Elite Traveler Summer 2021

etr li at ve eler SUMMER 2021 145

SHEEP RANCH, BANDON DUNES OREGON, USA By the time golfers reach the halfway mark of their rounds at Sheep Ranch — the latest course at Bandon Dunes Resort, which opened in June of 2020 — they will have stood on six greens perched right on the edge of a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. In total, the Coore & Crenshaw-designed course features nine holes that either hug the edge of that bluff from tee to green or culminate in ocean-side putting surfaces. “The routing that Bill and Ben did is proof of their genius,” says Keiser. For all the dramatic and unobstructed views of the ocean that Sheep Ranch delivers, one thing that golfers won’t see while on the course is sand — at least not in the form of any on-course bunkers. The course’s location is the most exposed of any area of the resort, which means the land is constantly battered by gusty winds. It was deemed that those winds would make it difficult to keep the necessary amounts of sand in the bunkers at all times. Additionally, those winds alone provide a stout defense against low scores. “Had we given Bill and Ben the green light to include sand bunkers, they’d probably have 10,” Keiser acknowledges. “In part because of the exposure to the wind, but also because it’s such a natural site, the course didn’t need them.” bandondunesgolf.com

DUMBARNIE LINKS SCOTLAND

When Scotland’s newest links course opened for play in May of 2020, almost a decade had passed since the land had first been identified as prime golfing terrain. Set across 345 acres, Dumbarnie Links boasts a mile and a half of sea frontage and offers panoramic views of Muirfield, North Berwick and — on a clear day — Edinburgh out across the Firth of Forth. It also benefits from dual elevations, which allowed course architect Clive Clark to take an unconventional routing strategy, laying out holes in two big loops and utilizing elevated tees for the holes that play directly towards those aforementioned panoramic views. Due to a tightening of governmental restrictions within the UK as it pertains to ecologically sensitive areas, the course’s routing had to be carefully planned. Even before that, however, the course’s developers had to convince Lord Anthony Balniel, whose family had owned the land since the 16th century, that the course would positively impact the area. With Lord Balniel’s eventual blessing, construction crews began sculpting flat farmland into intriguing dunescapes. The resulting course is one that has some early players declaring that it could immediately host an Open Championship. While that’s unlikely to happen, Dumbarnie Links appears poised to become a bucket-list destination not unlike the already famous courses in nearby St. Andrews. dumbarnielinks.com