IRELAND 2017

Ireland Trip Report

Who: 8some from Buffalo NY, all golf buddies at Park CC, handicaps 0-3-4-5-8-11-15-17.
When: August 2017
Weather: Wonderful, 60 – 70 degrees , rain free 6 of 7 days

Our Course Rankings
1 –  Portrush Dunluce:  felt like a championship golf course, impeccable condition and the most difficult of the 8 courses we played. The 2 new holes (particularly the par 5 seventh hole) are a big improvement. This is a perfect venue for the 2019 British Open.

1st hole at Portrush Dunluce

2 –  Royal County Down:  beautiful setting, course condition was OK but not as good as I’ve seen on previous Ireland trips. They should try to steal the Portrush grounds superintendent. The are finally getting a driving range. it will be adjacent to the 17th and 18th holes ( a 500 yard cart ride from the first tee) and is expected to open in 2018. We should have played Annesley for a 2nd round in a 36 hole day.

#9 at Royal County Down

3 –  Portstewart Strand: terrific golf entertainment. The wild and wooly front nine is most memorable.
The top 3 courses (Portrush, RCD, and Portstewart) were top shelf, world class golf. All deserve to be included in your bucket list.
4 –  Portrush Valley: easier than Dunluce. Makes for a relaxing 2nd round in a 36 hole day.

New 7^th hole Portrush Dunluce

5 –  County Louth: Interesting, well worth playing, rock hard greens require precise shot making.
6 –  Castlerock: hard to follow routing, fair course condition, some interesting holes. Worth playing because it is conveniently close to Portrush and Portstewart.
7 –  Ardglass: prettiest scenery, there are some exceptionally good holes along the water. However, much of the course felt like an amateur’s cow pasture. AVOID until Donald Trump buys this course and turns it into a Pebble Beach / Old Head rival.
8 –  Ballycastle: AVOID

Bushmills Inn may be the best buddy golf trip hotel in the world. Outstanding included breakfast, excellent restaurant, clubby bar, beautiful patio, and convenient location close to Portrush and Portstewart.  We took the Giant’s Causeway tour – very interesting and worth an hour of the groups time on the way to golf.  The group wasn’t as keen about the Bushmills Distillery tour.
Slieve Donard is 5 star hotel. Stay in one of the new spa rooms. Walk to Villa Vinci restaurant in Newcastle. VV was so good we ate dinner there twice. Make a reservation. Great food at very reasonable prices. The crab claw appetizer and lamb shank entrée are highly recommended.  AVOID the Percy French restaurant — food is adequate, service is slow, and prices are high
Our tour operator, Celtic Fairways, and their coach driver (John) did an excellent job for us.
LESSON: Irish golf is very penal due to pot bunkers, gorse, and knee high grass. The 1st commandment is HIT IT STRAIGHT off the tee. Fairways are rock hard and the ball runs forever. Even short hitters are long if they can land the ball in the fairway consistently (If you can’t, don’t go to Ireland)

Manchester, England -May 2014 Trip Report

Manchester England, May 2014 trip report

          – Hillside:  We played Hillside on day of arrival. A perfect starter course….a bit parklandish….great scenic back nine….slow bumpy greens…..a couple nuisance burns. Wallasey a seaside links is more interesting and challenging.

          – Royal Lytham:  A fabulous course ruined by 250 pot bunkers…they line the sides of all fairways and surround all greens….your best shots get randomly penalized…..flop it out. It’s often better to hit it way off line than just off line. This course will test your patience. Iconic clubhouse…they included a free lunch before our round. What a vista from the 18th tee….magnificent view of the clubhouse and the most daunting array of pot bunkers you’ll ever see.

          – Formby:  A real treat…one of our favorites. A bit parklandish like Hillside. 8,9 and 10 are a bit funky but the rest are excellent. The pot bunkers can get you but they usually do not line both sides of fairway.

          – Royal Birkdale:  Another favorite. Set in among the dunes. Walk out to a high ground atop a dune before your round and take it all in. Unique white clubhouse designed to look like a ship. You may encounter Corporal Bert Beddows starting you off the first tee….92 years old….knickers and jacket…..special ops at Normandy. Chat him up. Site of my best hole of the trip….#1. A very long par 4…slight dogleg left…. daunting tee shot…green tucked right behind a mound. I striped my drive just right of the pot at the corner and it bounded down the fairway probably 50 yards further than any other in our group. Then a sweet 5 iron just over the mound that ran another 30 yds. to about 15 feet…easy par….most of our boys went double bogey max. Nice range and short game areas….there are a couple nets to hit into just off the putting green if you like. Soup and sandwich recommended with panoramic view of the 18th green. Finishes with back to back par 5s…..both reachable.

          – Royal Liverpool (aka Hoylake):  Site of 2014 British Open. How cool to play with the grandstands in place around the 18th green! Note the 18th as played in the Open is actually the 16th hole for normal play. Hence, if you are not aware of this and you are relying on your Garmin, you are totally screwed!  Our #1 hole was usually the 17th hole. Good short game area over by the normal #1 tee or number 3 tee if you are still playing the Open sequence. Range is awkwardly OB right of #3 and right of #18….1 and 16 if you play the normal routing. 15 and 18 are reachable par 5s…..I played the back nine -1….. 2 birdie 74…my high water mark. Wonderful old clubhouse. Again, soup and sandwich is a treat. Impressive memorabilia. Check in reminded me of Seminole….you go into the Clubhouse first and report to the man in the cage…then on to the Pro shop.

– Course rankings: [influenced by the weather and how well I played.]

                 Tier 1:  Royal Liverpool — Royal Birkdale.

                 Tier 2:  Formby…but just an eyelash off T1.

                 Tier 3:  Royal Lytham — Wallasey —Hillside

    Money:  Best deal is to exchange your dollars at a local bank. Check with your credit card issuer to see if they will surcharge foreign transactions. A Pound buys in UK about what a Dollar buys in the U.S.

    The Vincent Hotel:  Very nice…modern…smallish rooms….very comfortable beds….good HVAC….dangerous shower entry and exit….situated perfectly in the middle of Southport shopping and entertainment district. The “V” restaurant is excellent for your included daily breakfasts…full U.K. buffet…eggs avail to order…specialty coffees…..all served by a very attentive staff. We had good dinners there two nights. Excellent bell staff.

  Celtic Fairway v. Perry Golf:
          * Celtic was $750 cheaper.

          * Perry Coach was substantially larger.

          * Perry driver was the greatest….brought beer in nap sack to the boys at the turn…caddied one day when a caddy did not show up…..even played one day when one of our players could not continue.

          * Celtic Coach was new and adequate….not owned by Celtic.

          * Celtic driver was simply a bus driver….prompt…courteous….knew nothing of the local area…..took us to the wrong course one day [Formby and Formby Hall are not the same!]……when asked for restaurant recommendations  “check with the concierge”….never spoke to us on the PA system…..not much personality…… no initiative.

          * Celtic tee times were fine……noted no access advantage for Perry.

          * Always a bit of a nuisance to pay Celtic in Euros.

     Weather:  May is not optimal. Cool….windy…periodic showers ……I was in rain suit 50% of the time. Courses were green…roughs lush….pitch marks possible at a few courses. Ball still rolls forever if you can keep it in the fairway and away from the pots. Titleist Zipline premier StaDry waterproof bag was a winner…still need to ziploc gloves and wallet.

    Caddies:  $100 each. Some excellent…..some not. [Most aggravated me as usual w/ unsolicited advice often just before I was ready to pull the trigger] It never ceases to amaze me how much they slow the game down w/ tedious consultation over club selection / line that the player has less than 10% chance of pulling off no matter what the selection….but I digress !

                    Also, they tend to give a lot of lay-up / conservative advice. Motive may be to minimize effort to find balls. You’ll feel better if you adopt mantra “I did not come 4000 miles to lay up!” Off the tee, hit it as far as you can on your instinct line as most designs seem to support that.

Other notes:

    – No need for a coat or tie.

    – We consumed just over 1 bottle of Jameson on each trip home from courses. The 1 liter bottle I got duty free going over was the best price we got all week.

 – Take off your hats inside club houses….and wear street shoes.

Streamsong Resort February2014 Trip Report

 

Streamsong Resort — February 2014 Trip Report

• 4 rounds on Crenshaw RED
• 4 rounds on Doak BLUE
• Stay & Play Package (36 holes/day & breakfast included) $575+tax/person

Par 3 hole #7 Blue and clubhouse in background

We flew into Orlando and drove 100 minutes to Streamsong.  Tampa is closer but Streamsong recommended we fly into Orlando.

We stayed at the new 216 room Streamsong Lodge, double occupancy.  Rooms are very nice.  Small mini-bar size refrigerator was put to good use.   The always smiling service staff couldn’t do enough for us – including our housekeeper, Savannah, who overheard us lamenting the absence of a wine bottle opener and promptly materialized a corkscrew without being asked!

Streamsong is isolated – 25 miles to the nearest restaurant.  There are 3 good, but pricey, restaurants at Streamsong.  Best value was clubhouse dinner at “59” ordered off the lunch menu.  Accommodations are superb.  Bring your own snacks and liquor for happy hour in-room common area that is ideal for the purpose.  The included breakfast at P205 in the lodge was “as good as it gets” – a great way to start the day.

Golf Magazine course rankings #52 and #64, don’t do Streamsong justice.   Playing thru majestic dunes created by Mosaic’s phosphate mining is exhilarating golf experience reminiscent of Enniscrone, Cruden Bay, and the Island Club near Dublin.  Better than Bandon Dunes and much easier to get to!

Red (Crenshaw) and Blue (Doak) courses are similar.  Both feature spectacular vistas, ample fairways with bunkers often in the middle, and large undulating greens.  These courses are very challenging, in excellent condition, and quite enjoyable.

Par 3 – #16 Red (biaritz green, 220yds to back tier!)

These are walking courses.  $100/round caddies are excellent.  Carts are not allowed on fairways.  We tried carting on the 2^nd round of the day, carts were included in our package, but found ourselves walking farther usually with the wrong club in hand.   Some of the tees are a long hike from the previous green as Doak & Crenshaw worked hard to take maximum advantage of the stimulating terrain.   These are hard walks often through beach sand.   3 out of 4 Zipliners experienced bloody feet.

Stay alert for alligators and snakes

Despite our sub 5.0 Buffalo handicaps, our black tee (red 6584yds, blue 6698yds) scores ranged from 78 to 91. Play the silver tees if you can’t carry the ball more than 200 yards on the fly.  The dunes and links like vistas are spectacular rivaling anything in Scotland and Ireland: except there were no oceans to be seen!  But there is still plenty of water.

Practice facility is very good.  The 19^th hole par 3 over water, see above, is ideal last minute warm-up especially if you don’t have time to hit the range & short game area.  We’d prefer real holes on the practice green depicted above.

Favorite Holes: #7 Blue (pictured above) and #16 Red

Bottom Line: Streamsong belongs on every hard core golfer’s bucket list.

Ireland, July 21-28, 2013 Trip Report

8 players from Buffalo, Cincinnati, Houston, Salt Lake City, Etna NH, and Columbus GA.

7 rounds in 7 days.
3 hotels double occupancy
Perry Golf driver PATRICK
Plane Tickets $1500
Perry Golf $3300
Food & Beverage, etc $750
Total per person $5,500USD

Day 1 Ardglass

We arrived in Dublin and only Joe’s clubs failed to deliver. We boarded Perry Golf motor coach, stocked the onboard fridge with Tennant’s, Carlsberg, and Magners cider, and set off for Ardglass GC— a tricky rock hard course, no rain in last 3 weeks. Essential to get good advice on line of play off tees— must have at least one caddy per 4some. First hole is awkwardly uphill to a tiny green requiring a hit and hope approach shot. Woody with the help of his caddy was low man at 74. Ardglass is fun, a scenic out and back links course off the beaten track — the clubhouse is a castle!

Ardglass restaurant was closed. Fortunately, Aldo’s Restaurant located at head of Ardglass GC lane was brimming with hospitality and we enjoyed terrific food & drink in a cozy family atmosphere.

Day 2 Royal County Down

At least 6 Royal County Down (RCD) tee shots are blind putting a premium on course knowledge. Woody had the only caddy (John) who was invaluable despite being a frequent distraction giving lots of unwanted advice.

No rain in last 6 weeks made for a very fast course.. the rough was still quite penal. RCD is golf heaven a perfect links landscape of huge golden dunes. RCD deserves it’s rank as the best course in Ireland.

No drinking water on RCD course. Start with a loaded water bottle and refill at the turn. Brad fired a superb 75 to lead the field.

Joe’s clubs finally catch up with us. Good thing because his playing partners are having a tough time keeping up with his golf ball drain.

Day 3 Portstewart

What a gem! Front nine winds through enormous dunes very difficult in rock hard conditions. Back nine is much less scenic but more forgiving and quite enjoyable. Woody with the help of his 74 year old caddy (John) was low man with a scintillating 75.

John (74 year old caddy) & Bob
Our Perry Golf driver, Patrick, was an invaluable tour guide — a font of useful information, he unerringly directed us to the best sights and restaurants.

Day 4 Portrush

Royal Portrush Dunluce is long and narrow with penal rough and cavernous bunkers. It was the most difficult test of the trip. With plenty of irrigation, Portrush fairways are in excellent condition. What appeared to be wispy rough played like wire. Just getting the ball back into the fairway was a challenge.

Brad birdied 3 of the first 4 holes in route to a 78– 6 shots better than the next closest man.

Day 5 Portmarnock

Flattish, uninspired appearance compared to the towering dunes of other courses we played. Best holes are close to the beach. Arch and Woody shared low honors with 78’s.

More forgiving than Portrush; wispy rough is playable. We were spared the usual big coastal wind that makes this relatively open track tough. Unique to Portmarnock, greens fee includes lunch (soup & sandwich fixed menu). No shorts allowed in clubhouse for lunch so we donned our rain pants.

Dinner at Sea Bank restaurant just around the corner from our hotel featured excellent, pricey food in a very nice ambience. From there we walked into town for ice cream and to chat up the locals.

Grand Malahide Hotel wasn’t so grand — An old dame past her prime featuring tiny, noisy rooms, lousy wi-fi, and so-so food; too bad, because the friendly sea town location is ideal, with restaurants and shops within easy walking distance. We loved the beautiful view of the bay, sail boats and the island (site of the Island Club) from breakfast room at GM.

Day 6 Island Club

The Island Club is located right across the bay from our hotel a stone’s throw that interpolated into a 30 minute ride to get there by ground. Too bad they stopped using the ferry in 1973.

We elected to play the white competition tees at 6312 seemed about right. After finding the first 3 holes difficult to reach in regulation, it finally dawned on us that this course was measured in meters! We moved forward to the green tees on #4.

This is a tough course— our scores were comparable to those at Portrush. Greg Arnold’s game finally came around as he lead the Zipline league with a 79.

Day 7 European Club

The good days just keep on coming with our 7th straight day of perfect golf weather.

The European Club is unique in this part of the world. This is a 20 hole golf course with an extra par 3 on each side. We rode in buggies as there are no caddies and this is a very tough course to walk. The fairways and greens are heavily watered; so greens were soft and receptive.

We experienced pitch marks and balls spinning back off the greens for the first time all week. Bunkers are riveted with heavy timbers/planks that are flashed up — incredibly penal to be avoided at all costs.

Arch Arnold fires trip low 73 smoking the next closest pursuer by a whopping 5 shot margin.

With a big festival in Malahide we had a tough time finding suitable dining. We eventually landed a table for 8 at the wine only Provence Café where we consumed a wonderful meal.

Summary Course Ranking –All Around fun to play
1-Royal County Down
2-Portrush Dunluce
3-Portstewart
4-Island Club
5-European Club
6-Ardglass
7-Portmarnock

Seminole GC, January 2011 Trip Report

Eugene, Arch, Greg, Woody, Brad, Blanton

The Arnolds arrive at Seminole GC and are met by our first ever bag-drop valet parker. We head for locker room to change shoes. Lots of tall wooden lockers run around the walls of an enormous double-height room featuring a generous bar and plenty of seating area with tables covered with vintage golf books. Competition winning team plaques adorn the walls with the names of the titans of industry, politics, and golf. They are, however, afflicted with the bane of private club locker rooms…. where do you store all those golf shoes?

Seminole Club House

Seminole Locker Room

The driving range measures just 275yds — forced Greg Arnold to holster his driver after his first effort easily flew the net— much to the surprise of our caddies who were both professionals caddying to earn winter money to subsidize summer mini-tour competition. One of our caddies was Eugene Smith a Canadian Tour pro who survived 7 episodes on the Big Break Prince Edward Island.

Zipline take on the Track: The best course we’ve ever played in Florida. Course conditioning excellent—fast, firm greens – with plenty of room off the tee. A course of angles— requires exceptional amount of golf intelligence to assess the strategic options. Seminole is built on sand dunes hard on the Atlantic Ocean and trees are few and far between. It features a lot more elevation change than one expects in Florida. The Donald Ross crowned greens are slightly elevated and the ball runs eagerly off into magnetic bunkers. Teeing off the back nine feels like an instant replay of Seminole holes #1 and #2 — very unusual in our golf experience. This is a subtle, challenging track that grows on you.

Love the unpretentious scorecard — no bragging about #10 ranking in USA or Donald Ross 1929 design.

Despite playing at 6593 yards off the blue tees, only Greg Arnold played close to his handicap— even par thru 15, he folded like a cheap suit under the gun finishing 4 over par. Woody shot a fat 85, sandwiching 2 snowmen between his 4some leading 2 birdies. Brad & Arch took home the bacon.

IF you ever get the opportunity to play Seminole, drop everything and do it!

Scotland August 21-28, 2010 Trip Report

4 Arnolds and 4 Peases flew into Glasgow where we happily arrived with all our bags (a first) and were met by Celtic Fairways bus driver (Drew).

We checked into Turnberry Hotel and warmed up on the par 3 course out front of the hotel. Brad Arnold’s (on right below) first shot was a hole-in-one: A great way to start the trip. We teed off on Turnberry’s Ailsa course that afternoon into a 25 mph wind on a gorgeous sunny day. Woody Arnold waxed the group with his trip best 72. Our caddy, Gordon (in center below) studying for masters in dietetics, was the best we experienced all week.

Brad, Arch, Woody, Greg Arnold at Turnberry

Next day Prestwick – very cool track – lots of blind shots – rain set in early and stayed. Brad Arnold, our highest handicap at 8, set the scoring pace with 77.

That afternoon we dined on fine sandwiches from Publix and played Royal Troon. The wind picked up to 40mph but the rain subsided to a light drizzle – we enjoyed a little hail on #16. Woody was low man at 79.

Overnight in Bonham hotel in Edinburgh

Tuesday—Muirfield “a gentleman’s club that just happens to have a world class golf course attached”- Outstanding experience, lunch (coat & tie and street shoes required) in clubhouse only slightly less impressive than golf course. We played in spitting drizzle and very strong wind. Adam Pease low man at 81.

Played North Berwick in the afternoon. Turned into a balmy day. #15 the original Redan is great hole, but not as good as Seth Raynor’s Camargo #15. Brad Arnold and Greg Arnold shared low man honors at 76. This is a terrific course only slightly tainted by the constant smell of manure.

Peases and Arnolds at North Berwick

Overnight in Rusack’s Hotel overlooking 18^th hole at St Andrews Old Course

Wednesday — Kingsbarns. The weather and course were perfect.—Magnificent large scale layout, A MUST PLAY with many “postcard” coastline views. Greg Arnold went low at 75.

Moved over to Castle course for afternoon round. The only thing our group liked about Castle was the outstanding hot dog fare at halfway house. Course design is overdone – wispy mounds obscure the fairway targets from tees — architecturally a dumb design with brutal green contours and fairway bunkering and routing that is over-the-top. Avoid this course like the plague! Gordy Pease led the way with 75.

Finally some nightlife at Dunvegan Hotel just up the road from Rusack’s.

Thursday — Took the morning (pouring rain) off for some sweater shopping and a tour of the R&A hosted by Sir Charles. Highlight was a sneak into the Secretary’s office to see view of surrounds and 18^th green from balcony.

Then we headed out for afternoon round at Carnoustie. Despite benign conditions, we had a tough time scoring – just like Jean Van De Velde. This was a favorite course for several of our group. Jay Pease gets on the lowman scoreboard with 78.

Friday — OLD COURSE on a fantastic weather day. Huge double greens, invisible pot bunkers — course was lush green in great shape. Without wind, the Old Course was defenseless. Greg Arnold and Jay Pease led the way with 72s. We waited on #18 for Eduardo Romero to tee off #1. Jason Pease almost holes out from fairway on 18 and Eduardo tells him “Good Shot!” Shaken by the experience, Jason goes on to a 3 putt bogey.

ARNOLDS on the Swilcan Bridge at #18 Saint Andrews

ARNOLDS at St. Andrews Road Hole

Moved over to New Course that afternoon for our 10^th and last round of the trip. A classic links but not a lot of flair – feels a bit monotonous after the Old Course – maybe because we are tired. Greg Arnold led the way with a 72.

Saturday – flew home to Buffalo NY and Columbus GA.

OVERALL: A great trip. We are now making reservations for another Scotland experience in July 2011.

Lessons Learned:

• Tennant’s is the Beer of Champions
• Nothing worse than a bad caddie that can’t keep his mouth shut.
• Must Plays: Turnberry, Kingsbarns, Old Course, Carnoustie, North Berwick, Muirfield
• Good Play: Prestwick, Royal Troon, New Course
• God Awful: Castle course
• Pray for good weather

Woody Arnold — Zipline CEO

Greg Arnold — Zipline President

Bandon Dunes July 18-22, 2008

8 players hailing from Buffalo, Cincinnati, Charleston, Houston, Salt Lake City, and Columbus GA.

Daily Routine for 5 days:
0600 get up
0700 shuttle to course and breakfast
0800 tee off
1230 lunch at the course
1330 tee off
1800 cocktails at Grove Cottage
2000 dinner
2200 go to bed

36 holes per day on same course worked well. Tee times at 8 and 8:10 with replays at 1:30 and 1:40 worked perfectly allowing an hour for lunch & recuperation.. Played BD-PD-BT-BD-PT rotation. One drawback to this rotation was that hole positions are rotated front-back-middle; so we were surprised by the same pin locations on days 4 and 5 at BD and PT. Lesson: don’t play same course 3 days later. If winds go over 35mph, play a Scramble.

Bets : $30 exposure/player/round. $20 on team bets; $10 on individual . 2 balls. Modified Stableford.

Greens are rock hard, no divot repair tools needed. Lies are very tight. Chipping and putting skill is crucial. Texas wedge and Scottish run up shots work best. Course routing is obvious and greens are straight forward with an occasional exception: Caddy isn’t essential.

Tough walks: hilly terrain with elevated tees and greens not close to each other. Rickshaw trolleys are free. Railroad tie walkways are wet and slippery in the AM: Be Careful!

Average Round: 4 & 1/2 hours — a good pace of play except for one 5 hour round stuck behind PGA wannabees. Marshalls are everywhere. Just keep up with the group ahead of you. Laser rangefinder very useful; most sprinkler heads are yardage marked.

Pacific Dunes: by far the hardest of the 3 courses. Bunkers and greens not in great condition. Windiest of the 3 courses. Most scenic course, ocean view holes are spectacular. 2 of our players ran out of balls.

Bandon Dunes: best of the 3 courses as rated by our 8 players, per summary below:

Course Rankings
Name w/handicap	Hen 5	Joe 13	Arch 4	Greg 5	Tony 10	Brad 6	Woody 4	Bob 7	Average
Bandon Dunes	1	1	1	1	1	2	3	2	1.5
Bandon Trails	3	2	2	2	3	1	1	3	2.125
Pacific Dunes	2	3	3	3	2	3	2	1	2.375
Average Score	81	90	82	83	88	84	79	86
$Won/(lost)	(48)	28	(39)	(11)	81	(26)	66	(48)

Bandon Trails: a pleasant surprise, an inland course with links style bunkers, with a nice variety of hard-easy golf holes and the best greens we played : a protected refuge from fierce afternoon winds.

We eschewed the black tees, and played the Greens on all 3 course. 6200 yards never played so long. A 4th course, Old MacDonald, opens in 2010.

Don’t go to Bandon Dunes unless you are a strong player. The short hitting slicer with a 20 handicap won’t enjoy the punishment. Must have a knock-down stinger in your arsenal. Trappers of the ball have much easier time here.

4 in Lily Pond Rooms
4 in Grove Cottage

Lily Pond Rooms: upscale Holiday Inn, very comfortable, good beds, reasonable price. “We thought our rooms were great… until we saw where the Grove boys were staying”

Grove Cottage: outrageously expensive, top shelf accommodations, 4 of us deserved it!

Bottled Water is free at Lily Pond and Grove Cottage. Take a bottle in your bag. There isn’t much water on the courses. Refill your bottle at the rare water fountain to stay hydrated. Halfway house refreshments are available as well.

On site shuttle service is superb and very quick.

Practice Area: very large, but exposed to wind and not convenient to any first tee. We practiced briefly the day of our arrival. It was impractical to shuttle between practice area and golf course prior to any of our rounds.

Alaskan Air service from Portland to North Bend was excellent:: free beer, acceptable snacks and friendly staffers.

Connoisseurs Shuttle Service: 45 minute limo bus ride from North Bend to Bandon Dunes was excellent. Free beer and coffee included. Stopped for liquor and snacks in route. Grove Cottage has small refrigerator, no kitchen. Grove Cottage staff provided iced cooler for our drinks. Grove Cottage common room was perfect post round rally point for our group of 8. Taxi ride to town (Bandon) was $60.00.

3 restaurants on property: McKee’s Pub, The Gallery, and Bunker Bar all within wedge from each other. Food was good. Tasted like same chef was preparing food for all 3 restaurants. Breakfasts were the best. The 3 egg “meat lovers” omelet & 2-eggs w/ country sausage is especially recommended. Friendly, quick service was the rule.

Golfwear: Layer yourself. Very cold in AM required ski hat and windbreaker. Shorts + rain pants is a workable combo. Warms up mid first round such that if wind is down, shorts and golf shirt works. 65% wore slacks, 35% shorts. Never rained, thank GOD! It will be windier and colder than you expect..

Recommended Outfit: slacks, long sleeve undershirt (UnderArmor), golf shirt, sweater vest, and short sleeved rain shirt. Wear golf hat. Put ski hat and rain pants in your bag.

Must Bring: chapstick, sun screen, moisturizer to treat post round windburn

Overall Experience Rating: Very Good