Pacific Dunes, Bandon Dunes Golf Resort

All of the courses at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort are truly bucket list golf courses, and they all have their own unique  personality. A few weeks back I likened Pacific Dunes to the “Star Quarterback”, handsome and the most popular kid in High School. While that is true, Pacific Dunes must have also been voted “Most likely to punch you in the face” during senior year. You see, this golf course is just a little bit louder than the others. The greens are harder, the bunkers are gnarlier, the wind feels windier and the gorse seems gorse(ier). This golf course goes to 11, for sure. Don’t get us wrong, the other courses all have elements that are this hard,  this fantastic, and this majestic. It’s just the way Pacific Dunes is assembled from start to finish that can be the most completely enjoyable wire-brushing you’ve ever experienced. 

Two  years younger than its sibling, Bandon Dunes, Pacific is a masterpiece. It’s currently considered to be the number 2 public golf course in the U.S. by Golf Digest (some publications have put it at number 1 in front of Pebble) and there is good reason for that. This golf course is a test of golf, devastatingly beautiful and spectacular in every sense of the word. If Bandon Dunes is the Original Gangster (O.G.), then Pacific Dunes has got to be the Mack Daddy. 

When Tom Doak designed Pacific Dunes he had big shoes to fill. Bandon Dunes had already opened to acclaim and the golf resort experiment was off and running. Crowds waiting with anticipation to see… what could possibly come next? Especially given the fact that the two golf courses will share a border. How on god’s green earth could Pacific Dunes have a unique identity from Bandon? This was to be the challenge accepted and mastered, creating what many consider to be the crown jewel of the golf resort. 

The interesting thing about Pacific is that it decidedly feels less “linksy” than many of the courses on the property. The course unfolds before you, and you discover it in several acts. Like watching a 5-act play, the drama of the situation will ebb and flow as you head out toward the ocean, curl back into tree-lined holes then back out to the ocean. If I were to say this course had a Scottish cousin it would have to be Kingsbarns with the elevation change and vegetation. 

Act 1
You start out innocently enough on a relatively benign par 4 dogleg right with a likely blind second shot. From there you march straight out toward the sea for hole number 2. A modest carry to the left side of the fairway should give you a good look at the green. Avoid those bunkers. We swear the sand in Pacific is different than any other property, and requires mad skills to get out of. Number 3 par 5 requires you hoist your ball over the gorse and avoid the fairway bunkers. Make sure you are on the left side so you have a look at the green without the bunkers…

Act 2
Hole number 4 is where the plot of this play starts to thicken and with the view of the ocean you get a glimpse of why this is a world class bucket list golf course. Middle of the fairway is key here. If you push it, you are over the cliff in the gorse. If you pull it, you are in some nasty fairway bunkers. 

Settling into this spectacle you come to number 5 (the first par 3). Go for the left side of the green —  if you miss short right you will roll all the way down the hill into the gorse. 

Number 6 is a great hole. Carry the first bunker on the right and avoid the right side to make a score at this hole. Precision will be needed. The large bunker on the left sails away from the green on the right. 

Act 3
Number 7 takes you away from the water views and dials the drama down just a little bit. A tree lined golf hole culminates in a green surrounded by trees and bunkers that is reminiscent of Bandon Trails. 

Number 8 comes back the other way toward the water (once again a very unusual tree lined fairway for a “links” golf course). Dogleg right, try to be on the left side of the fairway, as if you are on the right you will have a blind shot in and there is a large pot bunker greenside. 

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Number 9 is the first of the really big plot twists that is Pacific Dunes, and mind you – it’s just been a warm up until this point. As you stand on this tee box you will see what seems to be a far off cliff  that might as well be the White Cliffs of Dover. But then you realize, that’s where you need to hit your tee shot! Moreover, you also need to know which green you will be going for as this hole has a left green complex lower and a right green complex higher — careful fairway positioning is going to be key. 

Act 4
Again with the drama. In a very unusual quirk you begin the back 9 with back to back par 3’s. On 10, you stand high above the green below, and will be able to see neighboring Bandon Dunes Golf Course. With 11, you are right back in the mix of things. Hole 11 has to be a signature hole. A par 3 next to the cliffs over the beach with a large green nestled into fescue and bunkers like it’s a housecat enjoying a nice comforter. Short right will feed onto the green. 

Hole 12 is an incredible par 5 with what looks like a very wide fairway from the teebox and the ocean just one fairway over. The wind will very much come into your decision making here. The approach is a somewhat blind shot to a green that’s cozying up to the large mound. Be precise with your approach shot and consider wind direction.

Hole 13 has to be the peak of the drama with a muscular par 4 along the ocean headed away from the main resort, the second shot brings very dramatic dunes and ragged sand features on the right. Be sure to get a photo on this green. 

Hole 14 is a climb up to the tee box and you will see the hole unfold before you. Your last bird’s eye view of the ocean will be from this green. 

Act 5
Hole 15 is a gettable par 5 if the wind is coming in from the right direction you can make up ground here. This is where the plot to your play starts coming home. You head back into the wooded and duned area from the sea. 

Hole 16 continues this journey home as you start to collect your thoughts about the drama that has unfolded before you today. 

Holes 17 and 18 are a dramatic turn of the knife in your back to end what we now know to be a murder mystery drama. After a long day fighting the elements you start to head out of the wind but find a brutally long par 3 with a nightmare bunker. Despite not feeling wind at the tee box, remember to play the prevailing wind on your shot. 

Hole 18 is a “ride me home” par 5 that has trouble on the right and on the left…no worries you got this. Just look out for the bunkers and well protected green as you finish your march toward the club house. 

In summary
It’s hard to not draw a comparison between Pebble Beach and Pacific Dunes, the U.S. Public number 1 and number 2 golf courses. They are very different golf experiences, so much so that it would almost be like comparing Apples and Wednesday. Pacific is an animal kingdom all by itself. It is built in a golf resort that is truly unique in the world- completely isolated… it’s just golf at a resort set up to cater to all the whims of die-hard golfers. As if Royal Dornoch had a giant clubhouse, restaurants, and bars all aimed at entertaining the golfer when not actually golfing. Pebble is on hallowed ground- there is no doubt. We believe all 5 bucket golf courses have to be in some sense or another. It’s just that a Pebble experience has legitimate offerings for non-golfers in the family. That said, we feel Pacific Dunes is every bit the 5 bucket rated golf course that Pebble Beach is… It’s just in a different right. 

Best Buddies Golf Trip Rankings

• Bucket list rank (from 1 to 5 buckets): 5 buckets 
• Caddies: 9
• Location: 9
• Spectacle/ visual: 9
• History: 8
• New/ancient: modern
• Playability : 8
• Memorability : 9
• Buddy-a-bility : 10
• Service/etc: 10
• Value: 8 (it’s half the price of Pebble Beach)
• Shopping: 10
• Warm up facilities/Range: 10
• Food & Drink: 9.5