Here is a quiet truth about a trip to Bandon Dunes. The caddies who loop those five world famous courses all week, the same loyal crew who will talk your ear off about the right line on Pacific Dunes, mostly spend their own days off somewhere else. They drive ten miles south, off the resort property entirely, to a course called Bandon Crossings. When the people who know the dirt best vote with their tee times, you should pay attention.
Bandon Crossings is not affiliated with Bandon Dunes. It is not trying to be. What it is, is the smartest add on round you can build into a Bandon itinerary, and it answers a question every golfer eventually asks somewhere around the back nine of day three: can I please ride a cart and stop reorganizing my back.
Where to Play
The course opened in 2007 on a former sheep and cattle ranch, the first full eighteen ever built by Oregon architect Dan Hixson. Owners Rex and Cala Smith wanted an affordable course locals could actually play, and Hixson delivered something that punched well above its price tag right out of the gate. GOLF Magazine named it one of the top ten new courses in the country the year it opened, and it still shows up on the magazine's list of the best courses in the US under 150 dollars. Golfweek regularly slots it among the best places to play in Oregon. The Portland Oregonian called it a must play. Matt Ginella put it on his top value list. That is a lot of hardware for a place that, until recently, ran its operation out of a trailer.
Set on the inland side of Highway 101, Crossings is a genuine change of scenery from the coastal links up the road. This is northwest Oregon golf the way it looks in your head: mature pines and fescue framing the fairways, a creek valley running through the routing, real elevation change, and pockets of wetland that make you think before you swing. Tucked back from the ocean, it is far more sheltered from the wind than anything at the resort, which after a couple of days getting sandblasted on the bluff feels like a small mercy. At 6,855 yards and a par of 72 with a slope of 126, it has plenty of teeth, but Hixson did his defending at the green complexes rather than off the tee. The bent grass greens are the headline. Ask around town and you will hear the same thing again and again, that these are the best putting surfaces in the area, thanks to superintendent Brant Hathorn and a crew that clearly cares.
About the holes. The one that sticks with you is the 14th, a downhill par 3 that stretches to right around 200 yards from the tips with marsh wrapping the green. You stand on an elevated tee with the whole thing laid out below, the kind of shot where the view almost talks you out of committing to the club. Hit it, do not admire it. The 11th is another par 3 worth the price of admission, with a green wild enough to turn a routine two putt into an adventure. And keep an eye out for the 5th, a split personality hole that plays as a 410 yard par 4 or a 545 yard par 5 depending on which of its two greens is in the rotation that day. Five par 3s in total, none of them filler.
Where to Stay
Most golfers will base themselves at Bandon Dunes and treat Crossings as a side trip, and that works fine. But Crossings has its own lodging, which is the move if you want to play a round or two at the resort and keep your costs sane the rest of the week. The course offers six rental homes available as customized stay and play packages, one right at the driving range and five with ocean views. For a buddies group that wants to wake up, walk to the range, and not negotiate a single thing before the first tee, that is a setup worth a look.
The bigger pitch is the math. Peak season at Crossings runs 120 dollars with a cart and 94 to walk, dropping to 94 with a cart in the off season. That is a fraction of what you will pay for a single resort loop in high season. Use Crossings as your warm up the day you arrive, your cool down before you fly out, or a mid trip breather to give your legs and your wallet a rest. Plenty of Bandon pilgrims do exactly that.
What to Do Along the Way
Crossings pairs naturally with Coos Bay, about 25 minutes north, which is where the off course fun lives. The big draw is the casino on the waterfront in North Bend, recently rebranded from The Mill Casino to Ko-Kwel Casino Resort, owned by the Coquille Indian Tribe. Over 600 slots, table games, a poker room, on site hotel, and a few places to eat and watch a game. For a buddies group looking to extend the evening past the 18th green, it does the job.
For dinner, skip the obvious and go to Angelo's Italy in Old Town Bandon on Chicago Avenue. It is one of the best kept secrets on this stretch of coast, a tiny family run trattoria built on recipes brought over from Rome, with live music in the corner and a cioppino people drive in for. It is small and dinner only, so do not roll up with twelve guys and no plan. Call ahead, go early, and order like you mean it.
The Pitch
You do not fly across the country, or drive up the 101, to play Bandon Crossings instead of the resort. You play it as part of the whole trip. It is the round where you ride, the round where you exhale, the round where the local caddie you tipped well points you to the right line because this is his home course too. A fraction of the price, greens that hold their own against the big names up the road, and a downhill par 3 over a marsh you will be talking about at Angelo's that night. Make the trek to Bandon. Just leave a slot for Bandon Crossings.
