“Words don’t really do the site justice.”
—Mike Keiser
New Shorty’s logo unveiled
The roots of our experience exist in the surrounding flora and fauna. Shorty Dow understood that. He was the caretaker of the property for decades prior to it becoming what is now known as Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. He prided himself on being curious, knowing the land, and constantly documenting the varying species he’d come across while exploring. However, Shorty did have one furry foe, a black bear, who was as elusive as they come.
While Shorty is no longer alive, his spirit surely is. And it’s out there among the dunes he loved, maybe chasing that elusive bear he never saw, though he swore up and down that it existed.
When you finally get the chance to explore Shorty’s we hope you will be on the lookout as well. Stay tuned later this winter for an official opening date!
New Bandon Par 3 to be named Shorty’s
“On a recent walk reviewing the routing for the new Par 3, I was inspired by my first memory of meeting Shorty Dow. Everyone knows of the vista near 14 tee on Bandon Trails where Shorty first took our group, but he also hiked us along the Ridge Trail to tour a location where I could have a clear view of the dunes that lay underneath all the encroaching gorse. Looking out over the same set of dunes on that recent walk I thought, ‘This is the land that Shorty would want to oversee.’”
—Mike Keiser
The Routing
Mike Keiser, known for his personal scale of grading conceptual holes during planning, says the property abounds with limitless opportunity for great golf. Yes, that means almost unheard of scores—think eights and nines—on Keiser’s scale out of 10.
How did it go from 12 to 19 holes?
“…it was just a good, fun walk. We didn’t want the walk to end. Can you guys find some more holes?”
—Dave Axland in Golf Digest
A first look at Shorty’s, Bandon’s new par-3 course.
Architects:
Rod Whitman, Dave Axland, and Keith Cutten
Details:
A 19-hole par-3 course
Opening:
No schedule for opening yet.
Where is it?
The new short course at the resort will be located between the first hole of Bandon Trails and the ocean to the west. The site, with its incredible long views, has enormous potential.
On a mission:
Similar to its neighboring short course, Bandon Preserve, the new short course will again be a ‘course with a mission,’ directly funding the Wild Rivers Coast Alliance’s grant-making efforts on the Southern Oregon Coast.
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“I expect it to give the Preserve a run for its money.”
—Mike Keiser on GOLF.com