GolfPlus- July17 Mag July17 (Digital)1 | Page 55

Travel pure Golfer’s Paradise! The very best in Links-style golf. With few distractions. On four recently-built championship-standard courses. Great clubhouse, restaurants, bars and housing options. A one- of-a-kind practise facility. Gracious hospitality. That and much much more is what the new Bandon Dunes golf resort has to offer. Tucked away in a quiet corner of southern Oregon, just across the California border, near sleepy Coos Bay on the Pacifi c coast. Yes, half way around the world. But, if you happen to be on the west coast of America, a half day-long drive up the 101 from San Francisco, or a shorter drive from Eugene, or a very short drive from North Bend Airport gets you there. It all began when my good friend and fellow golfer Milind from Mumbai’s BPGC came back from a visit to America. He raved and raved about his experience playing Bandon Dunes with his son Eeshan. And encouraged me to visit it when possible… Then, last year my wife Harinakshi and I planned a leisurely coast-to-coast trip across America. Taking in the pulsating Ryder Cup in Minneapolis en route! To culminate in a fi rst-ever visit to her good friend Rupal’s pad in Bend, in the middle of Oregon, a charming tourist-friendly town where outdoor sports dominate. And Rupal’s husband Jim loves golf! I fi gured, Jim will surely organize that we play some of the better courses in Bend when we visit them. Instead, Jim had a better idea, “Let’s take in Bandon Dunes! Not only is it a fabulous drive but the resort is just breathtaking!” Keeping Milind’s glowing plaudits of Bandon Dunes in mind, I immediately signed on. The drive from Bend to Bandon is magical: First a pit stop at Crater Lake, one of America’s most scenic and pristine lakes, devoid of any habitation. Then a long but memorable drive along the picturesque OREGON’S BANDON DUNES RESORT Umpqua River, with its galaxy of cedars, pines and fi rs typical of the North-West for company. Dotted by picnic areas and campgrounds overlooking the river en route. With the therapeutic sound of the water as we ate our lunch at the riverside Steamboat Inn restaurant. Watching some intrepids engage in the sport of fl y fi shing, where the steelheads are released back into the river after being caught. Both Crater Lake and the Umpqua National Forest captured what Oregon is best known for: Love for Nature and a better Quality of Life. Best of all, close to Bandon is the charming town of Ashland. Home to the OSF Company and Oregon Shakespeare Festival since the 1930s. I remember taking in some plays there while studying at Stanford U way back in the 1970s! Primarily a college town, Ashland has now become a lot like Stratford-Upon-Avon in England, where the superlative Royal Shakespeare Company puts on the stage productions of the highest standard over a long summer season, B&Bs abound, and G o l f P l us by Rahul Sood J U L Y 2017 6 5 65