Bandon Dunes

With acclaimed coastal Oregon resort shuttered during pandemic, caddies have been caught in the economic downturn, but they are organizing a drive of their own to survive

When Bandon Dunes Golf Resort opened its first course in 1999 no one knew what would become of this course

Location: Bandon, Ore.

The story of Bandon Dunes easily could have been lumped in with the Ford Edsel or New Coke as some of the biggest commercial flops in history. To think that someone would purchase 1,200-plus acres of land, predominantly covered in gorse bushes, with its lone redeeming quality being an extensive shoreline on the Pacific Ocean, well, it just as easily could have been called Keiser’s Folly. That’s what was unknown in 1999, when Bandon Dunes opened to the public on Sunday, May 2.

For the fifth time in the history of the U.S. Amateur, the 2018 U.S. Amateur will be hosted by Pebble Beach Golf Links.

Settled: By Bandon Dunes Golf Resort and corporate parent KemperSports, a sexual-misconduct lawsuit filed by an employee, Portland, Ore., TV station KGW reported, citing court documents. Darla Hamblin, the resort’s director of reservation services, sued then-general manager Henry Hickox and KemperSports, alleging sexual assault, harassment, discrimination, retaliation and negligence. She had sought $501,000 for emotional distress and damages. The trial had been set to begin Tuesday in Coos County Circuit Court. No details about the settlement were disclosed. KemperSports said Hickox is no longer employed by the company, KGW-TV reported. The resort on Oregon’s Pacific Coast has become one of America’s top golf destinations since opening in 1999.

Relocated: The 2019 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship, from Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash., to Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Ore., the U.S. Golf Association announced Tuesday. The move was made to accommodate a turfgrass change at Chambers Bay, which will transition its greens from fescue to Poa annua. Chambers Bay, a 2007 Robert Trent Jones Jr. design, sits on the Puget Sound site of a former sand/gravel quarry. The course was widely criticized for its bumpy putting surfaces during the 2015 U.S. Open, which Jordan Spieth won when Dustin Johnson three-putted the 72nd hole from 12 feet. Chambers Bay will play host to the 2021 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball, the USGA said.

Location: Bandon Dunes, Ore.