Photo by Benjamin Brayfield

‘Since we have all this wind, we might as well celebrate it,” said Port Manager Gina Dearth.

WindFest is also an opportunity to celebrate local artisans and cottage industries. Last year, more than 30 vendors lined the Coquille River boardwalk, selling domestic arts and crafts in a wide range of genres. This year, WindFest revelers will find traditional art painting and photography prints, as well as glass art and jewelry.

Visitors can sample the scents and textures of handmade soap and candles. Local fiber arts include knitted, crocheted, embroidered and quilted goods. There are sweet treats from the dessert wagon and live music at the amphitheater. Classic rock performer Skeet will take the stage on Saturday afternoon, and the Hudson Ridge bluegrass band will play Sunday afternoon.

Co-sponsored by Koffee ‘n Kites, WindFest activities include family kite flying Saturday afternoon and free kite making for children both days. Koffee ‘n Kites owner Laura Kreft said children of all ages enjoy assembling their kits and decorating kites with original designs. Kreft is an avid kite enthusiast herself.

“I like to put my MP3 player on and fly my stunt kites with music. It’s like dancing in the sky,” she said.

The Year of the Rabbit art show, sponsored by the Port of Bandon, Coos County Cultural Coalition and AVK Arts, features paintings by local students and adults. The paintings are on display through early September.

Boardwalk visitors can cast votes for their favorite adult and student art pieces at Tony’s Crab Shack. The Bandon boardwalk is also home to a permanent collection of wooden and metal sculptures by nationally recognized artists.

The newest sculpture, located near the boat launch, is an octopus by Chris Foltz of Coos Bay.

The boardwalk is located on the north side of First Street in Old Town Bandon. Admission is free. For more information, call the Port of Bandon at 541-347-3206.

By Geneva Miller
Special to The World
Geneva Miller is a freelance writer. She can be reached at migelyn@aol.com.

Photo by Benjamin Brayfield

Vendors will have booths with pet supplies for sale.

Want to know more? Call Penni Fields at 541-267-6356.

Managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bandon Marsh NWR was established in 1983. It includes areas set aside to provide habitat for shorebirds, waterfowl, salmon and other estuarine-dependent species.

The refuge is divided into two units. The Bandon Marsh Unit includes approximately 300 acres of tidally influenced estuary west of U.S. Highway 101, near the mouth of the Coquille River. Access and parking are available at an overlook on the west side of Riverside Drive. It includes an accessible boardwalk and deck, a bench and a stairway leading to the marsh.

Marsh visitors enjoy photography, hunting, fishing, clamming, birdwatching, educational activities and more.

An accessible observation deck allows the public to view the north end of the refuge. To visit the overlook, turn east onto North Bank Lane just north of Bullards Bridge, which is located about two miles north of Bandon on U.S. Highway 101.

Coquille Point and its associated rocks, reefs and islands, located at the west end of Bandon’s 11th Street Southwest, is part of the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge, which encompasses nearly 2,000 rocky islands along the coast. Birders watch rocks in spring and early summer for breeding puffins, gulls, cormorants and murres.

While Doris is changing costumes, actress Pam de Jong tells the story of Patsy Cline and how she became her best friend.

“The wonderful voice of Doris Smith and the unbelievable talent of Pam de Jong makes this one of the best shows ever to arrive to this area,” said Jeff Norris, Sprague Theater manager. ‘Whether you have seen this show before, or if it’s your first time, you will agree that there has never been a show like it.”

“Always … Patsy Cline” will play three weekends, Aug. 5, 6 and 7; Aug. 12, 13 and 14; and Aug. 19, 20 and 21. Friday and Saturday shows are at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday matinees are at 2 p.m.

Tickets are available at Bandon True Value, Bandon Mercantile, Billy’s Smoothboar’s Restaurant or by calling the Sprague Theater at 541-347-7426.

Photos by Steve McCasland

The volunteer festival committee, led by Chairwoman Colleen Showalter, promises all the traditional events plus a renewed focus on the town’s favorite berry.

This year’s theme is Follow the Cranberry Road, inviting all kinds of cranberry interpretations of ‘The Wizard of Oz.”

Bandon Chamber of Commerce Director Julie Miller says she is happy with the committee’s decision to move more of the events into Old Town, including reintroducing a parade grandstand at Delaware Avenue and U.S. Highway 101, the traditional cranberry food contest, a Bandon Dunes golf challenge and the new Cranberry City.

Photos by Steve McCasland

The usual events still are planned, including the Blessing of the Harvest on Friday morning, the Queen’s Coronation on Friday evening, the parade Saturday morning, the Old Town market place, the Lions Steak Barbecue, and the Cranberry Bowl football game Saturday afternoon.

For years, local bakers and chefs have entered their cranberry creations in hopes of winning the title Queen or King of the Kitchen, sponsored by the VFW Auxiliary.

This year, the VFW will hold a craft bazaar instead, and the Cranberry Food Fair will be held at the Harbortown Events Center. Along with the change in venue, entrants can try a new category — non-edible homemade cranberry products.

Golf Challenge

The Bandon Dunes Golf Challenge was added to the festival a few years ago. This year, the virtual beat-the-pro game again will be sponsored by Bandon Dunes but located in Old Town.

Other family-friendly activities include hands-on art with the Art 101 Washed Ashore project on Alabama Avenue near the Minute Cafe, and a Bringing Jack Back mural project on Second Street near the Bandon Coffee Cafe.

Entertainment Saturday night will include a Bringing Jack Back Evening of Music and Dance fundraiser at the Sprague Theater.

The new Cranberry City will be located on the Pedway between Baltimore and Alabama avenues.

Vendor space on Cranberry City is dedicated to handmade, locally produced, cranberry-themed products.

Miller says she anticipates the best festival yet.

By Geneva Miller

Sneaker waves appear without warning, slamming the beach with deadly force. They carry sand that can saturate your clothes, weighing you down and hindering your escape.

Be Safe: Never turn your back on the ocean.

Watch those logs

The ocean’s power can lift a log and drop it on top of you. Even small logs can weigh tons when they’re waterlogged.

Be Safe: If you see a log in the surf or on wet sand, stay away.

Rip currents

Swift currents rushing out to sea can sweep you off your feet, and they’re stronger than any swimmer. Dark, choppy water is one sign of a rip current. Debris and foam floating out to sea are another.

Be Safe: Keep children close when playing in the ocean. If caught in a rip current, don’t panic. Swim parallel to the beach until you are out of the current, then head for the beach.

Know the tides

Strolling out to an interesting rock can leave you stranded if the tide rolls in.

Be Safe: Stay off rocks and small, enclosed beaches. Pick up a free tide table at a state park, an information center, a shop or a motel.

High waves can reach you

Waves can sweep you off a rock, jetty or headland, carrying you out to sea.

Be Safe: Avoid exposed rocks, jetties and headlands during strong wave action. Don’t assume anything is ‘high enough.”

Beware of high, steep cliffs

Assume all cliff edges are unstable. Wet trails or soft ground can make for unstable footing. Rocks can be slippery even in dry weather.

Be Safe: Wear proper shoes, and stick to the trails. Stay behind guardrails and fences.

Heads up

Standing below a cliff can be dangerous. Storms and waves have eroded the shoreline in some places, increasing the chance of slides.

Be Safe: Beware of falling rocks. Don’t climb bluffs and eroding hillsides. Avoid the bases of cliffs.

These yurts are perfect for protecting campers from the moisture that comes in on the marine air.

Some people love the outdoors but prefer not to sleep amid the weather that gives Bandon its nickname, ‘The Storm Watching Capital of the World.”

There is a unique middle ground.

Located two miles north of Bandon, nestled between the Coquille River and the Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, Bullard’s Beach State Park is ideal for biking, camping, hiking and horseback riding.

Park officials invite people to explore the 4.5 miles of beach as they ride their bikes on the hard-packed sand. Horses are allowed on the beach and trails.

While the Coquille River Lighthouse and Bandon By the Sea are a few of the main attractions, a growing trend is attracting outdoor enthusiasts from across the country.

More comfortable than you might imagine.

The yurt camping program began in 1994 for campers without RVs or tent trailers. Each yurt site contains a domed, waterproof tent with wooden floor, electricity, heat, coffee table, skylight, windows and locking door, along with all the comforts of home, such as padded bunk beds and a fold-out couch.

Yurt camping gives campers a way to enjoy their vacations in any kind of weather. The whole family can have fun even if the weather rains on the parade.

Reservations can be made up to nine months in advance and at least two days prior. Yurts cost between $27 and $30 a night. For reservations call toll free (800) 551-6949 or visit www.oregonstateparks.org.

By Nia Towne

Creative seating lines the waterfront of Old Town Bandon. Just an example of some of the art that is on public display. Photos by Benjamin Brayfield

Photos by Benjamin Brayfield

Sea, sand and sawdust. These sea creatures are carved by talented, chainsaw-wielding artists whom you may be lucky enough to see compete at a carving contest. Don’t be afraid of this Orca or this crab, go ahead and check out the detail. In fact, get up close and personal on the waterfront of Old Town Bandon.

World Photo by John Gunther - Bradley Klein, one of the consultants for Old Macdonald, watches his putt role toward the hole on the first green during a round last week.

One hundred years ago, Charles Blair Macdonald opened a golf course that he hoped would introduce America to the best that golf had to offer.

Macdonald, who learned golf course architecture at St. Andrews in Scotland, the birthplace of the game, brought back ideas from many of the great European courses and put them to use at the National Golf Links in Southampton, N.Y.

A century later, a course that pays homage to Macdonald’s vision and ideals opens next week on Oregon’s South Coast.

Old Macdonald, the fourth course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, makes its official debut Tuesday.

Early reviews suggest that course architects Tom Doak and Jim Urbina, working with a consulting group of experts, have hit a figurative hole-in-one.

‘This is Scotland,” said Gary Morrow, who has played enough golf courses to know what he’s talking about. ‘You’ve got the gorse. It’s in bloom. It’s just gorgeous.”

Morrow was at Bandon Dunes recently for the Old Macdonald Cup, a tournament that brought together players from eight of the courses built by C.B. Macdonald.

Each of the courses — National Golf Links, Piping Rock, Sleepy Hollow and The Creek Club in New York; Chicago Golf Club; St. Louis Country Club; The Course at Yale; and Mid-Ocean Club in Bermuda — was invited to send eight members. Most sent many more, with the players eager to see a layout that has been touted by some as having the most anticipated opening of any course in years.

‘It’s a great golf course,” said Jim Rogers, who captained the Yale team. ‘The greens are spectacular. The greens are the most distinctive feature, but the landscape is amazing. It’s so similar to Ireland.

‘I absolutely loved it.”

Morrow, a member at St. Louis Country Club, had the same reaction.

‘I did not play well, but that’s not the course’s fault,” he said after a wind-blown practice round.

Rogers was making his first visit to the resort. Morrow has been to Bandon Dunes several times and compares the resort favorably with the home of Pebble Beach, Cypress Point and several other renowned California courses.

‘In comparison to the Monterey Peninsula, in relation to pure golf, it’s its equal or even better,” he said.

Those are welcome words to Bandon Dunes owner Mike Keiser, who hopes to hear many similar comments Tuesday when he stands on the first tee, greeting each of the 240 golfers signed up to play Old Macdonald on opening day — just as he did for the opening of the other three courses.

Keiser was delighted with the response he got from the participants at the Old Macdonald Cup.

‘I’ve been actually shocked that people have such positive opinions about it,” he said. ‘My best case was (golfers would say), ‘I like it about like the other three, maybe it’s as good as Pacific Dunes.’ That’s what I hoped would be the result.”

What he heard overwhelmingly is that the course is fun to play.

Old Macdonald is unlike anything else at the resort, or in the United States.

The fairways and greens are huge, a trait shared by St. Andrews, and something Macdonald aimed for in his courses.

‘It’s wide. It’s big. It’s bold. That’s what we imitated,” Keiser said.

Keiser commissioned Doak and Urbina to build the course as Macdonald would have, if he had the same property. The owner added three consultants — Golfweek Magazine architecture editor Bradley Klein, longtime National Golf Links superintendent Karl Olson, and George Bahto, an architect who is a historian of the work of Macdonald and his protaga, Seth Raynor. Bahto wrote a biography on Macdonald titled ‘The Evangelist of Golf,” and also is working on a book on Raynor.

Doak and Urbina designed holes inspired by the great holes that Macdonald frequently imitated, including the Long Hole and Road Hole at St. Andrews, the Alps at Prestwick, Sahara at Royal St. George’s, the Short Hole at Royal West Norfolk and the most imitated hole in golf, the Redan at North Berwick.

‘Macdonald based the holes on similar strategies — all the best holes adopted to local terrain — that’s the secret,” Bahto said, adding that Doak and Urbina followed that mission perfectly.

‘I don’t think any of us would change anything,” Bahto said. ‘It’s exactly as we planned.

‘The ghost of Macdonald will be hanging around here like he does around National.”

When they were designing the course, Doak and Urbina relied on input from all three consultants, as well as Keiser. But Urbina said the key to the project was knowing that he and Doak were trying to use the same inspiration that Macdonald used, not to duplicate his holes.

‘Once that barrier was broken down, and Keiser’s willingness to let us go with the flow, was the reason it turned out as good as people think it has,” he said.

The architects took the land and Macdonald’s vision and ‘made it even bigger and bolder than Macdonald might have,” Urbina said.

The result is greens that are, on average, larger than those at St. Andrews, and fairways that are wide and varied. Every hole gives players multiple choices for how to attack the flag.

The players in the Macdonald Cup listed three holes as their favorites — No. 3 (Sahara), No. 7 (Ocean) and No. 16 (Alps).

The Sahara includes a dramatic drive over a dune ridge that features a dead oak snag. During the construction phase, Keiser, Urbina and Doak debated the future of the snag and another, which didn’t have the distinctive branches it has and ultimatey was removed.

‘They loved the tree,” Keiser said. ‘I thought it sort of got in the way of golf, but we left it because it was unique. We’re working on how to make it permanent.”

The Sahara was particularly popular for golfers from National Golf Links, who have their own version of the hole that includes a picturesque windmill.

‘At National, the iconic windmill is on the hole,” Keiser said. ‘Here it’s the tree.”

Ocean is an Old Macdonald original and the hole that takes golfers closest to the beach, with an immense green perched on a cliff and overlooking the water below.

Alps features a hill that blocks views of the green from players who don’t hit their drives far enough down the fairway. It’s Urbina’s favorite hole.

‘That was the first hole I ever saw when I went to Scotland for the first time at Prestwick,” he said. ‘It offers scale. It offers strategy. It offers a style of golf only known to a few people who played No. 17 at Prestwick or the third at National.”

Klein said golfers will find 18 great holes, built at a huge scale compared to most courses.

‘The greens are three times bigger than normal,” he said. ‘There’s a lot of flexibility. You have enormous variations.”

Part of what makes Old Macdonald special, though, is what most golfers won’t notice, he said.

‘The great thing about Tom and Jim, everything is deliberate here — nothing is a mistake or oversight,” Klein said.

In a video promoting the course, Doak said Old Macdonald is a fitting tribute to its namesake.

‘I think in the end, our mission statement here was really the same mission statement that C.B. Macdonald had 100 years ago, when he was building the National Golf Links — to take the best ideas of the best golf courses in Britain and Ireland and bring those back to the states and build a course where every hole had outstanding features to it, there were no weak or indifferent holes,” Doak said. ‘And I think Mike liked that from us, that we weren’t just going to build the safe version, but try to build a great version of those holes.”

Keiser had enough confidence in his architects to forge ahead with the project even when the economy was on a downslide.

‘I could have been very pessimistic about the economy and this remote place, and I was,” he said. ‘But because I was already into the construction, I thought I might as well finish it, even though it was imprudent to go ahead.

‘The worst case is that it will be the least popular course on the resort, but it will still be an homage to Macdonald.

‘It was for the betterment of golf. People will say, so this is what golf is. That was Macdonald’s goal. He wanted to introduce links courses to America. He failed because all of them are private courses.”

Bahto is glad Keiser didn’t delay construction.

‘Mike’s vision was really nice,” he said. ‘Every course that Macdonald and Raynor built was an elite course. Let’s build a public course so people can enjoy this architecture.”

That starts in earnest Tuesday.That starts in earnest Tuesday.

No. 1 Double Plateau

Yardage: 304 yards from green tees (par 4)

Description: The landing area for the drive is a huge fairway, the norm for Old Macdonald. The green has two plateaus, and the best approach angle depends on where the flag is. The hole plays into the prevailing wind in the summer, making it longer than its yardage. When the wind isn’t strong, or when it plays downwind in the winter, some players can get close to the green. The principal’s nose bunker guards the front of the green

Inspiration: National Golf Links No. 11.

No. 2 Eden

Yardage: 162 yards (par 3)

Description: The first of three par-3 holes on the front nine is a style that was considered classic when C.B. Macdonald was designing courses. The green slopes from the back to the front, where two bunkers protect the putting surface, including the deep revetted bunker. There is enough fairway between the two bunkers to run the ball up to the green. The hole plays into the prevailing summer wind.

Inspiration: St. Andrews No. 11. Also: National Golf Links No. 13.

No. 3 Sahara

Yardage: 345 yards (par 4)

Description: The classic Sahara hole includes a blind drive over a tall dune. It’s only 150 yards to get over the dune on the right side, but players can get much closer to the green if they challenge the big tree on the left, which has quickly become the signature image of the course to many golfers. The fairway slopes toward the green on the other side of the dune. The green is an enormous sloped putting surface.

Inspiration: Royal St. George’s No. 3. Also: National Golf Links No. 2.

No. 4 Hog’s Back

Yardage: 472 yards (par 4)

Description: This is the longest par 4 on the course, but plays downwind during the summer. A narrow ridge runs diagonally through the fairway from left to right away from the tee box. Any drive to the right side of the fairway that doesn’t get across to the downward side of the ridge leaves a golfer with a long, blind second shot. The rest of the hole plays in a valley between two dunes.

Inspiration: Lundin Links No. 17. Also: National Golf Links No. 16.

No. 5 Short

Yardage: 134 (par 3)

Description: The shortest hole at Old Macdonald comes with one of the biggest, and most challenging greens. There are several distinct levels on the green for pin placements, and getting the right one is important to avoid a difficult putt. A huge bunker slopes away from the right side of the green and a smaller sand trap protects the left front edge. A play to the center of the green is safe.

Inspiration: Royal West Norfolk No. 4. Also: National Golf Links No. 6.

No. 6 Long

Yardage: 520 (par 5)

Description: The longest hole also plays into the prevailing summer wind, making it a true three-shot par-5. The dominating feature from the tee is a gaping sand trap 100 yards short of the green modeled after the famed Hell bunker at St. Andrews, complete with railroad ties. The green includes several levels, with a steep rise on the front right making pitch shots difficult.

Inspiration: St. Andrews No. 14. Also: National Golf Links No. 9.

No. 7 Ocean

Yardage: 345 yards (par 4)

Description: One of two Old Macdonald original holes, this is also the only one that gives the best views of the Pacific Ocean. The hole plays into the summer wind, with the second shot uphill to the huge green, which sits on a dune ridge overlooking the beach. The second shot will play longer than the yardage, and balls hit short or long can run into trouble The safe place to miss is the left side of the green.

Inspiration: None.

No. 8 Biarritz

Yardage: 170 yards (par 3)

Description: The defining feature of this downhill par 3 is the green, which measures about 75 yards from front to back and features a huge swale in the middle. The front of the green also slopes away from the tee, but sits on a hill, so it’s impossible to run the ball up to the putting surface. The original green that inspired this hole, at Biarritz France, no longer exists.

Inspiration: Yale No. 9. Also: Piping Rock No. 9.

No. 9 Cape

Yardage: 352 yards (par 4)

Description: The classic Cape hole design is a dogleg to the right, with a risk-reward tee shot. In the original hole built by C.B. Macdonald at National Golf Links, the hole curves around a pond. At Old Macdonald, the hazard is gorse and a series of bunkers. The safe play is far to the left, but leaves a longer approach shot. Golfers who successfully cut the corner will have a much easier second shot.

Inspiration: National Golf Links No. 14. Also: Chicago Golf Club No. 14.