It's simply known as "The Invitational"

So this is for all my golfing buddies out there. I have had 2 golfing trips that have to be near the top of any “live like you were dying” list. If you haven’t noticed…I reference the name of my blog where I can.

So now to my story. Bandon Dunes opened in 1999 on the Oregon Coast and has become rated as one of the top 2 golf resorts in the United States, along with Pebble Beach. Well, I started taking a group of guys there back in 2000 and have gone back at least once every year since (two years I made 2 trips). That first trip was 4 of us in 2000. Since then I have held the “Bandon Invitational” every year from 2001 to 2006 with between 8 and 12 guys. The 2007 Invitational is set for April 20 to 22.

There are now 3 courses at Bandon Dunes and in Golf Magazine’s 2006 Top 100 courses you can play, they consider Pacific Dunes #1, Bandon Dunes #5 and Bandon Trails #10. In a 2006 issue of Golf Odyssey they quoted, “Bandon Trails cements Bandon Dunes’ position as the single best place to play golf in the world.”

That gives you a little perspective of where I’m coming from. I’m not the only one that thinks this place is pretty special. Since I have been in their reservation system since near their opening, I have received special invitations to play Pacific and Trails on opening day. Needless to say, I accepted. So 12 of us went down there in 2001 to play Pacific Dunes and I took another group of 12 in 2005 for the opening of Bandon Trails.

It was a pretty awesome experience. You get your group picture professionally taken on the tee box with the owner and course designer along with a commemorative opening day coin. We all signed an opening day banner at Pacific, but I have yet to see where this has been stored.

Now the quality of the course can only make a golf experience good to a point. If you have nobody there to enjoy it with…it isn’t nearly as special. So imagine going on one of these trips with guys like this. First off though, the journey begins with us out-of-towners flying into Portland. We used to play a “practice” round in the Portland area on Friday and then drive down to Bandon and play Saturday and Sunday. Since they added Bandon Trails, we now play all 3 rounds down there.

So now back to what makes this trip so unique. First of all, you definitely need a core group of guys that go every single time. There are 2 guys that go all the way back to 2000 and have gone every year. In order to protect the names of the innocent, let’s call these guys "Mike and Brian." These are two cool cats. Take a guy like the one I call “Mike.” This guy is admittedly one of the poorer golfers in the group…hey, let’s face it, he’s the worst…and it’s not a really close second. So get this, he plays once a year and shows up every year to the Invitational… “cold turkey”…with only the dried sweat on his grips from the prior year’s tournament. He’s likely to tee it up on Day 1 at Bandon and go 7, 3, 11 on the first 3 holes (par 4,3,5)…all the while smiling and laughing down the fairway. Now mind you, the first year we went it was $30 a round…he now shows up and pays $150 to $200 a loop for the “love of the game.” We play 3 courses over the weekend and, believe it or not, you actually want him as you partner at Bandon…the other 2 courses…not so much. Let’s call the other guy who’s there year in and year out, “Brian.” This dude is as tall as a Redwood, and nearly as smart. Through all my efforts to handicap the tournament appropriately, this guy has still managed to win about 3 times. Of course it helps that he comes from a climate where he can play year-round and he owns the best foot-wedge in the game…bar-none. What stands out about this Phil Simms look-a-like…other than his size 14 feet…is he adds a much needed level of comic relief and an ample supply of movie quotes to which I am always a fan. In reality, I plan the trip to see these 2 guys more than the golf itself…which is why I always look forward to the 4 hour drive from Portland to the resort…we get to relive the previous trips all over again.

Then there are those guys that are there nearly every trip. Let’s call these guys Jon, Ron, and the other Mike. I like these guys because they aren’t as good a golfer as me…it’s the perfect recipe for a tournament in my opinion. Jon and Ron are brothers and tough to tell apart since they were born within hours of each other. These 3 are all “sneaky fast” though. By that I mean, they may shoot 108, but then again they may shoot 92…so I’m never sure if I want them as my partner. I don’t fear any of them in the putting contest, however…which is nice. Jon always has a new putting routine, which I enjoy. Ron always has a new car…I mean oversized, all-terrain, self-defense, high priced, platoon mover for guys to ride in. Mike is one of the few guys I don’t have to strain my neck to look up at and always has enough cash in his pocket to cover his bets when the first Mike is dealing Acey Ducey.

Now, what about the guys with the nicknames? You always need 1 or 2 of them. Let’s call the first guy Harry or “H” for short. I don’t know how 1 guy can have such a big impact, but this is the 1 guy that can. He starts psyching you out on the drive down as he takes phantom practice swings in the gas station parking lots. Be aware if you hear, “Be careful guys!” on the course…you could be directly in the path of a low screaming slice. He’s the East-coast influence in the bunch. By that I mean, he’s round, Jewish, and thinks he’s all that…on the basketball court, that may be true…on the golf course…mmmm…you can get in his kitchen. Oh, and he’s a lefty. He was the original homey hat trend setter. The new reigning homey hat king, however, is "Foosh." I love having this guy around…I’m so much taller than he will ever be. Foosh sported the homey hat in his inaugural Invitational last year and followed it with flip flops during the Survivor Putting Challenge…that may be a fashion statement, but on a sleet filled, 50mph wind aided, 45 degree evening…I’d go with the shoes. After 6 years of 4 guys to a room with 2 king beds, we found our first solo act. Not only did he cover his portion of the group room, but he then plunked another 2-bills a night for a separate room so he could fly solo under the sheets. I guess when you’re that small you’re easily spooked.

For the Trails opening, I was able to attract some fresh blood from my new hometown of Boise. Let’s call those guys, Jake, Todd, Dave, Rob, and Josh. In that group we had our first real golfer in Jake as the only participant to carry a single digit handicap. What does that mean? He has NO chance of winning the tourney with this group of sandbagging hackers. I admit, it was strange to play a round with a guy that wasn’t in the deerbrush or unintentionally launching a drive into the ocean every other hole. He didn’t see near as much of the course as the rest of us…and his $ per shot was way more costly than the rest of the group. Dave and Rob are the 2 permagrin guys. They walked those 3 courses…along with Witch Hollow at Pumpkin Ridge, smiling like a new daddy all day long. Todd circles that single digit handicap area so he is really overmatched as well. He prefers to measure himself against other golfers by his height…who can blame him. Josh found out that you can’t muscle your way around these courses. The wind does what she wants with the ball and you just gotta hope it finds grass every know and then.

The rest of the crew you may see every few years. Let’s call them Phil, Don, Scott, Tim, The ROCK, Aaron, John, and Jim. We hope to see them again, but they utter excuses like, “I can’t afford it”… “I’m out of vacation time”… “My wife is wearing my pants this year”… or “It’s a long way from Canada.”

So with that we have another trip upcoming, the field is still being set. Let me know if you want in! This year we have a new slogan almost like those guys on the PGA Tour…

“These guys aren’t good.”