Oregon Golf Course Reviews

Bandon Trails Golf Course Review

Bandon, OR
73.6 rating; 130 slope 
Review by GolfTop18
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Year Last Reviewed: 2024
More Info on Rating Criteria
Bandon Trails Scorecard Picture
Bandon Trails Scorecard from the longest tees as of the date of last review
Other top ranked golf course reviews:
Pebble Beach Golf Links  |  Chambers Bay Golf  |  Bandon Dunes  |   Pacific Dunes  |  Old MacDonald
Bandon Trails Golf Course Overview:  The third golf course built in Bandon, this is the only one that uses trees to provide most of the challenge.  The golf course, designed by Coore and Crenshaw, does start and end with two holes in the dunes, but the middle fourteen provide a classic tree-lined golfing experience.  While the views are slightly weaker than its three Bandon brothers, being further from the coast, this is likely the hardest of the courses (all wind being equal), and provides a break from the links style of the other courses along with some amazing natural course design and some of the most peaceful and serene areas of the entire Bandon experience.  The best holes are reviewed below: 

Bandon Trails Hole 1:  The first golf hole is actually not a taste of things to come as it and the 18th are the only two pure dunes holes on the course that are not par threes.  This one requires an accurate drive, but it is not too long or difficult once the fairway is hit and has a generous open green complex.
Bandon Trails Hole 2:  Playing downhill, this par three features a green visually set between two dunes.  However, the only real dune in play is the massive one to the right, which must be avoided at all costs.  Shots hit short and left with a fade can run up onto the green and even those that miss over there leave par as a viable option.
Bandon Trails Hole 3:  The first golf hole in the trees is stunning from the tee box as the bunkers built by Coore and Crenshaw seem to perfectly flow and fit into the contours of this slight dogleg left par five.  The par five hole itself is not too difficult as the fairway is wide and the green is easy to hit and putt, but beware going long on a back pin.
Bandon Trails Hole 4:  The first of two semi blind tee shots on the front, this one plays over a hump running diagonally across the fairway.  The further right the tee shot goes, the longer the carry to have a view of the green.  Left is shorter but also has deep bunkers that collect a lot of tee shots over there too.  The green is nestled up against the trees and some bunkers but shots tend to run in from the safer right side of the putting surface.
Bandon Trails Hole 5:  This very short par 3 has obvious trouble to clear from the tee, but the green itself is huge but has three distinct levels making each pin placement target smaller, and any miss to another section of the green very difficult to negotiate and missing right of the green or long is real bad trouble. 
Bandon Trails Hole 6:  This par four plays uphill from the tee box with a pot bunker visible at the top of the hill.  There is room left and less room right of it, but after it, similar to the 4th, the hole plays back downhill to a green with bunkers both to the left side and behind.  The contours will allow for run-up or shot to bounce in from the right.
Bandon Trails Hole 7:  This par four is long but has a relatively generous landing area for the drive with the far bunker left being out of reach for a lot of tee shots.  The second shot is much more difficult as it is sufficiently uphill with some strategic bunkers in play to cause problems and a large and undulating putting surface.
Bandon Trails Hole 9:  This par five has bunkers off the tee that must be missed.  Left of them is easiest but that brings the massive pine left of the fairway very much in play for the second shot.  There are trees on either side of the approach as well as bunkers, so hitting straight is very much needed here.  The trees seem to narrow in and grow taller as the golfer approaches the green, providing a blend of beauty and ominous scoring dangers.
Bandon Trails Hole 11:  Maybe the best par four on the back nine is long and features a drive that should hug the huge bunker on the right but definitely avoid it.  The approach is slightly downhill to a green sloping left to right towards the water.  Thus, shots coming from the left will need to stay left and hit soft to avoid the watery grave.
Bandon Trails Hole 13:  The drive on this hole is mostly straight forward but a big drive to the right can find the player blocked by trees or, worse, in them.  The second shot is devilish as the obvious hazard is the very deep bunker to the right, but there is also a false front as well as a steep slope left of the green that will send shots way back down the hill.  since the green is narrow, missing it to either side represents not only a tough up and down, but a possible multiple chipping or long putting effort if the player is not on their game.
Bandon Trails Hole 14:  Possibly, the most controversial golf hole at the Bandon property is this short par four.  From the elevated tees, the views are great and the fairway is very wide.  However, the green has a huge bunker right that makes any shot coming from the right side of the fairway very difficult as the green is only 10 paces wide.  Thus, the player must stay left of center or go for the green from the tee and hope for the best as most shots missed left or right could result in a back and forth scenario that can generate really high scores.
Bandon Trails Hole 15:  This hole keeps getting better the more I play it; seemingly benign, it is not long, but it is carved around a cross bunker and between the hills on the tee shot. But the second shot is the one worth celebrating as the green is nestled into the hill so well and the bunker and other scrub brush work seamlessly along the putting surface that one has to appreciate the architecture, at least until they start putting on this very undulating and nasty green, and then they can forget the architecture, and curse the difficulty.
Bandon Trails Hole 17:  This pretty par three bridges the gap between the forest left behind and the dunes ahead for the finish.  It has sand traps and a pretty heavily sloped putting surface as well to deal with as well.
Bandon Trails Hole 18:  The final tee shot is back in the dunes and, with the hole doglegging slightly, the angles are tough to get right with the hole pinching in from the right and left as one hits the tee shot further.  If the fairway can be gained, the second shot is fairly straight forward, up the hill to a large green next to the clubhouse.