It's difficult to find an ugly part on any of Bandon Dunes Golf Resort's three golf courses, unless of course you find your ball smack dab in the center of a giant cluster of gorse.
In less than a decade of operation, Bandon Dunes has built a worldwide reputation as North America's top pure links experience. The resort's flagship golf course, Bandon Dunes, debuted in 1999. Since then, Pacific Dunes and Bandon Trails have built upon the storied legacy.
Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes both play along the Pacific coastline. On bluffs above the beach, the ocean is in view around just about every corner, when not shielded from towering sand dunes or pine trees. This is pure links land, full of towering gorse and firm, fescue fairways.
The newest of the three courses, Bandon Trails, couples the fescue grasses and massive fairways and greens with a remote, parkland setting. Like its neighbors, little land was moved to create an all-natural, pure golf experience.
None of the courses allow golf carts, though, at Bandon Trails, a shuttle van escorts players up to the elevated 14th tee, the highest tee on the property. (True purists: This can be turned down, of course.)
A fourth course, Old MacDonald, will come into the mix in 2010 set beside Pacific Dunes.
Here are some of TravelGolf.com writer Brandon Tucker's best shots from his recent trip to Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon ...
Pacific Dunes golf course in Oregon - no. 4
Flowering gorse and oceanfront scenery give Pacific Dunes all the feel of a timeless, British Isles links.
Brandon Tucker/WorldGolf.com
Pacific Dunes golf course in Oregon - no. 17
Pacific Dunes' par-3 17th hole features a towering wall of gorse that would make Royal Dornoch insecure.
Brandon Tucker/WorldGolf.com
Bandon Trails golf course in Oregon - no. 7
Like its neighbors, Bandon Trails features wall-to-wall fescue grasses. Unlike its neighbors, most holes are shielded from often fierce, coastal breezes.
Brandon Tucker/WorldGolf.com
Bandon Trails golf course in Oregon - no. 15
Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw's Bandon Trails features rugged bunkering and massive, fescue greens.
Brandon Tucker/WorldGolf.com
Bandon Trails golf course in Oregon - no. 17
Each of Bandon Dunes Golf Resort's courses are walking only, and caddies are available every day.
Brandon Tucker/WorldGolf.com
Bandon Trails golf course in Oregon - no. 18
Bandon Trails golf course blends parkland scenery with a firm and rolling links feel.
Brandon Tucker/WorldGolf.com
Bandon Dunes golf course in Oregon - no. 6
The coastal winds can wreck havoc on par-3 greens like Bandon Dunes' crowned sixth green.
Brandon Tucker/WorldGolf.com
Bandon Dune golf course in Oregon - bunkers
Bandon Dunes makes the most of its seaside location with several greens on the coastline.
Brandon Tucker/WorldGolf.com
Bandon Dunes golf course in Oregon - no. 16
The stunning 16th hole of Bandon Dunes will make you want to pause a moment and soak in the views.
Brandon Tucker/WorldGolf.com
Pacific Dunes golf course in Oregon - no. 4
Pacific Dunes' long fourth hole hugs the coastline so tight on the right side, you'll likely have to start your ball over the beach to let the wind bring it back to the fairway.
Brandon Tucker/WorldGolf.com
Pacific Dunes golf course in Oregon - deer
Each of the three courses at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort feature their share of native wildlife.
Brandon Tucker/WorldGolf.com
Pacific Dunes golf course in Oregon - no. 13
The par-4 13th hole on Pacific Dunes features the most stunning sand dune on the property.
Brandon Tucker/WorldGolf.com
Kiel Christianson:
Jason Scott Deegan:
The Accidental Golfer:
View from Europe: