The 11th hole at Old Macdonald, a recreation of the Road Hole in St. Andrews.
I thought his pronouncement was wrong for two reasons. Firstly, he worked in client marketing, so his judgement was demonstrably suspect. Secondly, I had played both Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes and had no problem picking the better layout. Still, I indulged his giddy enthusiasm and set off for the west coast.
On the morning I returned to the Golf Magazine office I had scarcely placed both cheeks on my chair when he walked in. "So, he asked, "what do you think?"
"I think you're an idiot," I replied. I was less diplomatic then. I've matured since.
He looked confused. I told him that Pacific Dunes was among the top five courses I had played to that point, that Bandon Dunes was in the top 20, and that Bandon Trails wasn't in the top 20 I played that month.
A few things have changed in that ranking in the years since, chiefly because I have played a lot more of the world's greatest courses.
I still rank Pacific Dunes high—certainly in my top 20—but I'm no longer so sure that it's the best course at the resort. That honor may belong to Old Macdonald, a stunning Tom Doak-Jim Urbina creation that opened in 2010.
I played Old Mac a few weeks before it opened, and returned last month for another two tours. Those three rounds have been played in three distinctly different wind conditions, and each was a thoroughly engaging test. When I think of the courses I've played for the first time in the past year—a list that includes Diamante in Mexico, Castle Stuart and Royal Dornoch in Scotland, and Olympic Club and Monterey Peninsula CC (Shore) in California—all had undeniable charms and are damn fine courses I'd happily play again tomorrow.
For all that, none proved as intriguing and filled with options as Old Macdonald. So many holes linger in the mind long after you've hit the tarmac at home, from the par-3 5th hole with a green that seems as deep and wide as the Grand Canyon, to the Biarritz green 8th, to a replica of St. Andrews' famed Road Hole at the 11th.
A journey around this course is a puzzle you have little hope of solving, but relish all the same.
Old Macdonald also serves another purpose: it flushes the slow-witted into the open.
To wit: as my friend Scott and I played Bandon Trails, we caught a twosome who were making their first visit to the resort. They had played Old Macdonald the previous day. It was, in the verdict of one, "just a scruffy old course." This comment identified him as the type of golfer who often rears his head on the greens committee at his home club to demand Augusta National-like conditions.
I briefly considered discussing the charms of Old Mac with him until he announced that Bandon Trails was a much better course, the best on the property. At this, all bets were off. He had exposed himself as not only a lush conditions Luddite, but as an imbecile.
Bandon Trails is not the best course at the resort. It is the worst. By some margin. That's not to say that it's bad. It's simply the least impressive of the quartet. It boasts a beautiful set of par 3s (except the 12th, the only purpose of which is that it gives you something to do on the walk from the 11th green to the 13th tee). There are also some charming par 4s. But one hole, the 14th, is so egregiously bad that it sours the whole round. I've played it with many different people whose judgement I respect. To a man they hated it.
It's a short par 4 that can only really be played one way: hit a driver 300 yards to the front edge of the green and putt. Laying up leaves an approach shot of less than 100 yards to a very narrow green that is almost impossible to hold, and not much easier to chip onto from the surrounding swales. My caddie once told me not to aim for the green on my second shot. We were standing in the middle of the fairway 80 yards from the green at the time.
It's the only par-4 hole I've ever played that is easier to hit in one shot than in two.
The hole has its supporters, including Bandon creator Mike Keiser, who apparently says it is the best of the 72 holes here. Perhaps he says that just to be a contrarian, and in support of a course that was always destined to be least loved because it has no ocean views. Or maybe he really does love it. Then again, some people think Michele Bachmann is a credible candidate for high office, so there's no accounting for how folks can defend the indefensible with a straight face.
For all of its shortcomings, Trails doesn't diminish the Bandon experience for me, nor for my travel companions. My aforementioned friend Scott was on his first visit and he was blown away (he didn't care for Trails and loathed the 14th hole). I've made four trips—no small undertaking since it's usually close to 12 hours door-to-tee from New York City—and I'm already looking forward to my fifth next year, when Bandon unveils the par-3 course currently under construction by Trails creators Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore.
If there's a better place in America to play golf, I've never been there.