4 Day Bandon Dunes Itinerary
No resort on earth packs this much great links golf into one walkable property. From a single base above the southern Oregon coast you play four of the finest public courses in America on four straight mornings, every one firm, fescue and walking only, with the Pacific crashing below. Here is the four day plan, course by course, with indicative 2026 green fees, the caddie and weather advice that matters and where to stay on site.
Photograph: Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, via Google.
Who this trip suits
This is the American links pilgrimage, built for the golfer who would rather walk firm fescue above the ocean than ride a cart through a resort. Bandon Dunes is remote by design, a long drive or a small plane hop to the southern Oregon coast, and the reward for getting there is five championship courses inside one gate, each ranked among the best you can play in the country. Four days lets you play the four marquee eighteens without rushing, leaving the fifth course and the short courses for a return. It suits a buddies trip, a serious golfing couple or anyone chasing the great modern links in a single week.
Two things shape the plan. First, everything is walking only, with a caddie or a push cart, so the days are physical and the weather is part of the test. Second, the courses are close together, a short walk or shuttle apart, so you never move hotels and the evenings stay free for the lodge, the pub and the Punchbowl. Book the rooms and the tee times early, play one course a day and keep your rain gear within reach.
The 4 day plan
Bandon Dunes
Begin where it all began. David McLay Kidd was barely thirty when he laid out Bandon Dunes in 1999, the course that proved American golfers would travel for pure walking links. It runs along the bluff tops with the ocean in view on the great stretch around the fourth and the sixteenth, big, bold and generous off the tee, a fine first day to find your feet and your wind game. Indicative 2026 green fees for resort guests sit around 375 dollars in peak season. Take a caddie on day one to learn the lines.
Pacific Dunes
For many the best of the lot. Tom Doak's Pacific Dunes opened in 2001 and routinely tops the rankings of America's greatest public courses, a wilder, more intimate links than its neighbour with blowout bunkers, two back to back par 3s and the famous ocean holes at the thirteenth and the fourteenth. It is shorter than the card suggests and all the more demanding for it, a thinking golfer's course. Same indicative green fee as the rest, around 375 dollars in peak 2026. Play it midweek if you can for the quietest sheet.
Old Macdonald
A change of character worth the legs. Old Macdonald, opened in 2010 by Tom Doak and Jim Urbina, is a tribute to the template holes of C.B. Macdonald, all huge, rolling, double width fairways and enormous greens that ask you to use the ground and read the slopes. It is the most open and the most fun to play in a stiff breeze, a wide canvas after the tighter test of Pacific Dunes. Indicative 2026 green fee around 375 dollars for resort guests. Walk it with a push cart and let the contours do the work.
Sheep Ranch
Finish on the edge of the continent. Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw's Sheep Ranch, opened in 2020, has no bunkers and nine greens perched along the bluff above the Pacific, the most exposed and most spectacular of the five. With the ocean as the only hazard it lives and dies by the wind, a thrilling, photographic close to the four days. Indicative 2026 green fees match the resort, around 375 dollars in peak season. Save it for last and play it in the late light if the forecast allows.
Evenings and a possible fifth round: the par 3 Preserve, designed by Coore and Crenshaw, and the free Punchbowl putting course are the perfect way to fill an afternoon, and Bandon Trails, the Coore and Crenshaw course routed inland through dunes and forest, is the natural fifth eighteen if you add a day. Always confirm current tee times directly before booking.
Green fees, access and logistics
| Course | Indicative 2026 fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bandon Dunes | Around 375 dollars, peak | David McLay Kidd 1999; the bluff top original |
| Pacific Dunes | Around 375 dollars, peak | Tom Doak 2001; widely rated the best of the five |
| Old Macdonald | Around 375 dollars, peak | Doak and Urbina 2010; template holes, vast greens |
| Sheep Ranch | Around 375 dollars, peak | Coore and Crenshaw 2020; clifftop, no bunkers |
Green fees and access verified indicatively in June 2026 from resort sources; the single course fee falls in spring, autumn and winter and is higher for day guests than resort guests, and all play is walking only with a caddie or push cart. Figures change without notice, so always confirm current rates and access directly before booking. Check Bandon Dunes tee time availability.
When to go and where to stay
Play between May and October, when the southern Oregon coast is at its driest and the long northern days let you walk dawn to dusk, with June to September the busiest and most settled. Spring and autumn give you firmer turf, lower fees and thinner crowds in exchange for a real chance of wind and rain, while winter is the cheapest and wildest links golf in America for those who pack for it. Stay inside the gate so the golf runs from your door: the Lodge sits above the practice area, while the Lily Pond, Chrome Lake and Grove cottages spread across the property and suit groups who want their own porch. Getting there means a flight to the small North Bend airport or a scenic drive of around four to five hours from Portland or Eugene. Book the rooms and the marquee tee times as far ahead as you can. Always confirm current rates and availability directly before booking.
Looking for a room? See our recommended places to stay at and around Bandon Dunes.
Plan your Bandon Dunes golf trip
We hold the four marquee tee times, match the lodge or a cottage to your group, arrange the caddies and sort the flights or the drive so the four days run smoothly. Tell us roughly when and who is travelling, and one concierge costs it to the head, with no obligation.
Bandon Dunes itinerary questions
What is the best 4 day itinerary at Bandon Dunes?
Play one of the five championship courses each day and you cannot go wrong, but the classic order is Bandon Dunes, the David McLay Kidd original from 1999, on day one, Tom Doak's Pacific Dunes on day two, Old Macdonald, the Doak and Jim Urbina tribute to C.B. Macdonald, on day three, and Coore and Crenshaw's clifftop Sheep Ranch on day four. Add the par 3 Preserve and the Punchbowl putting course in the evenings. Everything is walking only with a caddie or a push cart. Always confirm current tee times and fees directly before booking.
How much does a 4 day Bandon Dunes golf trip cost in green fees?
All five 18 hole courses share one green fee. For resort guests the indicative 2026 peak season rate, roughly May through October, is around 375 dollars per round, with replays and the shoulder and winter seasons a good deal lower and day visitors paying a premium. Four marquee rounds therefore run from around 1,500 dollars in green fees alone in peak season. The par 3 Preserve and the practice courses are extra and modest. These are indicative figures, so always confirm current fees directly before booking.
Do you have to walk at Bandon Dunes?
Yes. Bandon Dunes is a walking only resort in the Scottish and Irish tradition. You take a caddie, carry your own bag or use a push cart on every course. Carts are reserved for guests with a documented medical need. The walks are part of the appeal, but they are real, so a 36 hole day asks for genuine fitness and good rain gear.
When is the best time to play Bandon Dunes?
May to October is the prime window, with June to September the driest and busiest. Spring and autumn bring firmer, faster turf, fewer crowds and lower fees, with a real chance of wind and rain off the Pacific. Winter is the cheapest and the wildest, true links weather for the hardy. Book the rooms and the marquee tee times as far ahead as you can, especially for summer and for larger groups. Always confirm current rates and availability directly before booking.
Related
The Tee Sheet
Tee time releases, green fee changes and the booking windows that matter. Every other week.
Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course designers, years and indicative green fees verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.