EarthGolf

Bandon, Oregon is becoming a hotbed of golf course construction. Its newest course, which is not affiliated with the famous Bandon Dunes resort, is set to open this week. Wednesday, Bandon Crossings will open for “preview” rounds. The course is 5 miles inland from the coast and 10 miles from the resort, according to the course’s website. Its other differentiating factor is cost - $75, which is $175 less than Bandon Dunes’ prime time rates. Bandon Crossing will also offer the use of carts, something that Bandon Dunes does not.

The golf course architect is Oregonian Dan Hixson. He wrote a lengthy article at Cybergolf called “The Genesis of Designing a Course”. An interesting title, given that this is his real first design of a course from scratch. It’s a really good read, and Hixson’s excitement for the course easily comes through in the article. (It’s interesting - so many golf course architects also are talented writers. Not sure why that is, but it seems to be the norm rather than the exception.)

The Oregonian newspaper wrote a lengthy and interesting profile on Hixson, noting how he came to have the job of designing Bandon Crossings.

Hixson’s big break came when an old friend, Mark Keating, who was then head pro at Shadow Hills Country Club near Junction City, told him of a couple who were members at Keating’s course. Rex and Carla Smith were in the process of buying property in Bandon with the intent of building a golf course, but were having trouble finding a designer who agreed with their vision.

Hixson met with the Smiths at their house in Eugene, and they hired him an hour later.

Hixson immersed himself in the project, spending more than 200 nights in a farmhouse on the property. He’s pleased with how he has been able to carry out the vision he and the Smiths formed. They wanted a daily fee course, but one where the ambience wasn’t one of a big-city, cram-foursomes-in muni. Instead they wanted what Hixson calls an “excursion round” — good, challenging-but-not-impossible golf played in a scenic setting.

Oregon’s Word Link newspaper also has an article talking about the course.

“Dan (Hixson) can be credited with incredible amounts of hard work. Tony (Russell) is an artist. Brian (Felton), his shaper, is amazing. The whole crew did an excellent job.”

What Smith and Fiore expect golfers first experiencing Bandon Crossings to find is a course that is challenging to play and beautiful to experience, with a rustic design that uses the natural features of the land well.

“The plan was not to move too much dirt,” Smith said. “We ended up moving a lot of dirt, but we didn’t lose the feel.”

The course is marked by rolling fairways lined with the local vegetation - native huckleberry and rhododendron bushes, tall grasses and wildflowers, and towering trees, including firs, cedars, pines and madrones.

And if Dan Hixson happens to see this, please shoot me an e-mail, or leave a comment with your website if you have one. Google tells me you don’t have one yet.

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