The Oklahoma resort said it spent $15 million to build the par-3 course that honors military veterans.
Shangri-La Resort in Monkey Island, Oklahoma, announced Thursday that it will officially open its new 18-hole par-3 course, The Battlefield, on June 30. Designed by Tom Clark and Kevin Atkinson, the layout features more than 100 feet of elevation changes and will play to 3,000 yards.
In a media release announcing the news, the resort said it cost $15 million to build The Battlefield, each hole of which has been named in honor of an Oklahoma veteran of World War II. It’s part of a $100 million investment in the property since owner Eddy Gibbs took over in 2010. The resort is managed by Crescent Hotels and Resorts as part of the Lifestyles by Crescent Collection.
The Battlefield features holes ranging from 110 to 245 yards. It joins the three existing nine-hole courses already at Shangri-La – the Legends, Heritage and Champions nines – along the shores of Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees in northeast Oklahoma. Shangri-La ranks No. 4 on Golfweek’s Best list of public-access courses in Oklahoma.
“The Battlefield is a beautiful, captivating, and purposefully designed short course like no other,” Shangri-La director of golf operations Rob Yanovitch said in the media release. “It’s an endlessly fun and engaging experience for golfers of every skill level that also recognizes our brave military personnel, with special commemorations to World War II veterans on every hole. Daily presentations in The Battlefield Clubhouse also honor military personnel and American veterans. The course has an energy and excitement that, along with our renovated, world-class 27-hole championship course, elevates the golf experience at Shangri-La into the must-play category among Midwest destination resorts.”
The new par-3 course also has a 165-yard warmup area and a 10,000-square-foot practice green. There are five sets of tees on The Battlefield, plus a set of close-up tees for beginners, children and players wanting to work on their short games.
“We take great pride in Shangri-La having become a beloved destination for outdoor recreation, world-class golf, quality time with family and friends – all in an idyllic natural environment,” Shangri-La president & CEO Barry Willingham said in the media release. “The opening of The Battlefield, though, marks an achievement and source of pride that’s difficult to put into words. To have a grand-scale living monument that honors our veterans and military service people fulfills a meaningful vision for our team and our commitment to never forget to honor those who have made our freedoms possible.”
The Masters Par 3 Contest is one of the most cherished moments each year at Augusta.
The annual Masters Par 3 Contest is nothing if not a collection of memorable moments for golfers and their families.
Golfers play the short course with their families, their kids decked out in the all-white caddie suits.
It’s mentioned every year that nobody has ever won the Par 3 and then gone on to win Masters Tournament in the same week. But that doesn’t take the fun out of the Wednesday tradition.
The original Par 3 course was built in 1958 when Augusta National co-founder Clifford Roberts enlisted Savannah’s George Cobb as its principal architect. Cobb’s design called for the playing of the nine holes over DeSoto Springs Pond. Three decades later, the club turned to Tom Fazio to add two holes (Nos. 8 and 9) over Ike’s Pond, and Cobb’s opening two holes transitioned to spectator seating.
Take a look at some of the best images of kids at the Par 3 Contest (including some from through the years):
All these years later, the curse of the Par 3 Contest winner lives.
Nobody has ever won Wednesday’s Par 3 Contest and the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in the same week.
Raymond Floyd came closest in 1990, when the 47-year-old was in line to become the oldest Masters champion. Floyd recorded his only Par 3 victory and seemed on course to snap the curse Sunday afternoon. Following a birdie on No. 12, Floyd was four strokes clear of Nick Faldo with six holes to play. But Faldo ended up slipping into a Green Jacket in a playoff for a second straight year.
Just three years later, Chip Beck won the warm-up act and was three strokes behind Bernhard Langer entering Sunday’s 15th hole. But Beck laid up from the fairway and Langer coasted to his second Masters crown.
All these years later, the curse of the Par 3 Contest winner lives. Do today’s pros believe in it, and did the Par 3 curse deter them from participating or trying to win the Par 3?
Bandon Dunes Golf Resort has broken ground on a new par-3 course on incredible terrain between Bandon Trails and the Pacific Ocean.
Bandon Preserve, the 13-hole par-3 course that opened in 2012 at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon, ushered in a trend of high-end resorts adding short courses that far exceed the experience of many afterthought par-3 layouts that came in preceding decades. Real holes on stunning terrain make for an unforgettable experience that has become a major draw along the southern Oregon coast, and a new breed of par-3 course has evolved around the world.
And Bandon Preserve will soon have a sibling just a few hundred yards south along the coastline.
The resort officially announces today that it is constructing a new, 19-hole par-3 course, yet to be named and built by the WAC Golf team of Rod Whitman, Dave Axland and Keith Cutten. The layout was routed on dunesland between the first hole of the resort’s Bandon Trails course and the Pacific Ocean, and construction is already underway. Plans are for the course to be completed this year, with some preview play possible this fall and a full opening in 2024.
The layout for Bandon Dunes Golf Resort’s new par-3 course between the first hole of Bandon Trails and the Pacific Ocean (Courtesy of Bandon Dunes Golf Resort)
“This is just an incredible piece of ground, and we’re super excited about it,” said Cutten, the youngest member of the WAC design team who has worked in various roles with Whitman and Axland for more than a decade, most notably at Cabot Links in Nova Scotia, one of the top-rated public-access courses in Canada. “It’s quite a bit choppier, more severe changes in the dunes than some of the other pieces of ground out there, so it’s just perfect for a short course.”
The layout of Bandon’s new par-3 course has been in consideration for years, and architect Tom Doak had marker flags in the ground for a proposed routing last year. Bandon Dunes founder and owner Mike Keiser said plans changed, and the WAC team was given a chance to create a layout on what Keiser always believed to be a special piece of land.
“We called and said, ‘Why don’t you stop by and see what you can do?’ ” Keiser said. “They came up with, I think, a brilliant routing. I wouldn’t call it short, because our scorecard will have short, medium and long distances. They did a fabulous job and you’ll have to wait and see for yourself.”
Holes will range from just under 60 yards up to nearly 160, depending on the tees selected, Cutten said. Keiser said the plan is for each of the 19 holes to offer a chance to tee off with a putter, at least from the forward tees.
The layout will consist of 16 acres of maintained turf across lumpy, bumpy and sandy dunes, into and out of various natural bowls and across ridges. Cutten said the terrain was perfect for a par-3 course because there was no need to design landing areas for tee shots on par 4s and 5s, allowing the design team to instead focus on finding the most interesting and natural green sites full of interesting bounces and rolls.
“I think all but one of our greens were basically just sitting there” on the ground already, Cutten said. “The one (that’s not) that I’m referring to, the 10th, needs a little bit of sand in the middle but the edges are already there, so it looks like it’s already there. The rest of the greens are just found.”
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The original WAC routing was 12 holes, but Cullen said the team kept finding interesting green sites and possibilities for additional holes. They finally settled on 18, playing down toward the ocean then back up in a series of loops. Keiser then added a 19th hole.
“It was 18 holes, and I was just out there with my son Chris, and we decided the walk from 18 up to the clubhouse was too arduous,” Keiser said of the process with his son, who along with brother Michael operates Sand Valley resort in Wisconsin. “So we put in another par 3 as the 19th hole there to take us back up to the great clubhouse site.”
Keiser said his one mandate is that each hole can stand on its own and would fit well on any of the resort’s five 18-hole layouts that rank among the best modern courses in the world. Cutten said that was no problem on terrain so naturally suited to golf.
Keith Cutten (from left), Dave Axland, Rod Whitman, Chris Keiser and Mike Keiser at the site of the new par-3 course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon (Courtesy of Bandon Dunes Golf Resort)
“It became a running joke as we toured Mr. Keiser around that we should be paying him for the golf course, because all the work was already done,” Cutten said. “It speaks well to the quality of the ground and the kind of golf we were able to put on it. …
“On a short course, you can get a little more bold with the decisions you’re making and the contours you’re using. A lot of the times the short courses can be a little more funky and dynamic and quirky, a lot of the things we try to do with our golf courses from the get-go.”
Keiser said he isn’t sure yet what that clubhouse will look like, possibly a “glorified mobile home.” Don’t be surprised if he decides to include some sort of food truck, a version of which has proved incredibly popular at Sand Valley’s par-3 course named the Sandbox.
Keiser anticipates the new course, which will raise the total number of par 3s at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort to 53, will complement the Preserve, designed by the team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. The resort is also home to Shorty’s, a nine-hole par-3 course at the practice facility that is open only at select times.
“I think most people who have time will play both of them,” he said. “We’ll have to wait to see which they favor, but Preserve is awfully good, as is this new one.”
Keiser said that like the Preserve, the green fee will be $100, with all proceeds benefiting the Wild Rivers Coast Alliance to support communities along the southern coast of Oregon. The resort has contributed $7.3 million to the WRCA, with the Preserve now generating $800,000 a year for the charity.
Aerial photos give us a peek of the changes down in Georgia.
On May 31, Eureka Earth posted photos of the Augusta National Par 3 course torn to shreds, more resembling a dirt patch than a golf course.
Just months later, the popular Twitter page has updated the golf world with news pictures of the short course, which look spectacular.
The changes feature a few additions.
According to EE, “two new cabins, an event building, a member restroom, a player pavilion, a merchandise building, and two restrooms, have been completed.”
It’s hard to imagine we’ll get any information directly from Augusta in the coming months, leaving us to wait until the 2023 Masters — scheduled for April 6-9 — for official word.
The Par 3 Contest will be held Wednesday, April 5.
The ANGC Par 3 Northeast Pond Grading & Drainage Revisions, which include two new cabins, an event building, a member restroom, a player pavilion, a merchandise building, and two restrooms, have been completed.#TheMasters#Masters2023
Little Sandy, a 10-hole par-three course near Jacksonville, brings another alternative golf facility to the area.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Golf at its best is a peaceful, sublime merging of nature and sport.
Indeed, entering the phrase “healing power of golf” on Google returns more than 19 million hits.
A small piece of land between A1A and the Atlantic Ocean on Amelia Island is one example of how golf can heal — especially old wounds.
The opening of Little Sandy this week, a 10-hole par-three course at the Omni Amelia Island Resort, not only brings another alternative golf facility to the First Coast but it has put to rest an acrimonious dispute between the resort and the Amelia Island Equity Club, more than four years after the abrupt closing of one of the two 18-hole courses on the property.
Both sides have moved forward and the gorgeous little jewel surrounding Red Maple Lake is the peacemaker.
“The membership is very happy with the layout by [designer] Beau Welling, the construction to MacCurrach Golf and the Omni’s efforts to put it all together,” said Mike Warfield, president of the Amelia Island Club. “For us, as members, we have access to a short course, really well-designed, that a lot of private clubs don’t get access to. I think it’s just spectacular.”
The course, named for its size (less than 30 acres) and being near the vast Amelia Island dunes, had its grand opening Tuesday, becoming the second alternative to an 18-hole golf course to open on the First Coast in two years.
The Yards, which evolved from the former Oak Bridge Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, opened in the fall of 2020 and has a nine-hole track and six par-3 holes.
The oldest par-3 course in the area is the Palm Valley Golf Club.
The opening of The Yards and now Little Sandy is part of a nationwide trend of golf clubs, resorts and municipalities seeking alternatives to the 18-hole, four-to-six hour golf experience that many players say is simply too much a drain on their leisure time.
About a third of the new golf courses that opened last year in the U.S. were par-3 facilities between six and 14 holes, according to the National Golf Foundation.
A golf experience in 60 minutes
Omni Amelia director of golf Jonathan Bridges said two players can tour Little Sandy’s 928 yards in an hour, and groups of six have done it in less than 90 minutes since the soft opening.
“They’re really enjoying it,” Bridges said. “It’s something very different.”
The holes range from the 42-yard ninth hole to the 115-yard first and 10th holes. The course is laid over the remnants of Nos. 7, 8, 17 and 18 of the old Ocean Links course, which was closed in November of 2017 by the resort without giving the equity club sufficient notice, a Nassau County judge later ruled.
The 10th green at “Little Sandy” is in nearly the same position as the 18th green of the Ocean Links course at the Omni Amelia Plantation. (Photo: Garry Smits/Florida Times-Union)
The 10th green, which is one of three holes with water in play, is more or less in the same position as the par-3 18th green of Ocean Links.
The course cost Omni $3.5 million. There was no assessment of the Amelia Island Club members, who have playing privileges at Oak Marsh and the Amelia Island Club at Long Point — the latter of which closed this week for renovation and will re-open in the fall.
Little Sandy has relatively large greens with dramatic contours, which allow for numerous pin positions. Players have the option on seven of the holes to run the ball up onto the green.
Rental sets are available, with a putter, three wedges and a 9-iron, but players may bring their own bag. Walking is required unless a player has a disability.
There is an 18-hole putting course that Warfield called “a real treat.”
Golfers want more options
Welling, based in Greenville, South Carolina, said like almost everything else involving leisure time, golfers want options that don’t involve a door-to-door experience that eats away a good part of the day.
“You look at society in general, we have so many options of how to use our time and our lives,” he said. “I grew up at a time when there were only three channels on TV. Now we don’t even watch TV on a TV. We don’t read a newspaper on paper. What we’re seeing is a desire of the golfer to have options in how they orient to golf.”
Welling said the increase of par-3 courses will help players get better at the key shots in golf — from 100 yards to the green.
“These kinds of facilities are stripping out a lot of shots people have a hard time playing and focus on the shots they have a chance of being successful with,” he said.
Little Sandy also has a number of amenities that range from charming to functional to amusing.
Each tee marker has four cup holders, so players can carry their beverages from hole to hole. There is also a beach umbrella and two lounge chairs at each tee.
The putting green has a half-dozen Adirondack chairs.
Small speakers strategically located near the tees and greens play music. A small pro shop carries the rental sets, balls, tees, divot tools and ball markers, as well as a selection of apparel. The course is an easy walk from Bob’s Steak and Chop House and other dining and beverage options within the Resort Shopping Village, so it will be easy to arrange 10 holes of golf at Little Sandy around breakfast, lunch or dinner.
And if players run out of ammo, there is a large gum ball machine behind the ninth tee that dispenses pink golf balls.
Little Sandy is a natural fit within the family-oriented vibe of the resort. Welling said he walked onto the course last week and saw a resort guest teaching his young daughter how to putt, with her two toddler brothers doing somersaults on the putting green.
“I thought, ‘that’s what we’re trying to do here,'” Welling said. “It’s all about family.”
Little Sandy mends hard feelings
Little Sandy seems to be an adequate compromise to the closing of Ocean Links, the first design on the First Coast by World Golf Hall of Fame architect Pete Dye, in collaboration with Bobby Weed. Dye also designed Oak Marsh.
The resort closed Ocean Links on Nov. 12, 2017, a day after it was still taking tee times, and began bulldozing the three holes along the ocean — hours after an email was sent to equity club members informing them of the closing.
At the time, the resort claimed the members had not lived up to an agreement that called for it to provide 10,000 rounds annually at Ocean Links and Oak Marsh, with a minimum of 3,000 at Ocean Links, in addition to the resort rounds generated by vacationers.
The Equity Club’s suit claimed Omni Amelia Island LLC broke a long-standing agreement to operate two golf courses with a private membership as well as resort play, dating back to 2010 when Omni bought the property as part of a bankruptcy case involving the original owners.
The bulldozers began work under police protection. Work halted two days later under an injunction granted by Judge Steven Fahlgren — who blasted the resort in his ruling.
“The Agreement does not permit Omni to unilaterally close the Ocean Links golf course, but rather requires the Club’s written consent to do so,” Fahlgren wrote. “Omni destroyed the Ocean Links golf course without notice, and in a manner to accomplish the destruction before the Club had an opportunity to obtain judicial relief. Florida law will not permit Omni to benefit from this misconduct.”
Equity club attorney Steven Busey told the Florida Times-Union at the time, “The Omni’s sudden closure of the Ocean Links course was the product of Omni’s arrogance, greed and disdain for contractual obligations.”
Fahlgren ordered the resort to re-open Ocean Links but too much of the seaside holes had been bulldozed by then (it’s now open green space for resort guests and residents) and Little Sandy became the compromise.
The harsh language surrounding the Ocean Links closing is now conciliatory on both sides.
“I’m not going to contrast and compare the situation,” Warfield said. “I can only say this: we’re very happy with this course. I can’t speak for all the residents but I think they’re looking out on it and saying, ‘Wow, this is attractive.’ It’s going to help home values. It’s been a real positive experience.”
Theo Schofield, the Omni managing director, has only been at the Amelia Island Resort for just about a year and believes there is real harmony over the opening of Little Sandy. The resort hosted an opening for the equity club members last week and he’s pleased with their reaction.
“They’re very excited about it,” he said. “I think they’re really excited about having another option to play.”
The short course will be built near Streamsong’s lodge and feature holes stretching from 70 to 300 yards.
BOWLING GREEN, Fla. – Streamsong, already home to three highly ranked courses built by some of the biggest names in modern golf architecture, plans to add a fourth course that will open in late 2023 or 2024.
The design duo of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw have signed on to construct their second course at the resort, this one an 18-hole, non-traditional layout for which the early routing shows holes ranging from 70 to nearly 300 yards. The yet-to-be-named short course will be built on lumpy, bumpy, and sandy land just east of the resort’s main lodge, easily within walking distance of guest rooms.
Streamsong – which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year – also will add another putting course near the new course and lodge. It is projected to be larger than the resort’s popular Gauntlet putting course at the Black Course’s clubhouse. Food and beverage components will be constructed alongside the new short course and putting course with a dedicated clubhouse.
All combined, the new amenities should make for a perfectly relaxed way to spend an afternoon after playing one of the resort’s traditional 18s. The Red Course by Coore and Crenshaw ranks No. 2 on Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play list of public-access layouts in Florida and is tied for No. 37 on Golfweek’s Best rankings of all modern courses built since 1960 in the United States. Streamsong’s Black Course by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner is No. 3 among Florida’s public-access layouts and ties for No. 44 among all modern U.S. courses, and the resort’s Blue Course by Tom Doak ranks No. 4 in Florida and ties for No. 55 among modern courses in the U.S.
Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw also designed Streamsong’s Red Course. (Courtesy of Streamsong/Laurence Lambrecht)
Coore recently visited the site with course shaper and architect Keith Rhebb, who frequently works for the Coore/Crenshaw team, and they set out initial stakes on the land that cuts across a scrubby, roughly 100-acre site with several lakes in play.
Because it’s a non-traditional course, it’s entirely possible to introduce exciting features that might not work on a traditional course. Think imaginative greens, big run-offs, and other opportunities to show off creative design that might not work as well on a traditional, full-size course.
It’s a similar concept to the new par-3 courses that have become incredibly popular at many top destinations, only longer in spots. Streamsong already is home to a par-3 course, the seven-hole Roundabout near the Black Course’s clubhouse.
And because the new course won’t stretch to a traditional total length, it will be possible to play it with fewer than 14 clubs – players can leave their drivers in their rooms, if they so choose, and tackle it with just a handful of irons, wedges, and a putter.
Coore and Crenshaw often include devilish short par 3s on their traditional courses, including the 147-yard eighth hole on the Red at Streamsong. These holes typically feature extreme putting surfaces and surrounds that can frustrate even good players who have only a short iron or wedge into the green, making them among the most interesting holes on the course despite their diminutive length. Their experience building such holes, as well as par-3 courses such as the much-heralded Preserve at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon, should help make for a very interesting 18 holes at Streamsong’s new short course.
If approved, Tom Doak will build a par-3 course at Bandon Dunes and David McLay Kidd will build the 18-hole course near the coast.
A year after the Sheep Ranch opened at his Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, golf developer Mike Keiser has the itch to start building even more courses along the Oregon coast.
Next up for Keiser is a new 18-hole public-access layout on the opposite side of the town of Bandon named New River Dunes, which will be designed by David McLay Kidd, plus a new par-3 course designed by Tom Doak at the main resort.
Both are in the early stages as Keiser, plus his sons Michael and Chris, navigate state and sometimes federal permitting processes. There is no schedule for when a shovel might be stuck in the ground to start construction.
Keiser said demand for tee times at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort has convinced him to add more holes.
“The bureaucratic ball is beginning to roll,” said Keiser, who made his fortune in greeting cards and who has been credited by many in the golf industry as an agent of change in how modern resorts are built. “Michael, Chris and I did decide that given the demand of the five original courses (at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort) plus the two short courses, we would endeavor to do two new courses, one 18 and one par-3. We’ve just begun the process of getting approvals on both of those, so they’re not really live. And you never know with approvals whether it will be forthcoming or whether they will demand changes or who knows what.”
The new Sheep Ranch at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon (Courtesy of Bandon Dunes)
Bandon Dunes is the top golf resort in the country, based on volume of great courses that have climbed the Golfweek’s Best rankings of resort layouts. Each of the resort’s current full-size layouts – Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes, Bandon Trails, Old Macdonald and the new Sheep Ranch – ranks among the top 15 in Golfweek’s Best list of Modern Courses built since 1960. They rank Nos. 1-5 among Oregon’s public-access courses. The resort’s current short courses include the 13-hole, par-3 Bandon Preserve, and Shorty’s, a nine-hole par-3 course built into the practice range.
All those courses have been jampacked since COVID restrictions began to ease midway through 2020. And demand for tee times likely will continue to grow as the resort becomes even more famous – the USGA announced Tuesday that it will conduct 13 national championships at Bandon Dunes through 2045 on the heels of a successful U.S. Amateur there in 2020.
If all bureaucratic hurdles are cleared, Doak’s par-3 course likely will be the first addition to the resort’s lineup. Keiser said the layout will be on land near the second hole of Bandon Trails, not far from the par-3 Bandon Preserve and along the coast south of the original Bandon Dunes course. A name has not been formalized, but Keiser is excited at the prospect of the new short course by the designer of the resort’s Pacific Dunes layout, which ranks as the No. 2 modern course in the United States.
“Competition is good, isn’t it?” he said. “Let’s see what Tom Doak has up his sleeve.”
Tom Doak designed Pacific Dunes (pictured) at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon, and he has landed the job to build a new par-3 course at the resort if permitting is approved. (Courtesy of Bandon Dunes)
The second project, the 18-hole New River Dunes layout, is the resumption of a plan Keiser had more than a decade ago. He owned what he describes as a superlative piece of golfing terrain south of town, and he worked with state officials for eight years on a land swap to expand his contiguous holdings to accommodate a 27-hole course.
But after reaching agreements with the state, complications with the federal Bureau of Land Management – and its ability to possibly reclaim the swapped land – halted the project in 2015. Keiser’s interest shifted to other projects, such as Sand Valley in Wisconsin and the under-construction Cabot Saint Lucia in the Caribbean, which is slated to open in 2022.
Keiser is now ready to resume the project with just 18 holes on land he already owns, making for far fewer headaches in the approval process than if he had stuck with original plans for 27 holes.
“In hindsight, that was a mistake,” Keiser said. “I should have said, ok, not 27, we’ll build 18. But I was so wed with 27. I sort of got stuck in that box.”
Mike Keiser, owner of Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (Golfweek files)
Keiser described the proposed layout as playing down valleys between giant dunes, not directly on the coastline but possibly with several views of the ocean, depending on how the layout is finalized.
“The dunes at this site are just unbelievable,” Keiser said. “So there’s this dune on the right, which is 80 feet, and it’s a dune on the left which is 100 feet, and there is a perfect valley for golf down through the center of the two. You basically have nine holes out and nine holes back, all bordered by giant dunes.”
The properties in which Keiser is involved – stretching from Bandon Dunes on the Pacific Coast to Cabot Cape Breton and it’s two courses in Nova Scotia – tend to feature layouts from a tight roster of highly acclaimed architects such as Doak and the team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw.
The Scottish Kidd was the designer of Keiser’s first 18-hole layout at Bandon Dunes, which opened in 1999. But he started building tougher courses that weren’t as much fun in the pursuit of “championship layouts” before experiencing what he has described as a come-to-Jesus moment several years ago. He has since put his focus on designing fun, amateur-friendly layouts. His projects at Gamble Sands in Washington and later the Keiser family’s Mammoth Dunes at Sand Valley in Wisconsin proved to Mike Keiser that Kidd was the right man to tackle the sandy hills at New River Dunes.
The first course ever designed by David McLay Kidd was Bandon Dunes (pictured) in Oregon, and he has plans for a new 18 south of the resort and on the other side of the town of Bandon. (Courtesy of Evan Schiller)
“The new David Kidd is really good,” Keiser said. “He wants his courses to be fun, and that’s what he’s delivering.”
The project was frequently called the Bandon Muni in its previous form, because Keiser planned to offer local players deeply discounted green fees of less than $50. The name has changed to New River Dunes, but plans to offer cheaper rates to locals remain, Keiser said. The locals’ rates likely will work in conjunction with those available at Bandon Crossings, a daily-fee course in town owned by Rex Smith, who Keiser described as a great supporter of previous plans for Bandon Muni.
Tourist golfers will, of course, pay more. Green fees at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort top out at $345 in summer for daily guests, but it’s not clear yet what the peak rate might be at New River Dunes.
Keiser also plans to institute a youth caddie program at New River Dunes. The caddies are a great part of the main resort, but Keiser said those caddies are adults, many of them accomplished players. At New River Dunes, Keiser wants to employ teen-agers who will become eligible for college scholarships through the course’s program.
David McLay Kidd designed Mammoth Dunes at Sand Valley in Wisconsin, another resort owned by the Keiser family. (Courtesy of Sand Valley/Evan Schiller)
Keiser and his family aren’t stopping in Oregon, either. Sons Michael and Chris operate Sand Valley, which has two of the best courses in Wisconsin, the eponymous Sand Valley layout and Mammoth Dunes. The Lido, a new course at Sand Valley that replicates in painstaking detail by Doak a famed course of the same name in New Jersey that was paved over during World War II, is scheduled to open in 2023.
Michael and Chris Keiser also are working to restore Glenway Golf Club in Madison, Wisconsin, and there are initial plans to build more courses, possibly even in the Florida Panhandle at an undisclosed site not far from Destin.
And Keiser, who previously predicted that Sheep Ranch would be the last course to open at Bandon Dunes, said there are plenty of great sites for golf along the Oregon coast, several of them even better than Bandon Dunes. While flying low over the countryside in a propeller plane, he has seen stretches of open land that make him dream of more golf holes.
“I’ve got the bug,” he said. “There is more land, although there is no more land that I own. You never know.”
KOHLER, Wis. – Destination Kohler in Wisconsin, home to golf clubs at Whistling Straits and Blackwolf Run, is in for a very big year. Aside from being a booming destination with four full-size golf courses and a overflowing menu of top-tier amenities on or near the shore of Lake Michigan, the Straits will welcome one of the game’s largest events as the Ryder Cup tees off in September.
But the small things matter too, and Destination Kohler recently opened a compact golf experience that promises big fun. The Baths of Blackwolf Run – a 10-hole, par-3 course sitting on 27 acres at Blackwolf Run – promises laughs and a few cold ones in a fantastic setting, complete with a 2-acre putting course, an events patio, a firepit, even an old claw-foot bathtub that pays tribute to the Kohler brand of plumbing supplies.
Pete Dye built the four big courses at Kohler, and his protégé, Chris Lutzke, built The Baths with a focus on playability for any level of player. There are formal tees, but golfers are encouraged to tee it up from whatever length they like on a given hole – just find a flat spot and swing away.
“Play it from wherever you want, whatever you want to do,” said Mike O’Reilly, the golf operations manager at Destination Kohler. “There’s some recommended tee boxes out there, but you can do whatever you like. That’s really all about fun.”
A rendering of the par-3 course at The Baths at Blackwolf Run at Destination Kohler in Wisconsin, host resort of the 2021 Ryder Cup. Photo courtesy of Destination Kohler
O’Reilly said he has taken his young sons to the course, and they can play from different distances to make the holes right-sized. His 9-year-old plays from about 60 yards, while his 11-year-old plays from about 100. A similar approach can work for new players of any age, allowing accomplished players to hit a few longer shots while their newbie friends experience the course at a manageable yardage.
“You build fun into a short course by making it flexible,” O’Reilly said. “Almost every one of the holes, you could play from about 60 yards, and then the longest one, you could play from about 175 yards. If you play the proper tee boxes, they’re all going to play between 80 and 170 yards.
“So, you build fun into it by making it not terribly penal. … You just make it a little more playable and give those options for proper tee boxes.”
It makes it a perfect respite from the resort’s larger courses, especially the Straits, which ranks as No. 1 on Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play list for Wisconsin and No. 8 on Golfweek’s Best Modern Courses list for all layouts opened in or after 1960 in the United States. The Straits is beautiful, one of Dye’s masterpieces and the site of three PGA Championships, but it’s a major test without a lot of shots that allow a player to relax.
At The Baths, maybe have a drink, make a few putts, enjoy an easy stroll across the 10 holes, scorecard optional.
“We’re going to be serving Spotted Cows like crazy up there,” O’Reilly said of the Wisconsin-brewed ale. “I think people are going to come out to play and find themselves hanging out for two hours after they’re done playing.”
Golfweek videographer Gabe Gudgel flew his drone over The Baths shortly before it opened, and the video shows the dramatic landscape and holes that promise to welcome players of all abilities.
Tiger Woods built a par-3 Playground course at Jack’s Bay in the Bahamas and is slated to build a full 18-hole course.
Tiger Woods’ 10-hole Playground has opened at Jack’s Bay in Eleuthera, Bahamas, with the 10-hole par-3 course joining a growing trend of premium short courses at destinations around the world.
The Playground sits atop a bluff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, and the holes range from 55 to 170 yards and can be played in multiple configurations. The Blue Bar snack shop sits off the fourth tee.
“It is great to be part of this spectacular project in paradise,” Woods said in a press release. “The natural terrain and coastline are incredibly beautiful and call for an equally spectacular golf experience. The golf course complements the true spirit of the Jack’s Bay development because it’s designed for golfers to have fun, foster friendships and create memories within an unforgettable setting.”
Tiger Woods designed the par-3 Playground course at Jack’s Bay in the Bahamas. (Courtesy of Jack’s Bay Company)
The private Jack’s Bay is a 964-acre property with 2 ½ miles of Atlantic Ocean frontage 10 minutes from Rock Sound International Airport. Woods’ TGR Design also is slated to build an 18-hole course at the property that will include approximately 500 residences, bluffs that reach 80 feet above the ocean and a pink sand beach. The Playground was the first major recreational amenity to open at the community.
“Bringing Tiger to this private membership community opportunity in the Bahamas is nothing short of remarkable,” Franklyn Wilson, chairman of Jack’s Bay Company, said in the release. “Uniting the rich Bahamian cultural heritage and Eleuthera’s unmatched beauty with the skill and attention to detail brought to the table by Tiger Woods and TGR Design, makes this an exceptional opportunity.”
The welcome sign for the par-3 Playground course at Jack’s Bay in the Bahamas. (Courtesy of Jack’s Bay Company)
Adding short courses is a growing trend for operators of premium golf destinations, with the 13-hole, par-3 Preserve at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon and the nine-hole, par-3 Cradle at Pinehurst in North Carolina serving as prime examples.
The shorter courses can attract families and novices as well as serve as a fun break from larger, traditional courses for traveling groups of players looking to fill an evening with a few cocktails and laughs.
