The oceanside city of Bandon, Oregon, is situated farther north than cities like Chicago, Illinois, and Erie, Pennsylvania – both of which have been known to catch some stray snowstorms even deep into the month of April. While the nearby Pacific makes snow rare at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, competitors in the 58th PGA Professional Championship this month should probably be prepared for just about anything and everything else Mother Nature can throw at them.
“April is a unique time of year for us,” says PGA Master Professional Jeff Simonds, the PGA of America General Manager at Bandon Dunes. “It’s when the weather is transitioning from our winter prevailing winds to the summer prevailing winds. One day we could get wind from the south, the next out of the north, and that makes everything play completely differently.
“I think it’s going to make for a fascinating Championship. The course setup is going to be very interesting, and we’ll have to be very flexible – and so will the competitors.”
Simonds advises players to focus on preparation, making sure they have the right layering and rain gear with them, as well as knowing when to put it on or take it off. And, of course, not letting the weather rattle them.
“It really comes down to the mental side of the game, being flexible in the face of changing conditions,” Simonds says. “If you’re expecting 65 degrees and calm, or even a steady breeze all day, you’re going to be mistaken.”
Competitors will split their first two rounds between the David McLay Kidd-designed Bandon Dunes and Tom Doak’s Pacific Dunes layout, and the two courses are adjacent to each other on the oceanside dunes. PGA of America Chief Championships Officer Kerry Haigh and PGA Senior Director of Member and Amateur Championships Matt Weinberger, PGA, are planning with Simonds and the Bandon Dunes agronomy team on having championship conditions in any weather.
“We’ve been working closely with Fred Yates, the Bandon Dunes Director of Agronomy, and the whole team, and this is the earliest on the calendar that they’ve ever hosted a championship,” Weinberger says. “When you think about links-style courses, you think of dry, firm and fast – but in April, it will be greener, a little more lush.”
While many competitors have been to Bandon Dunes for recreational golf, they’ll experience a different type of course setup for the PGA Professional Championship. Additional mowing and rolling will get the greens to championship speed, while several tee boxes and hole positions that are too challenging for recreational golfers will be options throughout the week.
For their round on Pacific Dunes, a pair of short par 4s could be key for players near the cut line. The sixth and the 16th holes could provide a chance to drive the green, depending on the wind, bringing scores from eagle to double bogey into play.
“Those are both holes where players can see 310, 315 yards on the scorecard and suddenly your eyes get big and you pull the driver,” Simonds says. “If you end up in the wrong spot, you could walk off with a double bogey and say, ‘That was it.’ Depending on whether a player started on the front or back, one of those two holes could make the difference in making the cut.”
As competitors take on the home stretch at Bandon Dunes in the final round, Nos. 17 and 18 both provide birdie opportunities. The Championship could ultimately be won or lost, however, by the events on the 15th and 16th holes.
The 15th is a challenging par 3 that will surely garner much attention. In the USGA championships held at Bandon Dunes, this hole has regularly played as one of the layout’s three toughest holes. The angle of the hole creates tricky wind calculations, often calling for a long knockdown shot into an elevated green protected by a deep bunker that could charitably be described as “nasty.”
Following is the par-4 16th hole, featuring an iconic location along the Pacific coast and a dramatic risk-reward design heightened by the potential change in wind direction from day to day. It will come down to consultations between the PGA of America Championships team and an on-site meteorologist, but it’s possible the hole could use a shorter tee and be set up as a drivable par 4 in one of the last two rounds.
“We have a lot of course setup options on Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes, and we’ll be taking all of them into consideration to challenge the field,” Weinberger says.
“Players are going to be able to get very creative with their club selections, and I’m looking forward to having at least one round where the 16th at Bandon Dunes is playing as a drivable par 4. That will create a lot of excitement coming down the stretch.”—Don Jozwiak
