Par-3 No. 17 at Bandon Trails

As I wrote earlier this week, TaylorMade invited about a dozen media members to the “TaylorMade Short Game Experience” at Bandon Dunes for the launch of its ATV wedges and Manta putters. We were lucky enough to preview the new 13-hole par-3 course, Bandon Preserve, which opens to the public on May 1st. I could play that track all day long. It’s challenging, scenic and just downright amazing.

On Tuesday we played Bandon Trails, one of the four famed courses at proprietor Mike Keiser’s golfing mecca. Trails takes you through massive sand dunes, rolling meadows and a coastal forest. Basically, you get a little bit of everything and it’s a beast (the yardage is deceiving) and it’s the only track at Bandon that’s not links-style (and that’s according to Keiser). (continue reading…)

Here is some mandatory reading to get you in the mood for the Old Course.

Back in 2005, Sports Illustrated’s Alan Shipnuck pitched a story to play the Old Course at St. Andrews in reverse, a design that was used intermittently until World War II. So on March 31, he played the Old Course forward. Then the next day on April 1, he joined the public for their annual frolic in reverse. (That dog! Wouldn’t it be nice to play any golf trip that you could dream up? Shipnuck’s planning to play all four courses at Bandon Dunes in one day later this summer. At least he shares his experiences so well through his writing.)

And according to Shipnuck, the layout in reverse is even better than the current version.

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