PACIFIC DUNES

PACIFIC"S AMAZING THIRTEENTH (COURTESY OF LARRY LAMBRECHT)

On my trip to Bandon in February, I played Pacific Dunes for the first time since the Renaissance Cup, six or seven years ago. I was relatively new to golf course design and certainly new to the construction side of things when I last played there and I have since seen a lot more great courses. I was anxious to see if the course was as good as I remembered it. It was and then some. While playing I filmed a little video and took a few pictures which can be seen after the jump.

The routing explores the property that produces a golf course that has a wonderful rhythm and pace. The Pacific is encountered and then turned away from only to be embraced a few holes later. The interior holes like seven and eight are as good as the clifftop fourth and thirteenth. The tenth and eleventh are such outstanding holes that it far exceeds the awkwardness of having back to back par threes.

The bunkers are some of the best in golf. They have evolved and eroded to look even more natural than they did when the course opened. The staff does an amazing job of getting the course to play firm and fast. I love the way the greens seamlessly bleed into the surrounds with no definition to the green edge. This encourages players to play the ball along and use the great contours that surround the greens.

The thing that really stood out to me though was the greens themselves. Much has been said about how the owner Mike Keiser wanted somewhat conservative green contours because he believed that is what the retail golfer (the resort guest) would prefer. Under these constraints, the Renaissance team produced an amazing set of greens that are in no way boring. There are filled with lots of small scale humps and rolls that make putting fun but nothing goofy that can lead to a long day. You feel that if you are having a good day on the greens, reading them well and putting a good stroke on the ball, than you can make some putts. I love wild green contour, but the greens at Pacific Dunes are an excellent example of how to use small scale contour in a way that produces exciting and interesting greens.

Seeing the first eleven holes at Pacific Dunes under hydroseed was one of the reasons that I decided to get into the golf course design business. I was happy that after a long time away, the course still inspired me. Thanks Tom, Jim, Brian, Bruce, Don and the rest of the Renaissance crew.