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When
an architect humbly declares that the site they had to
work with
was “probably
the finest land made available for a golf course in
America since Alistair MacKenzie was shown the site
for Cypress Point,” one wouldn't be wrong to suspect
a touch of hyperbole and self-promotion. In the case
of Tom Doak, who uttered the above in reference to the
Pacific Dunes course at Bandon Dunes, the statement is
not so far-fetched.
Pacific
Dunes is the complement to
David McLay Kidd's Bandon
Dunes, and together they have propelled the Bandon
Dunes Golf Resort into the elite upper echelon of top
golf courses worldwide. If Bandon Dunes is a classic
links course, Pacific Dunes has a more rustic ocean
forest flavour, featuring an interesting combination
of pine copse, grassy scrub, broad sweeping sand dunes
and stunning oceanic seascapes. The flow of the layout
at Pacific Dunes is outstanding, as golfers move to
the edge of the earth and back inland several times,
while never quite straying too far to lose the salty
scent of the Pacific. The course is eminently playable
and each hole can be played a myriad of different
ways, so the experience should not be limited to a
single round, where an appreciation for the setting in
lieu of the course may result. Pacific Dunes has an
energy and movement all its own, ducking and sliding
over pocked and sandy windswept terrain that feels
like it finds a fine balance between Scotland and
Ireland. Nowhere else does a course seem to breathe on
its own as it does at Pacific Dunes.
Doak's
incorporation of the ground game is not only a nod to
the traditions of the game, but an absolute necessity
considering the harsh winds that blow in off the
Pacific every day. Many of the architect's previous
works have also accentuated this option, and his
skills are on full display here. Those stubborn enough
to try and trump Pacific Dunes playing a typical
American style of target golf will be promptly
humbled; the wind is rarely benign enough to
accommodate shots hit at high trajectories. The result
is an enjoyable round for everyone: high handicappers
can play easily to open greens, while the creativity
of better players is tested. Generous fairways will
ensure that players have little difficulty keeping the
ball in play, but approaching from the proper side is
crucial on many holes. Doak has only included some
unique risk/reward options, at a pair of short par
fives and numbers six and 16, both drivable par fours.
Each of these holes features very little margin for
error and an abundance of danger all around.
The
opening hole at Pacific Dunes is welcoming, a slightly
uphill par four of modest length. A smart drive that
favours precision over length will leave players with
a tricky short-iron approach. A small knob front and
center will deflect any shot that does not carry all
the way to a wild putting surface which is hard to
navigate anyways. Bogies are as frequent as birdies
here.
Standing
on the third tee, the essence of Pacific Dunes hits
you from every angle; to the left, the Pacific Ocean,
and straightaway a broad fairway tinged with knolls
and knobs of grassland, stands of fescue, and deep
bunkers bisecting the fairway, forcing the golfer into
a decision. The fairway narrows near the green, which
is fronted by a large conical dune that can lead to
blind wedges in. At just 499 yards, strategy and good
shotmaking wins out over power at this par five.
The fourth
hole is the first of the dramatic ocean holes at
Pacific Dunes, with the cliff lining the right side of
the fairway from tee to green. A fairway bunker on the
left snares almost all the cautious tee shots, and
while the green is open in front, a false front on the
left side may resist shots played in along the ground.
The sixth hole
turns back from the Pacific, and is one of the most
strategically unique holes on the course. A pair of
fairways frame a third option of playing aggressively
toward the green on this 316-yard hole, but the risky
nature of that play means it happens rarely. A safe
play to the left fairway leaves a longer shot from an
oblique angle into the elevated green, while a bolder
play up the right side will leave a basic uphill
pitch. With all its options, it makes an ideal
match-play hole, where the momentum could quickly
change.
The seventh is
one of the great long fours on the course, highlighted by gorgeous bunkers and rough-hewn mounds
short of the green. Bunkers, as is common at Pacific
Dunes, seem to ebb gracefully out of the hillsides,
and a series of them fronting the seventh green
require the approach to carry all the way to the front
edge.
Nine serves
notice as a unique hole, which will garner different
reviews depending on the day it is played –
literally! Measuring 406 yards, the hole has two
greens. One is a downhill dogleg that bends to the left,
while the other climbs up to the right. Not
surprisingly, a large fairway awaits the tee shot, but
green (and pin) position must be taken into
consideration
The
back nine opens with back-to-back par threes, and
while 10 portends a return to the sea, the 148-yard
11th makes good on the omen. This is truly a
brilliant short hole that hugs the coastline, and the
short iron must carry wild and busy thatches of thick
grasses and a cavernous bunker to find the tiny green.
The 13th hole
presents arguably the most dramatic hole on the
course, a 444-yard tightrope walk between a gorgeous 60-foot sand dune
and the crashing waves of the Pacific. The fairway offers
a safe haven,
yet the approach shot into the prevailing wind
requires a strong second shot, into a green with a
severe false front.
16
kicks off a wonderful closing trio of holes, and a
chance to grab a birdie coming in. At 338 yards, it
can be driven in firm and downwind conditions, but the
tee shot must favour the extreme left edge of the
fairway in order to generate roll and avoid a sharp
fall-off to the right. A small, plateau green is
guarded only by a brutal back bunker, but its size is
quite the defense if the approach is played from the
lower level of the fairway.
The
last of the par threes at Pacific Dunes is the best, a
208-yard hole that features many classic Redan
characteristics that repel shots struck to the green's
fringes. A gentle move from front to back will guide
approaches toward a back pin, providing they carry the
deep bunker that protects the front left portion. A
small bailout to the right makes the hole eminently
more playable, but par is still a difficult task on
such a massive green.
The closing
hole of this masterpiece is a 591-yard monster where
the bunkering best accentuates the elegance of the
hole. A broad, naturalized bunker wall is the target
line on the tee shot, as it splits the fairway into
two levels. A second cluster of greenside bunkers is
just as aesthetically authentic, and is a strong
defense for approaches that drift right of the target.
End up in either of these hazards, and a closing par
is an unlikely proposition.
The impression
mark that Doak has left on the South Oregon coastline
is not reserved for merely the fine architecture. His
fine tuning of the landscape, in those precious
moments where nature directed the course of play, have
melded seamlessly together to create Pacific Dunes, an
experience to be treasured for a lifetime. Sea and
sand come together here as they have nowhere else, on
a rugged stretch of coastline from which the minds of
wise men has sprung a truly world-class golf course. |
