The 9th Holes at Bandon
We are finishing up the front nine at the best resort on the planet.
As noted, I’m doing a review of each hole at Bandon, by going through each numbered hole across the five 18-hole courses. If you want to start at the beginning, do so here:
I’ve been looking at each numbered hole at the Bandon Dunes resort, and at this point we are finishing up the collective front nine. Usually, it’s fairly easy for me to pinpoint one hole that doesn’t quite measure up to the rest, but fair warning … that’s really not the case here.
Best 9th Hole
This is also a tough choice, but for me it has to be the 9th on Pacific Dunes. One reason? There are two greens, meaning the par-4 hole can be played completely differently from round to round. I love the boldness of this idea, and it’s coupled with the fact that the tee shot - like the 3rd on Old Macdonald, the 14th on Sheep Ranch, etc. - is totally blind over a cresting hill. A marshal sits at the tee to tell you whether the green that day is the upper one to the right, or the lower one to the left. It’s a hole that makes you especially glad you have a caddie (or quite regretful that you don’t.)
The distance on paper is the same for both greens, but the lower one, because the approach is downhill (and the opposite is true to the upper green) plays much shorter. Accordingly, the lower green is a much easier hole and in my experience the green itself is a bit easier. But they’re both huge challenges, and even moreso if you are out of position off the tee.
You may be noticing that you finish the hole in very different places depending on what green is in play - and indeed, this dictates what tee you’ll be playing the 10th hole from, which influences my feeling about that hole as well. We’ll get to that next week.
The Worst 9th Hole
This is really by default, because I think it’s a pretty fun hole, but there’s a stretch on Old Macdonald that has some of the weaker holes, and it starts with the “Cape” hole. (Some argue it happens with the Biarritz, but as last week’s post should prove, they are quite, quite wrong.)
A “Cape” template typically has a diagonal tee shot over water. (I had to look this up.) Old Macdonald doesn’t have any water on it (there’s barely any water hazards on property whatsoever) but your tee shot is still diagonal, and it’s over a fairly brutal hazard on its own:
Not only are those bunkers no fun at all, but the rough around is dicey and overgrown and you might spend quite some time looking for your golf ball. And once you hit that approach shot, you might still be in trouble. Here’s my buddy Dean with an interesting stance (and yeah, that’s my ball in the bunker in front of him).
It’s not a BAD hole by any stretch. But with all of the possible ninth holes, it’s the weakest of the bunch.
The Most Underrated 9th Hole
This one is tricky for me. Is it the long par-5 on Bandon Trails that is reachable for the bigger hitters in two? How about the inbound par-5 on Bandon Dunes with a punchbowl green that can lead to a great score as you make the turn? Both are terrific holes.
But for me, it’s the 9th on Sheep Ranch that is truly underrated. While the green sits atop the cliffs above the water, it’s not a true oceanside hole like 3, 6. 16, 17 and others. But I love it because the tee shot is wide open - bail out bigtime to the right as long as you don’t go into the gorse, and you have a great angle at the green. Hit a draw and run up the left side to shorten the hole. Everything is in play. But that second shot …ooh, boy you better be smart about it. While it’s clear that going long past the green is very bad, the first time I played it, I didn’t realize that to the left of the hole is a literal cliff and should be just as high on your “Must Avoid” list. The second time I played it, I bailed out so far right out of fear it put both cliffs in play for my THIRD shot, albeit a chip shot with a wedge. The third time I played it, I bounced it off the back of the green and it ran down the hill….but to a spot I could chip it close - and yeah, I actually made the par putt.
When folks talk about their favorite holes at Bandon, I rarely hear anyone discuss the 9th at Sheep Ranch, but I absolutely adore it and it warrants more praise.
Rounding up what we’ve gotten so far, here’s the count:
Best Holes: Sheep Ranch (2), Bandon Trails (1), Old Macdonald (3), Pacific Dunes (2), Bandon Dunes (1)
Worst Holes: Bandon Dunes (4), Bandon Trails (1), Old Macdonald (2), Sheep Ranch (2)
Most Underrated Holes: Sheep Ranch (2), Bandon Trails (3), Bandon Dunes (1), Pacific Dunes (3)
What’s your favorite ninth hole at Bandon Dunes Resort?