Whitten: Bandon Overrated, Badly Needs Sink Stoppers

Ron Whitten is also reading the Jobs bio and it got him inspired to suggest that Bandon Dunes Resort is not a "Great Golf Experience" but instead, "Merely Adequate." Apparently, Ron hasn't been to Myrtle in a few years.

He actually has a beef with each course (before we get to the important stuff).

Though I like the resort’s four golf courses, each has its flaws. I’ve never understood, given all the land he had at his disposal, why original architect David Kidd couldn’t have routed the Bandon Dunes 18 to avoid having wetlands in play on the 13th. I’ve had a regular participant in USGA Mid-Ams complain to me that Pacific Dunes (which I love) contains absolutely no strategy for good golfers.

Now you may not like his attention to detail, but I think the things that Ron holds against the place are just the kinds of things we should read more about in golf travel analysis. Ok, maybe the sink stuff is a little Adrian Monk...

I’ve never been impressed with the accommodations at Bandon Dunes. None of the bathroom sinks has a stopper, so I can’t fill the basin with water. But I hate to let the faucet run continuously while I shave, wasting precious water down the drain. So I have to turn it on and off, on and off. Minor inconvenience? When seeking perfection, little details are big.

The food service at Bandon Dunes will never win any awards, and I’ve been frustrated more than once at the slow wait staff, particularly at breakfasts with a tee time looming.

But worst of all are the caddies at Bandon Dunes. They don’t work for the guys who pay them (with tip); they work for the resort, and their priority is not to give good yardages or properly read greens, it’s to make sure that play keeps moving. They fuss, cajole and push golfers along, checking with timekeepers placed periodically throughout each course. Bandon’s caddies are really marshals in coveralls.