Oregon – Bandon Dunes 8.26.21

Eugene – I went for a run on the University of Oregon campus hoping to run on the venerable Haywood track, home to the USA Olympic trials, and where Nike was born. It looked nothing like the Haywood track that Davis and I saw while attending the 2008 Olympic trials 13 years earlier.  It had been totally modernized with no public admittance. Although the new complex is beautiful, I miss the old track. So, I had a great run along the Willamette River.

After picking my good friend Pete up at the Eugene airport mid-morning, we proceeded to the Oregon coast to do some hiking on coastal trails in Siuslaw National Forest.  During our hike, we were fortunate to spot a grey whale in the Ocean blowing water high in the air.

After our hike, we headed south along the coast through Coos Bay, the birthplace of the legendary runner Steve Prefontaine, who set American running records at every distance from 2,000 to 10,000 meters while preparing for the 1976 Olympics.

Upon arriving at Bandon, we checked into our hotel (Table Rock Motel) and walked to the nearby bluff and took in spectacular views. We then headed to Bandon Dunes and had dinner at the Pacific Dunes Restaurant. 

Sitting on a remote part of Pacific Coast of southwest Oregon, Bandon Dunes was created by the CEO of American Greetings. It was his vision to have golf played as it was meant to be played, and that included designing a golf course inspired by the great links golf courses in Scotland and Ireland.  The only land he could find for this ambitious project was this remote region of Oregon. Despite warnings from almost everyone that no one would travel to such a remote location to just play golf, he built Bandon Dunes anyway. From those humble beginnings, it is now the #1 golf destination in the United Stafes, boasting 5 courses, with 3 ranked in the top 12.  And it is all about the golf – walking only with no golf carts. Caddies are highly recommended, but not required. Oh yes, the food is pretty darn good with three full restaurants and several sandwich shops. As my friend Pete said, “It is the equivalent of DisneyWorld for golfers.”

One can read about the incredible story behind the creation of Bandon Dunes in the book “Dream Golf”.  I read it over 12 years ago and have been dreaming of playing Bandon Dunes ever since. I even convinced my son Davis to visit Bandon when I accompanied him as part of a cross country trip 10 years ago. And now my dream was coming true.  We played 36 holes of golf the first day –  Old McDonald in the morning and Bandon Dunes in the afternoon. Afterwards, we ate dinner at the steakhouse on the property while experiencing a spectacular sunset.

The next day we played Pacific Dunes, the #2 ranked course in the U.S. It was probably my favorite course of the three. Bandon Dunes was everything I thought it would be. And the icing on the cake was that My combined scores averaged below my handicap.

Afterwards, we drove 4.5 hours to Portland where we would start our next chapter of our vacation – a Backroads cycling trip through the Columbia River Gorge and Willamette Valley.