Okay, okay so I have been back for a week now, but I got busy so sue me ha ha ha.

Dad and I had the wonderful fortune of visiting the best golf resort I have ever seen, complete with the best 2 courses I have ever played and it was MORE than I was expecting.

Dad and I arrived at my buddy Brad’s place in Portland on Tuesday night primed and ready for the best golf trip a guy can take. We talked about what to expect from the weather and we hit the sack to prepare for the drive the next morning.

We woke at 5:00 am PST and were on the road in a half hour. The drive is 5 hours from Portland to Bandon and is split between interstate 5 and Highway 101.  The drive is beautiful, but we were completely preoccupied with what awaited us 20 minutes south of Coos Bay, Oregon.

We hit the Bandon property at about 11:00 am PST and checked in. This place is first class from start to finish. The check-in staff was wonderful and we were able to check into our “Lilly Pond” room early.

The Lilly Pond rooms are the resorts most affordable but you would never know from the view or the size of the room. It is plenty big for 2 guys and all their golf gear.

We called the resort transportation, they have a fleet of vans that drive guests from their rooms to the practice facility or any of the 3 (soon to be 4), and we were off to my favorite course of all time, Pacific Dunes.

Pacific Dunes is the more rugged of the 2 “Dunes” courses. With natural bunkering and views of the Pacific Ocean on 5 or 6 holes, this course is nothing short of spectacular.

The weather was decent for late February, highs around 50 or so and winds at about 35 mph, and it looked like we were going to dodge rain……….until…….the 13th hole.

That is when the skies opened up.

It poured for the rest of the round on us, but we didn’t care. The area is right on the coast, in fact, the ocean is only about 200 yards from the holes that are right on the cliffs of the coast. Because of the location, the weather can roar in and change from one moment to the next.

We got wet, but I played well in spite and carded a 71. Dad was a bit tired and shot 83, but you could tell by the look on his face that he was in heaven, golf wise.

Dad has visited Ireland on a couple occasions and he said that Bandon Dunes resort was better by a long way than anything he played in Ireland.

We finished just before dark and headed off to the room to dry off and get some food. We had a long day in front of us as we would be tackling 36 holes. Bandon Dunes in the morning and Pacific in the afternoon lay in wait for us.

We went to sleep to the sound of the ocean and dreamed of birdies and eagles.

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