses, a par 3 13 hole course and a fantastic practice facility plus another 18 hole golf course that is almost completed and will have additional accommodations and practice facilities adjacent, so a massive resort, I even think one of the biggest in this part of the US.
I stayed at the main building, located next to Bandon Dunes Golf Course (the first one that was built), it also has the restaurant, dedicated souvenir shop etc. While all the buildings and the resort in general seem to be well maintained, a lot more could be done in terms of interior design and equipment. I have noticed this with the room and the restaurant, I can’t be sure if this is due to the fact that this is likely the first building that was constructed for accommodation/gastronomical needs of the resort and is the most worn down, or if it extends to the rest of the resorts cabins and hotels as well. It’s not bad, but could be a lot better, as is the case in the four clubhouses for instance. Every course (except Preserve which shares the CH with Bandon Trails) has it’s own CH, all of them very nice and surprisingly well stocked, amongst them, since each carries different brands (yes some are featured in multiple), you have your pick at most top golf brands.
Before your rounds, you can have a quick warm up session on the putting and chipping areas at each golf course, or you can utilize the common practice facilities. To say the least, they are excellent, I would even say among the best I ever saw, you can chose between the driving range for you long game, with more than enough space, an area for your short game that is just as impressive as the range, a huge putting green and several smaller chipping areas, basically, you can easily spend a day just practicing, a very impressive facility.
On a side note, you can commute between this areas either by using the resorts shuttles, your own car (parking is not problem) or even walking, though, some of them are quite distant from each other.
Generally speaking, the staff was super friendly and accommodating, if they can do something to make your stay more pleased they will, at least that was my experience and I do not have any negative remarks on that part.

Before I go to the individual course description, just a quick summary of my take on the resort. It is likely the best golf destination I have visited apart from St Andrews, I liked it better than Pebble Beach, Belek in Turkey and Barnbougle in Tasmania (for the longest time my favorite). The reason for it is, you have 5 EXCELLENT golf courses all in one place, that is rear to find, but that’s all you have. Literally! When you are done playing fantastic courses during the day and the night falls, you either drink, go to bed or… well, you either drink or go to bed. For a golfer, a group of golfers or a family where everyone plays golf, this is a fantastic destination, you will truly enjoy it, but, for a family where only “dad or mum” play golf, the kids/spouse will be very bored, after all, there are only so many times you can walk on the beach. And that is honestly the only downside worth mentioning.

BANDON DUNES
This was the first golf course build at the resort. It is more or less a classical links course with several holes positioned in a way where they either overlook or run alongside the cost line and offer those nice sea views you’d expect. The sand dunes are very nicely incorporated in the design of the course, making it open enough to have fun with your driver without the fear of losing your golf ball, but still demanding some strategy when attacking the greens if you are playing for a low score. I especially liked the costal holes; the views are beautiful, and the layout is such that you get to play fun holes over sand dunes and small cliffs. In my opinion, the course does not play too long but you do need to be careful with the bunkers, they are well positioned, some quite mean, so a long drive can easily turn out to be too long and end up in one. From all the courses I think this one gives the feeling of being the most congested one (not accounting for Preserve) with several paths to different holes crossing. The maintenance was excellent, even with it being more or less fully booked, the course was in great condition, divots are nicely repaired, hardly any pitch marks on the greens etc.. Even when you land in the rough, it is usually quite manageable and does not spoil your score. Not my favorite course in the resort, but a joy to play!

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