Old Macdonald has lots of charm, E-I-E-I-O.
We’ve always admired how the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon marches to its own beat, and its most recent announcement is just one more example of that.
Bandon Dunes Golf Resort’s fourth, 18-hole course, Old Macdonald, isn’t scheduled to open fully until June 2010, but from April 1 through October 31 of this year, the resort is, on a limited basis, making 10-hole preview rounds available to resort guests.
Quick: name another major golf resort that would allow play on its brand new course — one of the most highly anticipated new layouts in the country — before all 18 holes were ready. Coming up blank? Me, too.
Why all the hubbub? There are a number of storylines: Bandon Dunes Golf Resort’s visionary owner, Mike Keiser, commissioned ace architect Tom Doak and Jim Urbina (who teamed on Pacific Dunes) to design Old Macdonald as an homage to Charles Blair Macdonald, who was called “the father of golf architecture in America.”
Eight tee times will be made available per day on Old Macdonald, four in the morning (at 8, 8:15, 8:30 and 8:45) and four in the afternoon (at 1, 1:15, 1:30 and 1:45), making it easy to play a same-day 18 on one of the other courses. Players will start on hole six and play through number 11, then hop over to 14, then finish out on holes three, four and five. Guests on Bandon Dunes golf vacations can only play once per resort visit.
The cost for the golf is $110, but with caddies mandatory, the effective total is $165 plus tip. That seems pretty steep for an unfinished course, but it’s not out of line with the per-hole rate for Bandon Dunes Golf Resort’s other courses, and if they are any indication, I doubt anyone will feel shorted.
Of course, the best way to ensure you make every dollar count at Bandon is to first read our handy guidebook: Planning the Ultimate Bandon Dunes Golf Vacation. It’s a quick read, but it’s packed with all our insider recommendations about getting to the remote resort, the best places to stay and dine, off-course activities, weather, caddies…even info on the secret par-3 and Sheep Ranch courses, which few people even know exist.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Uhh, where the heck is Brandon Dunes? It’s not evident anywhere in the article.
It’s located on the southern coast of Oregon. It’s such a fantastic place and it’s been open for nearly 10 years that we sometimes forget that not everyone knows where it is. Sorry!
Thanks! We’ll have to check it out.