Can Experiencing Bandon Dunes Help Make You a Better Golfer?

January 30, 2015 by Nick Martin

Golf is a game of subtlety, where control and imagination are blended into one. For the average retail golfer we are often fixated with control and perfection more so than enjoying the moment. However, the lucky ones who have a chance to play a round at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort realize the overall experience is far more significant than how close your ball is to the hole. Does this realization alone make anyone who experiences the resort a better golfer?

Whether you truly start to see strokes shaved off your score after playing at Bandon Dunes is tough to prove but playing a round here certainly helps you appreciate the game. We’ve started the list of potential game changing benefits and need your help adding to it…

The caddie dynamic- Nothing ties all the factors of a links experience together better than a good caddie who knows the course and more importantly understands links golf. Jeff Simonds, Director of Golf at the resort believes, “golfers, like other athletes can get into a rhythm, producing shot-after-shot. Walking and talking with a caddie and others in your group can help keep you in that rhythm. The game comes to you on a consistent pace without the start/stop feeling of playing in carts.” Additionally by keeping an open mind to their suggestions, you often discover a new way to navigate obstacles that present themselves during your round and in turn, expand the overall creativity in the golf game you take home with you. Their ability to calm your nerves and prepare you for any shot is contagious, making it easier to deal with the challenges of the game no matter what course you are playing.
Course design and creativity- All four of our 18-hole championship courses were designed to defend par, with turf that plays firm and fast. The tight lies and undulations around the greens promote a wide variety of shot selection, all of which could have a successful outcome. Most of us have that trusty wedge we use for any situation around the greens but at Bandon Dunes you learn to develop your entire repertoire of short game shots and how much fun it can be when you have more than one option to play a successful shot. This creative gene will be challenged, opening a new way to playing the game when you arrive back home.
Score is an arbitrary number- Often times we become so overwhelmed by what we shot last Saturday or why our handicap is increasing that it consumes our mind while playing. This distraction makes it nearly impossible to stay in the present and remain focused on the task at hand while standing over the ball. One way to combat this challenge is to forget about score and play match play but if you ask the majority of guests at Bandon Dunes what they shot, the topic seems to be an afterthought to the overall experience. What does this all mean? The less we worry about our results the more we find ourselves pleasantly surprised by the outcome.
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