An un-planned trip to Bandon...

[ggallant1]

Just a short story I thought I'd share from the last few days:

My fiancé's grandfather unfortunately passed away last week, so we had to make a last minute trip across the country to their home in Bandon, Oregon for the funeral. I didn't bring my clubs, as I really did not plan to play any golf given the circumstances of our trip, even though we would be in quite the Golf Mecca. Luckily, I got to play Pacific Dunes last year.

Monday was my birthday, but I didn't really expect much of a celebration because of Grandpa's passing, etc. To my surprise, my fiancé took me to Bandon Crossings (not part of the Dunes resort, but an extremely nice course in its own right) where she bought me a new pair of FootJoy Contour Series shoes, and got me set up with a set of rental clubs (Nike Ignite irons and Nike Sasquatch woods) and a quick 9-hole round since it was already late afternoon.

I was pretty pleased with my play given that i was using rental clubs on an unfamiliar course and shot a seven-over 44 on holes 1-5, 15-18 (ends up being a par 37). The course was in fantastic shape and the layout was challenging yet forgiving. I would love to come back and play the full 18, and of course can't wait to play at the Dunes again. The rental clubs weren't too bad, I found the irons came up a few yards shorter than the Callaways I play but were forgiving and easy to hit. Same for the driver, a bit shorter than my TM Burner, but I was in the fairway on every hole.

For those who haven't been, coastal Oregon and Bandon in particular is a beautiful area and well worth the extensive travel time it takes to get there, for me it was 8 hours of flying plus the 5 hour car ride from Portland to Bandon.

Would love to hear anyones thoughts on Bandon Crossings for those who have played there!

[Jim Ludden]

Haven't played the Crossing but have been to Bandon Dunes twice now and it is NICE.  Great gold and great country side. Driving down the coast was fantastic as was the quaint town of Bandon.