BANDON, Ore. - Shorty's is the best golf course at Bandon Dunes.
There, I wrote it for all to see. I know I'll get hate mail in the form of angry DMs and comments on social media. It's a little wacky to declare a new 19-hole short course the best golf course at the best golf resort in the world. Bandon Dunes also happens to be home to four of the 12 best public courses in America (according to Golf Digest). Heck, Shorty's might not even be the best short course on property, considering how beloved the 13-hole Bandon Preserve is.
But I've always subscribed to the theory that course rankings should be personal. It's about how you feel playing a certain course, not what everybody else thinks or what the scorecard says. It's an emotion, a connection, a sentiment.
This is what Bandon Dunes does best. Its courses inspire passion, emotions and debates. They require you to think, analyze and reflect on what you love about this game and what motivates you to play. Half a millennium into the game's history, Mike Keiser's Dream Golf brand has found a way to capture golf's essence in the last quarter-century. Golf is a spiritual journey for each of us, full of incredible highs and soul-crushing lows. The relationships we build along the way are what anchor us in our humanity.
I took a friend to the Bandon Dunes' 25th anniversary party in May and tried to observe every experience through his eyes. Having never been on a golf trip before, he came away shocked at how good the food and wine was and how fun course camaraderie can be with complete strangers. He was terrified at how his game might hold up against world-class courses but quickly realized none of that matters. It's all about battling the course, the elements and the self-doubt in order to enjoy the walk.
And what a walk Bandon is. The addition of Shorty's by Whitten, Axland & Cutten just adds to the lore of this golf mecca on the Oregon coast. Whatever course you argue is the best remains the right answer - they're all unique and special.
Here's how I'd rank them after playing most of them during a rain-soaked, windy, four-day marathon. I only missed 18 on Sheep Ranch and 9 on the newly-named "Charlotte's Par 3" at the Practice Center.
Ranking the golf courses at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort
1. Shorty's
I love Shorty's first and foremost because its dunescape is the best at Bandon. I'm also not afraid to admit the personal bias that its range of 175-yard hybrids and delicate 60-yard wedges fits my skill set much more than big drives and wind-piercing 3-irons.
2. Pacific Dunes
Tom Doak's short par 4s and back-to-back par 3s really make the experience exciting. It's probably Bandon's toughest and most dramatic course.
3. Bandon Trails
I almost dropped Trails by Coore & Crenshaw farther considering the tee shots over roads and that weird shuttle ride up to the 14th tee box felt more pronounced the second time I played it. But the walk through the Pacific Northwest forest is just so pure I couldn't bring myself to do it.
4. Bandon Preserve
Every hole on C&C's Bandon Preserve is really good, even the wee 65-yard blind tee shot over a mound. Both my partner and I almost made aces ending up less than five feet behind the hole. We walked away with humiliating pars. That's the Preserve in a nutshell.
5. Bandon Dunes
David McLay Kidd's first course turned out incredibly for a young architect who had never done a major project before. However, it's hard not to wonder what a veteran designer more experienced in links golf might have squeezed out of such an awesome site. DMK has admitted as much in the past.
6. Old MacDonald
Despite this ranking, Old MacDonald - a course by Doak and Jim Urbina I despised the first time I played it - has gained my respect after a fun round in the wind and rain. It has closed the gap considerably and could move up in the future. The major drawback is that out-of-character, way-too-hard 16th hole. I could hit approach shots all day and not hit the blind green behind a massive dune wall.
7. Sheep Ranch (incomplete)
I walked the old Sheep Ranch, so it was interesting to see the new version for the first time. Until I can play it, though, I won't pass judgment.
Other tips and tidbits from my second visit to Bandon Dunes
I've already written about the impact Bandon Dunes has had on the world of golf travel, so I won't rehash the article above. Instead I'll drop some nuggets why Bandon Dunes has supplanted Pebble Beach in the eyes of many as the most coveted golf resort in the world.
* Bandon Dunes continues to add experiences and amenities to lure golfers back again and again. Besides Shorty's, the hot new toy is the Ghost Tree Grill, which in less than a year's time has become the resort's best restaurant. What's next?
* A question and answer session with all the resort's golf course architects (except Doak and Ben Crenshaw) brought about several revelations. The running joke of the night was how one resort employee made a few miscalculations clearing trees on several of the projects. Course architecture is more art than science so nobody could ever notice. The other intriguing story was how worried Keiser and his management staff was about Bandon Trails being the ugly duckling of the bunch as the only course not on the ocean. Bill Coore and Crenshaw lobbied hard enough to get some dunesland for the first and 18th holes to connect the routing back to the main property, adding some additional character. The fear was unfounded. Bandon Trails continues to be one of everybody's favorites.
* There will never be a perfect way to get Bandon Dunes. Some media members landed in Portland (4+ hours away) or Eugene (2+ hours away). I jumped on the seasonal United Airlines flight from San Francisco to the tiny Coos Bay airport and rented a car for the easy half-hour drive. Other golfers on our flight rode shuttles because a car is never necessary once you're there. Pro-tip from the SFO route: Sit on the right side of the plane for a stunning view of the entire property along the coast.
* Getting golf clubs to Bandon Dunes is also not a perfect science. My buddy and I sent ours with ShipSticks to avoid lost luggage. It was convenient not having to wait for them to be unloaded off the plane, which allowed us to be among the first to get to the resort and check in. They were waiting for us near the main lodge and easy to find and gather. The process was so smooth that it was a shock to see our playing partner pull his driver out of his bag on the first tee only to reveal half a club. ShipSticks or its travel partners had somehow snapped his driver shaft in half. At least, his path to reimbursement will be easier than dealing with the airlines. We did check the clubs on the plane ride home just to save some money ($35 vs. $100 one way for each bag) and got stuck waiting 30+ minutes for them to show up at the wrong oversized luggage bin. You can never win when it comes to traveling with clubs.
* Poor greens conditions at Bandon have been a hot topic on message boards this spring. They've struggled coming out of a long, wet winter. I didn't feel like the rough patches impacted play much, but they're ugly in spots. I hope for Bandon's sake this is a temporary blip, although caring for greens in the Pacific Northwest can be difficult. Poa takes over eventually.
* Never make the trek to Bandon unless you're ready to become a golf gladiator ready to battle anything Mother Nature throws at you. In 2015, I got snowed, rained and hailed on during a March trip. If you don't have really good rainproof golf shoes and high-quality rain gear, you might end up in the clubhouse skipping rounds like many golfers did on this trip. I would have never survived without my ECCO shoes and Galvin Green rain suit.
* Even vets like me make stupid rookie mistakes. With a clear forecast one day, I left my rain gear in the room. Lo and behold, a heavy mist descended upon us the final 11 holes on Trails. My score crumbled as my self-disgust at my blunder boiled over. Then I remembered where I was: Bandon Dunes' 25th anniversary, the most coveted golf birthday party of the year.
Like Bandon Dunes, I'm also celebrating a silver milestone - my 25th year as a golf travel writer. My first golf trip in 1999 was spent playing all eight courses (at the time) at Pinehurst Resort - 36 holes a day for 108 total holes spanning four days. Playing 104 holes at Bandon Dunes felt like a fitting full-circle moment, experiencing two of the the kings of resort golf in America decades apart. We've essentially grown up together.
Given that context, I most certainly enjoyed the walk ... rain or shine.
Share your Bandon Dunes stories with us in the comments below.
Bandon Dunes placement on the southern Oregon coast makes it that much more alluring. The journey, the location, and the scenic destination add to the mystique. I played Sheep Ranch and was captured by the beauty of it all. Will return for the rest one day.