At Least I Wasn’t the Only Turkey on the Course
Once again, for the third time, I struggled to tame the Bandon Trails course. A few bad holes and not enough pars produced another mediocre 94. On the next trip to Bandon, I’m going to play the Trails course first, before I wear myself out on the other courses. Still, it was another delightful stroll through the forest accompanied by a family of turkeys just near the 16th tee box.
Bandon & Pacific Dunes
I played Bandon and Pacific Dunes today and despite being inconsistent off the tee I pared the final two holes to shoot my best score yet on Bandon Dunes –89– and hung in there with a 92 on Pacific Dunes despite two triple-bogey holes. I also got around with just 33 and 30 putts for the two rounds. I never get tired of the view from the 16th tee at Bandon Dunes:
Old Macdonald
I started my three-day mega golf event on the benign Pacific Dunes course where I shot an OK 92. For the second round of the day I decided to finally take on the more-challenging Old Macdonald course, about which I had heard omninous stories and purposely avoided on earlier trips. I was pleasantly surprised. ‘Old Mac’ is unlike any course I’ve played: it has huge sweeping vistas, the widest possible fairways, intimidating bunkers and absolutely massive greens. But I played ok. In spite of a couple of really ugly holes I shot another 92 with a steady 36 putts, a reasonable achievement on these greens.
7th green at Old Macdonald
Return to Bandon Dunes
The Mt. Si Golf Course decided to take advantage of a few days of lovely spring weather to aerate the greens so I was left with driving a ways if I wanted to play any of the nicer, more challenging nearby courses. On a whim, I decided to use the drive time to go all the way back to Bandon Dunes Golf Resort and get in an orgy of golf all at once. So less than a month after my previous trip I loaded up and headed south. Sunday was a gray day but perfect for the seven hour drive. I got to Bandon in plenty of time to get in a couple of hours of practice and have an early dinner in the town of Bandon. I got some nice photos of the sunset near the famous Face Rock on Bandon Beach.
Ducks Puzzle
Posted by nbdog in jigsaw puzzles on 5-Apr-2014
We finished another jigsaw puzzle today….
Woodpeckers Puzzle
Posted by nbdog in Animals, jigsaw puzzles on 20-Mar-2014
This one proved to be the most difficult of the puzzles we’ve done so far. In addition to the challenge of the similarly-colored birds and tree trunks, it had many very bizarrely-shaped pieces. It is nice, though, and we are thinking of keeping it as a reference for the many woodpecker varieties we see in the backyard.
Bandon Dunes Sunset
Bandon Dunes is a fabulous place for golf but it also offers some spectacular sunsets.
Pacific Dunes
Pacific Dunes is my favorite of the eighty or so courses I’ve played. The setting is just so dramatic, especially on those holes adjacent to the ocean: four, eleven and thirteen. Here’s my version of the de rigueur photo on the number eleven tee box. It’s just a little 148 yard par three over a small canyon, a thick stand of native gorse, and a massive bunker, into a 20 m.p.h. wind… to the smallest green on the course. I landed just off the green in the right rough, chipped on, then tree-putted for a double bogey. For the round, I wasted a birdie on the first hole with a couple of 8’s for a 93 total; a respectable score given the gusting winds.
Pacific Dunes, Eleventh Tee
Bandon Dunes – Round 1
Here I am with my caddie, Mike Riedel, ready to take on the famous 16th hole at Bandon Dunes with its ominous gorge through the fairway and the Pacific on the right. For the record, I managed a bogey 5.
At the 16th Tee, Bandon Dunes
Off to Bandon Dunes
Inspired by several solid rounds of golf around soggy North Bend I was anxious for some better course conditions. I headed south to Bandon Dunes Golf Resort on the Oregon Coast, one of my favorite golfing destinations. Here’s my golf companion, Ron Hillis, near the first tee at the Bandon Dunes course contemplating tomorrow’s first round.
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