57 “The hole itself features a tabletop green perched on a dune ridge. The green is hidden behind a portion of the dune, which masks its generous size. A contoured putting surface places a premium on accuracy from the tee. However, generous feeding contours from the right will allow for creative shotmaking, even putter strokes, to reach a variety of pin locations.” Another highlight among the opening holes is the fifth, a change from WAC Golf’s original routing. Local constructor Tony Russell, who has worked on every course at Bandon, cleared some trees to the left of the planned fifth green site. “When we looked at the result, the benefits to golf were great,” says Cutten. “The new clearing allowed the fifth green to slide left and closer to the property line. This new siting allowed for a green that, instead of sitting into the dune and being pitched from back to front, now sits beside the dune ridge and runs away from play. The result is a unique green unlike anything else on the property. The variety of shots that can be hit to this green are infinite.” Russell and his crew assisted WAC Golf with the heavy lifting components for the construction of Shorty’s, and the project team also included irrigation designer Greg Baer and Bandon’s head of agronomy Ken Nice and team, who assisted with irrigation and managed grow-in. “Among the many natural holes at Shorty’s, that nature simply gifted us, the sixteenth was so very obvious; just sitting there waiting to be grassed,” says Cutten. “With a natural blowout frontleft, and the largest dune sitting directly behind, the formation of surrounding sand had created a huge natural bowl for the green. We kept the natural movement and simply enhanced the existing contours within the bowl to create a hole with a lot of options. From the elevated tees, the most fun shot here would be to simply send the ball low and allow for it to rollercoaster over the contours onto the putting surface.” It would be fair to say that Bandon’s new design team has delivered a gift for the resort. And fair too to say vice versa. Either way, golfers will be enjoying the present when Shorty’s opens on 2 May. The design team used the site’s dune ridges to frame holes, as well as link tees, fairways and greens together Photos: Bandon Dunes Golf Resort
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzQ1NTk=