Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (Bandon Trails)

Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw designed Bandon Trails, the third of four courses at the magnificent Bandon Dunes Resort. Bandon Trails opened for play in June 2005 and if reviews and ratings of the other courses are anything to go by, then this course has a lot to live up to.

Bandon Trails starts in the dunes which offer great southwesterly views of the Pacific Ocean and Bullard’s Beach State Park. From there, the routing takes the golfer from the coast to further inland; first to meadowland, then to woodland before ending up back in the dunes.

The feel of Bandon Trails has been likened to Spyglass Hill or Formby though some think it resembles the type of terrain to be found on the sand belt to the west of London. There are three links-like holes, eight “meadow” holes, and seven weaving through the trees. Each set of holes has different plant varieties and ecosystems but they all have tees, greens and fairways constructed from a mix of fescue and colonial bentgrass. Native plants include manzanitas, kinnickinnick, shore pines, huckleberry and salal.

Unlike the bunkers at Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes, with their overgrown edges, the bunkers at Bandon Trails are mown right up to their boundaries. It has been said that the octet of “meadow” holes constitute the heart and soul of the course but the artfully shaped bunkers may leave the most lasting impression.

The short (330-yard) par four 14th is a feature hole which starts at a panoramic elevated tee before plunging down more than 100 feet to a steeply right-tilting fairway. If you choose to play it safe from the tee, you must play to the left side of this fairway, as shots missed to the right will face a blind approach at the most shallow angle to the green which is the smallest on the course.