North by Northwest — On to Bandon
Crashed out after my abysmal (and yet, amazing) round at the Olympic Club after driving to Redding, Calif., last night. Woke up, and hope sprang eternal: I was on my way to Bandon Dunes Resort, my first trip there.
What a drive! Mt. Shasta, yes, but the winding roads of Oregon’s I-5, dodging logger trucks and managing elevation changes, was a treat for this Kansas kid. My only regret was that I didn’t rent a Corvette or a Camaro, and that I waited until after one series of major twists to turn my Pandora channel from “The XX” channel to “White Zombie”….
Ken Nice and his crew* met me upon arriving at the course. Very cool of them considering it was a Friday afternoon** as well as the Friday before the U.S. Open, which a handful of them were about to leave for so they could work as volunteers***.
I got the “25-cent” tour from Nice, who was kind**** enough to stick around and show me the place… which is massive.
We talked about a lot, from maintenance challenges (the sand blows out of the bunkers when the wind is like this) to basketball (Nice coaches the Bandon varsity boys team).
Oh, and by the way — it was a 30 mph sustained wind during my visit today. These courses look tough enough as it is… with a big wind like that? I’m dumbfounded. A “four-club wind” just doesn’t register… and I’m from KANSAS.
More about this trip, more photos, and more footnotes later. For now… McKee’s Pub***** calls!
And another thanks to Nice and his team, for their time today. It’s superintendents giving me some of their time that makes Golfdom what it is.
* Grounds superintendent Tom Jefferson was the only one of the key staff missing. With a presidential name like Tom Jefferson, I have to admit, I was hoping to meet him.
** By superintendent standards, that is. In most professions, 1:15 infringes on lunch. In the profession of supers? You’re messing with the time they clock out. After all, they’ve been at the course for 10 hours by then…
*** Seems like an oxymoron — work as a volunteer. But as you well know, the people who volunteer for the maintenance crew don’t compare to the folks who are directing foot traffic, or signaling which way a drive is headed. Sorry, it’s true.
**** Notice how I ducked the Nice/nice pun there? Leave the obvious puns to lesser journalists… if there is such a thing.
***** OK, McKee’s Pub was where most of this post was written. But stay tuned, I’ll be writing from Chambers Bay next week!