Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Bandon Dunes



I'm back from another glorious week at Bandon Dunes. I participate every year in Brian Henninger's Fireside Chat pro-am at Bandon Dunes and it's one of the best golf experiences I know of.




I was invited four years ago as a guest of a friend and I've been going back every year. It's a simple formula. Brian gets 32 amateurs and 8 PGA pros and we break into teams to play a "fun" tournament/contest and the pro-am. I've had the pleasure of playing with Kirk Triplett, Paul Goydos, Chris Smith and Charlie Wi.




The first two years my group won the pro-am. The last two years I won the "fun" contest - a closest to the pin contest last year and a three-hole par-3 contest this year.




For those of you who know me, you know that golf is one of the biggest things I enjoy. I get to meet new people, go outside and attempt to shoot a better score than my previous attempts.




Bandon Dunes is one of my favorite places to play, walking is pretty much mandatory and caddies are strongly encouraged. This year Tom Olson was my caddie and he spent a week helping me play. Playing with a caddie makes for an interesting experience. A good caddie will get to know your game and will encourage you to play the right club. A good caddie will actually become a team-mate and will get just as excited at a good shot and will know just how to change the mood when the inevitable bad shot comes along. Tom did a great job this year and by the end of the week he pretty much knew my game and how to guide me through the course.




If you love golf and ever get a chance to get to the southern coast of Oregon, be sure to check out Bandon Dunes.