Have played Marcella in the Trackman simulator as it was the course for one of our offseason leagues. One thing I noticed between it and Payne's valley is how wide the fairways are and how, dare I say, straightforward and non-difficult it is to play it although Im sure the altitude helps with that. It made me think though that Jack Nicklaus has the reputation of building overly hard courses due to his experience of what it would take to challenge a good golfer. It seems Tiger Woods (or his associates) has swerved in the opposite direction trying to build more wide open courses open to all. I wonder if this trend will continue and if so what it tells us about Tiger's design philosophy.

It is surprising that he hasn’t chased distance at all

I really need to get a subscription to The Pilot! It seems like a great paper. Some affordable golf in the area would really help out! WP was great for the price before. The bones of a cool course are there but it just isn't quite maintained the way it should be. I would love to get out sometime! Is there a group chat or something that people talk in?

I think the path forward for him is the Matt Fitzpatrick speed program.

Scottie Texas Ranger is now fully actualized. I think this dominant Open win earned him his promotion to Chief. The absurd Chuck Norris jokes from the early aughts are all applicable to the golf inevitability we are witnessing from him.

I have the same fear as you, Jacob! The identity of the Sandhills has changed drastically and it seems to be heading further down that road. Fingers crossed for Stephen's positivity to come true.

Jacob, the article in The Pilot did make it sound like they hoped to keep WP/FF more affordable (now who knows what that means) and accessible to locals. I used to play WP a lot when I briefly lived in Southern Pines but it has gone way downhill the last couple times I played. If you are local to the Sandhills, let’s try to tee it up sometime! There are a few of us FEGC folks here in the Triangle!

Trails is my favorite course at Bandon. It's oddly the most beautiful in my mind despite not being near the ocean. It feels peaceful, and as mentioned, the routing is superb. The par 3 12th is a clunker and numbers one and 18 are just meh (though they serve their purpose moving you from the dunes), but there is not another bad hole on the course. Even the uphill 15th presents a difficult strategic choice for longer hitters. Do you go for it in two knowing there is significant trouble surrounding the green and the potential for a lost ball or take your chances with a shorter uphill/blind wedge shot. Often the amount of wind dictates. Loved this course.

This course is the most impressive piece of golf architecture I have ever seen. It truly feels like two separate golf courses. I absolutely believe you could put someone out there who knows nothing about it and not tell them it's a reversible course and they wouldn't know. The alternate tee boxes are hidden or blend so well you wouldn't know. The greens work coming from both directions. It's truly remarkable what Doak and team were able to do here.

This is an amazing golf course. Perhaps the very best at Bandon Dunes. Great mix of challenging and scoreable holes. Plays well in heavy winds because of the width it provides, and unlike Pacific and Trails, you are still alive the majority of the time the wind blows your ball way off line. Out of position certainly, but not dead in gorse or 2 feet high grass. The third, seventh, and sixteenth are three of the best holes on property, but there are virtually zero stinkers. All have at least some architectural or strategic interest. Agree with Garret, the redan doesn't really work. The false front makes it so that balls must fly onto the green and at that distance in those winds, it can be impossible to hold. Definitely deserving of its two egg status.