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
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