Bandon Dunes

It began in 1999 with the opening of Bandon Dunes. Designed by Scotsman David McLay Kidd, the course is perched on a bluff high above the Pacific Ocean. The course unfolds along pristine native dunes where expansive ocean views are revealed on nearly every hole. The course is completely natural and routed through an environment of indigenous vegetation. Beyond breathtaking scenery lies the game of golf in its truest form. This is a thinker's course. Winds are ever-present, and the varying elements create a new experience each time you play.

From the moment I stepped out on these wild, wind-shaped sand dunes, I knew this would be the opportunity of a lifetime. The owner, Mike Keiser, wanted something authentic and true to the Scottish tradition. My reply was, “No real estate, no golf carts, no clubhouse on the beach.”

I imagined the routing having the structure of a symphony — a strong start, a sense of anticipation, small crescendos, and an incredible finishing sequence along the Pacific. The course had to provide not only a challenge to every skill level, but also a sense of adventure and an exploration of this great landscape. As on true links courses, each hole offers several strategies to reach the green. Although the fairways and greens are large, the best line of attack requires accuracy, which can always be tricky. Players must consider the sea breeze and the firm sand-based turf. Newcomers to links golf must master playing the ball along the ground, shots that have all but disappeared from today's game.

It thrills me now to watch the public playing the game as it was originally meant to be played, on the finest linksland I've seen outside the British Isles. --David McLay Kidd, Course Architect

Pacific Dunes

Pacific Dunes, designed by Tom Doak. opened in 2001. It is remarkably different in character and shot making requirements. Pacific Dunes doesn't feel like it was built as much as it was discovered. Rippling fairways remain just as they were found and natural bunkers line the landscape as they have for centuries. The course emerges from shore pines to spectacular 60-foot sand dunes. When the wind blows, precise approach shots are a necessity. Pacific Dunes is short enough to give you hope, but rugged enough to test every facet of your game.

Every architect dreams of building among the sand dunes, in the same terrain where golf was conceived in the British Isles. For me and my associates, Pacific Dunes is that dream come true.

I suspect that any golfer would have found some of the same holes, like the par-4 13th along the ocean, but it was an enormous responsibility to find the best possible routing on a site of such potential. The rippling fairways are mostly as we found them; so are the natural bunkers at the 2nd, 7th, 11th, 13th, 16th, and 18th holes, which guided our routing. Our layout is short enough to give every golfer hope, but its rugged nature will test every facet of your game.

Together with its big sister, Bandon Dunes, this must be the finest 36 holes of golf at any resort in the world. It was the highlight of our careers to participate in its creation, and we had only one chance to get it right. We hope you have many more opportunities to play over this beautiful ground, and to come to appreciate it as we have. -- Tom Doak, Course Architect

Bandon Trails

When Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw began working in the sand to uncover our third course, they faced the challenge of following Bandon and Pacific Dunes. Opened in 2005, Bandon Trails begins atop a massive sand dune, quickly opens in to a sprawling meadow, works higher into the coastal forest, and finally returns to finish in the dunes. The course is enjoyable to walk and is a constant reminder of how the game was originally created among inland rolling dunes with dramatic ocean vistas.

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. Mike Keiser has afforded both at Bandon Trails. We have tried to tread softly on this spectacular landscape, laying out a golf course that required 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. -- Bill Coore, Course Architect

Bandon Crossings

Bandon Crossings is a great addition to the area's golfing options and we have just been listed in Golfweek's Best to Play in Oregon! Golf Magazine has listed Bandon Crossings in their top 10 new golf courses for 2007, and we are also proud to announce that Bandon Crossings has been nominated for Golf Digest's Best New Golf Courses of 2008.

The newest golf course along the Southern Oregon Coast, Bandon Crossings is a delightful change of pace from many coastal golf courses. This unique 340 acre property boasts a beautiful, fun and challenging 6855 yard Dan Hixson Design. It is located just 5 miles south of Bandon

Bandon Crossings follows the natural contours of ancient sand dunes as the play roams through links land, over streams, and into open coastal forest of firs, cedars, and madrones. In addition to a spectacular view, Bandon Crossings usually enjoys better weather than the predictions, and is often nicer than the weather in the town of Bandon!