Old Macdonald (Bandon Dunes)

OM1_DSL2457_hires12

Old Macdonald is the fourth course to be built at the Bandon Dunes Resort. The courses name comes from the legendary golf designer, Charles Blair Macdonald. Charles Blair MacDonald is widely considered to be the father of modern American golf, having designed the great Long Island course, National Golf Links of America.

On the West Coast though, the Old Macdonald course with a simple goal in mind: to create a course on the Oregon coast that would do Charles Blair proud. Even though the same design firm that built other Bandon Dunes course, the Macdonald course definitely has its own style. One that is quite different from the modern holes of Bandon Dunes.

om_hog_gf

The links heritage is extremely apparent when starting out. The course is characterized by by wide fairways, wind, and a lot of creativity when making the shot. Many golfers have stated that while they played they were taken back to courses from the coast of Scotland. This is helped by omnipresent nature of the Pacific Ocean which can be viewed on many holes and is always felt.

True to the tradition, it is difficult to tell where the fairways end and the green begins. Sometimes its impossible to tell at all! Which all adds to the experience. There are plenty of bunkers to throw off your shot and the dunes are always a factor. Old Macdonald may be a young course (ironically) but it uses tried and true methods of links golf .

This walking course in Oregon is a charming love letter to its cousins across the pond as well as one America’s greatest golf architects.

photograph.php

****

Bandon Dunes Golf Resort

57744 Round Lake Road

Bandon, OR

97411