Golf at Pacific Dunes

Jacob and I kicked off a family Thanksgiving week at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort with a “pre round” of 18 at Pacific Dunes.

Jacob tees off over the Pacific cliffs

I played three rounds just over two years ago and was excited to share my love of this area and the golf courses with family. Most of the crew wouldn’t arrive until early evening on Tuesday, so Jacob and I worked out a plan to squeeze in an extra round on our arrival day. This meant about 6-7 hour drives for each of us the day before; he and Kaitlin drove up from Napa, and Julie and I down from Portland. We overnighted at Harris Beach State Park, about 90 minutes from the Bandon resort.

I have a love / loathe relationship with Pacific Dunes. I love the design and the visuals. I don’t love how challenging the course is; I think repeated playings in proximity would help the course grow on me.

We played with a couple from the Seattle area, both very good golfers. I didn’t see a drive that wasn’t a straight baby draw to 240-250 yards from the guy (John) until about halfway through the back nine.

One of the beautiful par 3s along the ocean

A big highlight playing at Bandon is when Julie walks with me (someday I’ll get her to play with me). Julie and Kaitlin both joined us at the 7th green where we pass close to the opening tee and walked with us for 5-6 holes. This allowed them to enjoy some of the most scenic and challenging holes, including the dual par 3s that separate the front and back nines.

Jacob was all smiles throughout the round. We both struggled at times but he had a nice run of pars and bogeys on the front nine.