#17 - Pacific Dunes - A Consummate Test of Golf

This was my second of five rounds I would be paired Joe, Adam and Taylor. During the early morning round at Old Macdonald, I learned about The Quest and their mission to help raise money for children with special needs to have opportunities to play golf. I could tell this was going to be a fun round, and I quickly picked up on the dynamics of the group. Taylor is the socializer. Often bringing a smile to everyone’s face and other times he will have you scratching your head, or doing both at the same time, like when he remarked how great the full moon looked only for the group to realize it was in fact the sun, and it was only 6PM! Joe is the thinker. He has a logical, one-track approach to golf….Go Low!! Adam is the leader. He organized The Quest and is the back bone of the group. He keeps stats, makes connections for upcoming trips and is a really good golfer. After my poor round at Old Mac and I was feeling more comfortable with the group. I told Adam I would love to do a write up about our round at Pacific Dunes.

This is my favorite course on the Bandon Dunes property. As the highest ranked course, Pacific Dunes gets a lot of praise for its unique design by Tom Doak. The course appears to be laid into the land with some holes carved off of oceanside cliffs. The many natural features that define Pacific Dunes require golfers to use every club in their bag, rewarding creativity. Every hole is unique and some of the views are the best on the property. There is a good mix of short par 4’s, long par 4’s and challenging par 3’s. Everyone in our group had previously played Pacific Dunes, which allowed us to fully appreciate every hole and the challenging course design.

You couldn’t ask for better weather at Pacific Dunes. The wind was gusty and the sun was shining all afternoon. If the wind is up the course can become a real monster which beats golfers up. A shortage of caddies meant we were on our own to gauge the effect this wind would have as we knocked our way around the course. But prior experience told me this course was set up well for my game and I was ready for a showdown with the boys from The Quest.

Hole #1 - Par 4 - 304 Yards: The opening hole is a short par 4. For the first timers at Pacific Dunes it can be a very intimidating tee shot because all you see is a small portion of the fairway at the crest of the hill. The trouble running down the left side is counterbalanced by the blind approach from a drive to the right. A bomb off the tee can run all the way down near the green, but the left greenside bunker makes play far too risky. Joe hit a close approach and rolled a nice birdie putt to start the round.

Hole #2 - Par 4 - 335 Yards: Walking up the hill from the first green you arrive at an elevated tee box. A good tee shot is critical on this hole. Try to avoid the bunker in the middle of the fairway. Going up the left side will leave an open look to the green. If you go right you will have a blind shot into a large green. Adam made the hole look easy and by scoring a routine par.

Hole #3 - Par 5 - 476 Yards: I could see Taylor’s eyes open wide as he walked up to the second consecutive elevated tee box and the third straight hole that was playing downwind. His dreams of getting home in two were dashed with one swing of the club as his drive sailed into the gorse. From the elevated tee box you will start to see the first glimpses of ocean. Walking up to the green is when you can finally see the first full ocean view of the day. Avoid the bunkers on this hole to score well. I made par while Joe hit another approach shot tight to make birdie.

Hole #4 - Par 4 - 449 Yards: What an intimidating and picturesque golf hole. The 4th hole runs directly along the oceanside cliffs from tee to green. Into a headwind, the already long par 4 was playing more like a par 5. The key to this hole is staying up the left side of the fairway while avoiding the fairway bunkers. Getting to the green in regulation wasn’t an option for any of us because of the wind. The green is guarded by a sand dune to the left and a steep cliff a few paces off the right side of the green. Adam and I walked away with a 5 which felt like a par. 

Hole #5 - Par 3 - 181 Yards: Playing into the wind we had to take an extra club or two. The pin was on the upper level of the green today so it was playing even longer. This hole kicked my butt while everyone else walked away with bogeys.

Hole #6 - Par 4 - 288 Yards: With some help of a cross wind the 6th hole was drivable but no one was able to thread the needle and put a ball on the green. A pretty straight forward hole, but if you have a wayward tee shot you will be penalized by bunkers left and right of the green. Taylor gave it a try but we lost him in the huge left green side bunker. Joe and I were just off the green with our drives. He got up and down for birdie while I took a par. 

Hole #7 - Par 4 - 436 Yards: The 7th hole has the feel of Bandon Trails but with the wind swirling you realize you’re just off the ocean and playing Pacific Dunes. This is a long par 4 that demands that you find the fairway off the tee to have a chance to reach in regulation. You must be accurate with your long approach shot on the number 1 handicap hole.  The green is pretty well guarded by mounds, bunkers and going long you will find trees. I found the front of the green in two but my flat stick let me down and I bogeyed the hole. Adam had a great shot out of the green side bunker to save bogey.

Hole #8 - Par 4 -369 Yards: This hole has a wide driving area on the medium length par 4. If you find the fairway and you can have success with a downhill approach to this crowned green. Adam, Joe and myself I took advantage of a friendly pin placement in the middle of the green to walk away with pars.

Hole #9 - Par 4 - 379 Yards: The final hole on the front side has two separate greens. A proper tee shot depending on the location of the green will give you a chance to score well on this hole. Today we were playing the lower green. Much like the tee shot on hole #3 at Old Macdonald there is a blind drive from a lower tee over the edge of dune to a landing area. We all hit great tee shots but Taylor really cut the corner and left himself a short approach in to the lower green. This was the first hole Taylor finally found the screws on his driver. Adam hit a mid-iron to about 8 feet and made a birdie while Taylor and myself I made par. 

After nine holes:

Joe - 41

Moe. C - 41

Adam - 41

Taylor - 50

Hole #10 - Par 3 - 163 Yards: The inward 9 starts with a unique arrangement of holes. Hole #10 is the first of back-to-back par 3’s. The back nine consist of 5 par 3’s, so there are plenty of scoring opportunities if you can be accurate. This also takes your driver out of play for the long ball hitters. The tee area is protected from the wind but the ball is exposed to the elements as soon as it gets into the air. I hit the green but ended up 3 putting while Adam made another routine par.

Hole #11 - Par 3 - 131 Yards: This is my favorite par 3 on the back nine. The green is small and you must be precise with your yardage and judging the winds. Anything missed short will find a deep green side bunker; a. Anything too far left will be on the beach 100 feet below. Middle of the green is the ideal shot here. No need to get too cute. I knocked a pitching wedge to about 12 feet to make birdie while Adam continued his consistent play to record another par.

Hole #12 - Par 5 - 507 Yards: A straight away par 5 that was playing with a little cross wind. Hit your tee shot towards the cross bunker and try to clear that same bunker for a nice approach. The green is protected by large green side bunker in the front and a gorse mound if you go too long. Joe carded his 4th birdie of the day. Adam and Taylor both made par. Walking off the green we made sure we stopped at the snack bar to get a few drinks to finish the round.

Hole #13 - Par 4 - 390 Yards: There is no room for error if you go left on this hole. The cliffs are just a few paces off the fairway and run all the way up to the green. Pick a line up the right side and trust it. The view on this hole is one of the best on the course. We could only see the top of the flag on our approach shots. Without a caddie we had to just trust the number on our range finder and the wind. Playing down wind we took advantage of the second hardest hole on the back nine. Taylor made a bogey and the rest of the group made par.

Hole #14 - Par 3 - 128 Yards: Walking up the steep sand dune next to the 13th green to the next tee we could feel a stiff wind directly in our face.  The normally short par 3 was playing two clubs longer today. I hit a hard 7 iron and was the only one to reach the green. I made a par but the others weren’t so lucky.

Hole #15 - Par 5 - 504 Yards: Playing into the wind we would need three really good shots to get to this green in 3.  The driving area is generous and we needed to avoid the cross bunkers about 150 yards out. I was running out of steam and hit a poor second shot left in the tall grass to make bogey along with Taylor. Joe played the hole perfectly and walked away with par.

Hole #16 - Par 4 - 338 Yards: It took 16 holes for us all to figure out how to play golf. We all hit good tee shots in the middle of the fairway which left each of us with a wedge in our hand. Once you hit the fairway you just have to hope you’re left with a good lie.  There are many small mounds that make up this fairway. We all hit the green and two putted for par.

Hole #17 - Par 3 - 189 Yards: The massive 17th green sits on a diagonal to the elevated teeing area wrapping around a steep faced large bunker. We needed to favor a right to left approach feeding onto the green and following the prevailing slope to the left. Joe made par and I found myself tied with him going into 18th. Adam was two strokes behind while Taylor was just along for the ride.

Hole #18 - Par 5 - 575 Yards: The home hole was a going to be a true test into the stiff afternoon wind. As a long three-shot hole, we needed to pick good lines to avoid the trouble. There is a huge fairway bunker up the left side that you want to avoid if you want to get home in regulation. Then hit a fairway metal or long iron to leave yourself a mid-iron into the green. The final approach is into a bowl-shaped putting surface where the ball will feed to the middle. Joe and Adam both made a par while I got stuck in a bunker and took a bogey. Taylor ended his round with a fitting double-bogey. 

Overall, Pacific Dunes lived up to the hype. We couldn’t have asked for better conditions. It tested everyone’s game and when we were off we were penalized. It was a pleasure playing with Joe, Adam and Taylor. If you get a chance to join the members of The Quest for a round of golf you will truly enjoy their company and their love for the game while raising money for a great cause.

Final scores:

Joe – 81

Moe C. 81

Adam – 82

Taylor 97