Bandon Dunes
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Bandon Dunes is the walking stay-play week a lot of golf travelers come to Oregon for: seven courses on one public property, Pacific air on the dunes, and a bag on your shoulder (or a local on the bag) for every round. Five championship 18s plus two short courses sit west of Highway 101 near Bandon. You book lodging and tee times through the resort, stay on property when you can, and build days around walking golf rather than a theme-park itinerary.
If dates are still flexible, the golf vacation planner is a calm place to line nights against rounds before anything is locked. Once travel dates exist, print the golf trip packing list — Oregon coast weather rewards rain and mid-layer planning more than fair-weather packing habits.
Where to play
All courses at the resort are walking only. Pull and push carts are complimentary (or bring your own). Caddies are encouraged and paid direct to the caddie (rate plus gratuity). Riding carts exist only for guests with a documented permanent disability — arranged ahead with the resort, and a caddie is typically required. Current caddie and disability-cart dollars live on the resort FAQ and green fees pages.
Trip inventory — what kind of round you are booking:
| Course | Round type |
|---|---|
| Bandon Dunes | Championship 18 |
| Pacific Dunes | Championship 18 |
| Bandon Trails | Championship 18 |
| Old Macdonald | Championship 18 |
| Sheep Ranch | Championship 18 |
| Bandon Preserve | 13-hole par-3 |
| Shorty’s | 19-hole par-3 |
Preserve and Shorty’s share an all-guest fee table. Net profits from both fund the Bandon Dunes Charitable Foundation. Replay rates on the championship fee card typically do not apply to Preserve or Shorty’s — confirm on the current green-fees page. Soft spikes only; casual golf attire; denim is discouraged on the courses. Course pages and hole-by-hole detail live on bandondunesgolf.com.
Building the week — rates and guest tiers
A satisfying Bandon week usually mixes championship 18s with Preserve or Shorty’s so legs recover and the short-course loop still feels like golf. Walking with a caddie on the big courses, then a lighter Preserve or Shorty’s afternoon, is a common pattern — not a rule. Peak months usually sit at the high end of the fee card; quieter windows often step down. Exact dollars change, so treat the resort pages as the live numbers:
- Green fees — championship 18s, Preserve / Shorty’s, replay rules
- Lodging rates — nightly matrix by room type and season
- FAQ — booking windows, deposits, cancel patterns, aerification, caddie and cart notes
Who pays which tier (pattern, not this year’s dollars):
- Resort guests (staying on property) get the preferred green-fee tier and cleaner tee-time access.
- Day guests pay more. In the main golf months, booking well in advance often means the premium day-guest rate, with tee times typically after 10:00 a.m. and a finite advance ceiling — confirm the current window on the green-fees page.
- Oregon residents can access a resident rate when booked inside a short advance window (the resort has used a within 21 days rule — re-check FAQ / green fees before you count on it).
- Replay usually means an individual’s second round the same day on a championship 18 — not Preserve or Shorty’s.
Practice is typically complimentary for resort guests; day guests often pay a small shop fee. None of those dollar cells belong locked into this page — open the official tables when you are ready to book.
Where to stay — picks by how you travel
On-property lodging is the practical path for preferred tee times and resort-guest green fees. Day-guest golf exists, but it costs more and carries the advance / after-10 a.m. constraints above. Resort guests also get a 24-hour on-property shuttle; that shuttle is not an airport transfer.
Helpful way to choose, not a brochure dump:
- The Lodge or The Inn — strong default for singles or pairs who want to stay close to the golf action and keep logistics simple. Golf-centric rooms, walkable feel to the resort hub, easy when the week is mostly rounds and meals on property.
- Chrome Lake, Round Lake, or Lily Pond cottages — better when a couple or small group wants more space and a quieter lake-side base between rounds. Still on property (so resort-guest rates and the shuttle still apply); more room to spread out than a standard Lodge or Inn room.
- Grove Cottages or The Lodge Suite — practical for foursomes or families who need multi-room inventory. One booking can keep the group together without splitting across distant room types.
Nightly rates by season and room type live on lodging rates. Occupancy add-ons, kids-with-parents rules, and check-in / check-out times are listed there and on the FAQ — confirm before you hold a specific cottage or suite. Dining reservations often open months before arrival; ask when you book lodging.
Primary booker: the resort trip planner / reservation request · 855-220-6710 · 57744 Round Lake Rd, Bandon, OR 97411. Reservations are guaranteed only after a resort representative responds to the inquiry.
How booking actually works
Lodging is not an absolute requirement — golf-only is possible — but lodging is how most travelers unlock resort-guest rates and cleaner tee-time access. The site flags high lodging demand; use the availability calendar before falling in love with a specific week.
Durable patterns (always re-check the FAQ before you deposit):
- Day guests booking far ahead in the main season → premium day-guest rate, tees after 10:00 a.m., finite advance ceiling
- Oregon residents → resident / resort-guest-equivalent rate only inside a short advance window
- Deposit with lodging → typically one room-night per room plus one 18-hole round per player reserved
- Golf-only deposit → amount of rounds reserved at booking; refund / cancel windows are tighter than lodging packages
- Cancel windows for lodging+golf vs golf-only differ — the FAQ holds the current day counts
Treat the FAQ as the source of truth on the day you book — deposit and cancel language can tighten.
Getting here
The usual local airport is North Bend (OTH), about 35 minutes north of the resort. Hertz and Enterprise sit on-site there. Broader gateways and private/charter options sit in the table below — pick by drive time and airline access rather than chasing codes through the prose. Re-check United and the resort Getting Here page before you buy tickets; seasonal nonstops into North Bend thin out outside peak months.
| Airport | Drive (approx.) | When it fits |
|---|---|---|
| North Bend (OTH) | ~35 min | Local default; United Express has served DEN and SFO — confirm current schedule |
| Eugene (EUG) | ~2.5 hr | Broader nonstops (Alaska, Allegiant, American, Avelo, Delta, Southwest, United per official) |
| Medford (MFR) | ~3 hr | Alaska, Allegiant, American, Delta, United |
| Portland (PDX) | ~4.5 hr | Full hub when local service is thin |
| Bandon State (S05) | ~10 min | Private / charter |
The resort offers on-property shuttle only — not airport transfers. Ground partners listed on Getting Here include Aviation Transportation, Bandon Golf Transportation, and others. The town of Bandon sits about 10 minutes east of the resort / west of Hwy 101.
Aerification and course maintenance
Aerification and other maintenance blocks rotate across the seven courses through the year. The resort often discounts greens fees for rounds played near a course’s aerification dates. Do not lock an itinerary around last year’s calendar. Confirm the current schedule and any discount language on the FAQ before you need every championship 18 at full firmness the same week.
What to pack
Oregon coast mornings run cool and damp even when afternoon light looks friendly. A waterproof rain jacket, rain pants you can pull on over golf clothes, and a mid-layer you can peel between holes keep a walking week honest. Soft spikes matter here; the resort asks for them.
Start with the golf trip packing list and how to pack for your golf trip. Deepen the wet and cold pieces with best golf rain jackets, golf rain pants, and how to dress for cold-weather golf when the forecast leans Pacific.
Plan the Bandon week
Bandon is a walking stay-play week on Oregon dunes: five championship 18s, Preserve and Shorty’s for the short-course loop, resort-guest rates that usually sit below day-guest tiers, and lodging that unlocks cleaner tee access. Peak months cost more; quieter windows often step down — open the official green fees and lodging rates pages for the dollars that match your dates. Stay on property when you can, check aerification on the FAQ before you lock a sheet that needs every championship 18, and book lodging and golf through the resort trip planner.
Questions about how a Bandon week sits beside other US public stay-play trips? editor@destination-golf.com is available. For the trip itself, start with the golf vacation planner and the packing list once travel dates are real.
