Exceeding Expectations Golfers have flocked to the Pacific Northwest to experience Mike Keiser's vision of what ought to be.

By Ed Sherman

first met Mike Keiser about 10 years ago. We were paired together in an outing at the MeritI Club. Back then, all I knew about Keiser was that he co-founded Chicago-based Recycled Paper Greetings, a highly successful greet- ing card company, and proba- bly was financially secure many times over. Anyway, it was a fall day and when we arrived at the club, we were informed that there weren’t any avail- able. The season was winding down. I thought we would just ride. I didn’t figure Keiser would be the kind to want to pull his bag in a cart, let alone carry it. So imagine my surprise when Keiser insisted he was up for walking. Right then and there, he threw his bag over his shoulder and marched down the first fairway. It was at that point that I knew Keiser was different. When I think of the essence of Bandon Dunes in Oregon and its astonishing success, I always go back to that round of golf we played at the Merit Club.

22 CHICAGO DISTRICT GOLFER COURTESY KEMPERSPORTS

After Bandon Dunes opened to rave reviews, Keiser added Pacific Dunes (above, 17th hole) and then Bandon Trails.

Looking for the perfect property Golf is a simple game. Hit the ball, find it and hit the ball again. That’s the way the Scots did it back in the 17th century. And that’s how Keiser does it in the 21st century. When Keiser set out to build Bandon Dunes, located four hours from Portland on the coast of Oregon, he wasn’t looking to construct a mega resort where the focus would be on ameni- ties like a spa and a swimming pool with a waterfall. None of that stuff interested Keiser. Keiser’s goal was simple: He wanted to create a pure golf experience on an incredible piece of property. He wanted to build a memorable ode to the game. SCOTT A. MILLER/CDGA On the surface, none of his plan made sense. He wanted to build a course on a piece of land covered with impen- etrable, prickly gorse. His location would be in a remote, eco- nomically challenged town, seemingly closer to oblivion than

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2006 23 Portland. The course also would be walking only in an age area. He never expected to do any more with the game than when carts increasingly have become a standard mode of walk to the first . transportation for 18 holes. And then to top it off, he chose a then 27-year old architect An introduction to the game whose sparse résumé featured designing only one modest Raised in the Buffalo, N.Y. area, he moved to Chicago in course in that golf hot spot, Katmandu. 1971 after a stint in the Navy. With his college roommate, Phil “A lot of people thought he was nuts,” said Julie Miller, exec- Friedmann, he founded a company that now sells more than utive director of the Bandon Chamber of Commerce. “It was a 100 million greeting cards per year. big gorse field. Why would anyone want to build a Keiser got into the golf business on a fluke. After pur- in that wasteland?” chasing a piece of property in New Buffalo, Mich., during the What they didn’t see, or what they couldn’t understand, ’80s, he wanted to make sure nobody would be able to was Keiser’s vision. He saw a golden opportunity under all develop the adjacent land. So Keiser bought the parcel himself that gorse. Once he spotted a chance to build something spe- and decided to build a nine-hole course. The end product cial, he was determined to see it through. became the Dunes Club, a CDGA member club and a fun The end result has become one of the biggest and most track that draws comparison to the revered Pine Valley Golf unlikely success sto- Club in southern ries in golf. Keiser’s Keiser welcomed the 2006 to New Jersey. Bandon Dunes now is Bandon Dunes, and more top-flight amateur The experience mentioned in the competition is on the way. gave Keiser the same breath as Pebble hunger to do a much Beach, Pinehurst and larger project. even the legendary “The next course links of and was going to be an , as one of the extension of my top don’t-miss golf hobby,” Keiser said. destinations in the Keiser did not sim- world. ply want to build any The facility now has old golf course. The three courses. Bandon game’s roots appeal Dunes opened to rave JOHN MUMMERT/USGA to him, so he sought reviews in 1999. Keiser to follow in the tradi- then went ahead and tion of the great links built Pacific Dunes in courses of Scotland 2001. That course, and Ireland. He went with its dramatic sand in search of raw, formations along with coastal landscapes ocean views, even got higher marks from the critics. that featured a lot of sand. Then last year, Keiser opened Bandon Trails. The new 18, “It’s not surprising that all the great courses are built on built away from the ocean, has a little bit of everything: it starts water and sand,” Keiser said. “Golf on those settings and ends with the sand dunes, and in between, it meanders improves nature.” through trees and rivers with numerous elevation changes. There aren’t many pieces of land like that in the U.S., but Even before Bandon Trails opened, it was a smash hit: 20,000 Keiser’s search eventually took him to Bandon in 1990. The golfers had reserved starting times. parcel had been on the market for four years. That speaks volumes to Bandon’s reputation. To get to Covered with dunes and gorse, it had only one small Bandon, it isn’t as simple as jumping on a plane. Most golfers patch that allowed access to the inside of the property. Any fly into Portland and make the long . The place isn’t easy first-time visitor to Bandon tries to imagine what it must have to find even for those who live in Oregon. been like, looking out over nothing but acres of gorse. “Golfers are like hunters,” Keiser said. “They hunt golf What made him believe that he could build a golf course courses. Wherever the game is, they go there. As soon as they there, let alone three? And this was not an experienced read that it’s a legitimate links course, there were so many course developer here. Remember, all Keiser had done previ- hunters who said, ‘I’ve got to get there.’ ” ously was his nine-hole course. Keiser is one of those hunters, although not in the typical Some how, some way, Keiser knew. He just knew. sense. As a golfer, he is not a top player with a pedigree. “I played enough and Ireland to know Actually, he employs the lashing swing of a 12 handicapper. this land was really good,” Keiser said. “I knew that with He is extremely humble, even self-effacing, about his ability. 1,200 acres of land, I’d have at least one golf course down Nevertheless, Keiser always has been a passionate golfer, there.” playing regularly at various clubs throughout the Chicago Others weren’t convinced. Keiser was told he should aban-

24 WWW.CDGA.ORG don the remote area and look for a piece of property that could with everything else coming in a distant second. attract more people. It all worked because Keiser’s ultimate priority wasn’t to Keiser went with his heart. maximize profits. And by doing so, the courses have become “I didn’t need to spend $50,000 on a market study to be wildly successful. told I was stupid,” Keiser said. “This was somewhere between “What strikes me is how loyal he was to his vision,” said speculative investment and total folly.” Josh Lesnik, who served as Bandon’s first general manager and Keiser then even went more off the board. Instead of hiring now is the president of KemperSports Management. “He an established architect, he hired David McLay Kidd, a new- allowed great golf to be the driver of every discussion. He only comer who was just starting his design business. cares about one thing: How can this be the best place for the Kidd’s main attribute in Keiser’s eyes was that he was golfer? It sounds overly simple, but that’s what it was.” Scottish. He couldn’t see bringing in an American to do a true links-style course. Build it and they will come Kidd still wonders why he was picked. It changed his life, as When the course opened in 1999, Keiser and Lesnik he married a woman from Oregon and still maintains a home thought they would be lucky if Bandon did nearly 12,000 there. rounds the first year. “To this day, I still don’t know what Mike saw in me,” Kidd “We weren’t sure if people would come,” Keiser said. said. “I guess he wanted someone with the enthusiasm of a Oh, they came. The course did nearly 30,000 rounds. And guy in his 20s. I was running 50 ideas a day by Mike.” they’re still coming. The area still is buzzing about the day One of Kidd’s ideas was to be subtle with the design. Keiser Michael Jordan and Arnold Palmer both arrived in private wanted just the opposite. jets to check out the layout. “Mike said, ‘I’d rather have 18 crescendos,’ ” Kidd stated. What they found are courses that seemingly features one “Now I can see he was right.” “wow” hole after another. On many holes on each course, Ultimately, Kidd and subsequent architects Tom Doak there are numerous views of the Pacific with its 10-12-foot (Pacific Dunes) and Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore (Bandon waves crashing in the distance. There always seems to be Trails) all adhered to Keiser’s main priority. another stunning vista just around the corner. The essence of all the projects always has been golf first, “It is worth every penny to get there,” remarked Ron Whitten, GET MORE DISTANCE www.athletico.com FROM YOUR 2007 CDGA MEMBERSHIP CHICAGO'S MOST SIGN UP NOW! TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED GOLF PERFORMANCE CENTER GO PLATINUM amenities Enjoy special benefits Indoor Putting and Short Game Practice Greens throughout the 2007 season. Five Hitting Bays for full swing training Golf-specific training circuits Vector Launch Monitor Demo clubs and range balls Your Name Here Complimentary Injury Screenings Private studio for advanced diagnostics and one-on-one training Functional training space for plyometric, core training, and strength and cardiovascular equipment Physical, Occupational, and Massage Therapy Golf/Fitness Membership Full-Service Locker Rooms Year-Round Golf Fitness Preferred green fees at participating *Mention this ad and receive a ONE DAY PASS to AthletiCo’s Golf Performance Center. courses, plus Loyalty Points, a subscription and other special benefits Proud provider of rehabilitation, fitness and performance for ORDER NOW AT: www.cdga.org The Oaks of Oak Brook Center Call 630-685-2312 1600 West 16th Street TEL: 630.572.9700

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2006 25 The Birth of an Idea In Ireland, Mike Keiser received an introduction to links golf and began to imagine the kind of course he’d build.

The following is an excerpt from Dream Golf: The Making of Bandon Dunes itself, and by the time they reached the n June of 1986, Mike decided it was time to fill another gap in his golf- 7th hole . . . on a cliff edge high above the Iing education. He and [wife] Lindy were making a trip to London to visit Atlantic, they were giddy with pleasure. the Odgens, former neighbors in Lincoln Park, and Mike and Chris Ogden They played both courses that day. decided to take the opportunity to schedule several rounds of links golf. They’d been warned that the New Course, Chris, at the time the London bureau chief for Time magazine, made the now called the Cashen Course, was arrangements himself, and he did it the old-fashioned way, by writing to the extremely difficult, and it was; they lost so secretaries of the clubs where he wanted to make tee times. This was in the many balls that they had to send a caddy back to the clubhouse to purchase days before tour operators made all the arrangements and shuttled vanloads more ammo so that they could complete the round. The rain was coming of visiting golfers around Scotland and Ireland. The Scottish clubs were slow down, hard at times, but they were having a blast as they tried to play across to reply to Ogden, and very fussy in their requirements. The Irish clubs were the towering dunes. far more welcoming: Basically, they said come whenever you like. And so, The following day they played the Old Course again, and Mike Ogden, after a few days in London, Mike and Chris caught a plane to Northern Chris’s father, announced when they finished the round that his golf career Ireland and began their golf adventure at Royal County Down. On this leg of had ended. “I’ve just played the best course in the world,” he said, “and the journey, they were a twosome; later they would be joined by Chris’s that’s it. I’m going to retire now.” He meant it. He continued the trip, and father, Mike, and his son, another Mike. The foursome would be recorded in walked the courses as the others played, but he gave his clubs to his son, memory as Three Mikes and a Chris. Chris. He never played another round of golf. At Royal County Down, Mike and Chris got their first taste of the condi- For Mike Keiser, that Irish trip had been inspirational. “Our golf was tions that would prevail throughout the trip. Irish golf hadn’t yet been dis- absolutely horrendous, but it didn’t matter. It was still a wonderful trip. I’ll covered, and the green fees were modest—usually about 10 punts, or Irish never forget how I felt when we got to Ballybunion and I saw those pounds, as best Chris can recall. The courses were mostly empty until the unbelievable dunes, and those holes perched on the cliffs over the ocean, late afternoon, when locals stole out for a round after work. Most of the and I thought, Wow! This wasn’t just a different kind of golf. It was a courses Chris had arranged to play were seaside courses, and they had a different kind of experience.” wild, rugged look; they weren’t petted and groomed and manicured like The whole trip had been mind-expanding. It had given Mike a new American courses. Chris had arranged for caddies, who usually turned out to perspective on the game, and it had completed the first phase of his educa- be craggy-faced, tweed-clad, weather-beaten, and hawk-eyed. These tion in golf architecture, taking him all the way back to the beginning. He’d Irishmen knew their golf and quickly got on a first-name basis with their worked backward, from the postmodern and modern period, through the American clients. On the first day, after playing 36 holes and finally coming classic, and now he’s made the first of what would soon be many trips to the off the course in the long Irish twilight, Chris and Mike sank happily into linksland of the British Isles. Somehow, though the bunkers were different, deep chairs in the clubhouse at Royal County Down, wet their whistles, and the grass was different, and the style of play was different, Mike felt at home dined on pork roast and cracklin’ that was served up by an ancient barman. on these courses. On the treeless, seaside courses, the wind was always Mike was in heaven. He loved the simplicity and grandeur of the golf blowing, and a golfer had to invent shots to advance the ball over the courses and the complete lack of pretension in all the other arrangements. shaggy dunes and the wild, heaving fairways. Mike liked the challenge of The clubhouses were modest, the food was plain, the hotels were drafty, the these shots. He liked the companionship of the caddies and the fact that the weather was the usual Irish mix of rain and mist with occasional peeks of game was always played on foot. He liked the fact that the game was played sunshine, but the golf was splendid. The Irish were informal and welcoming swiftly, the pace Mike prefers. “I felt was though I was discovering a differ- and the whole environment of the game was new, strange and invigorating. ent game, even though it’s a very old game. Links golf is where it all started. One measure of how much Mike and Chris had come under the spell of the They’ve been playing golf in Ireland and Scotland for hundreds of years— links was that they didn’t much care for Killarney, in the Republic of Ireland, and I asked myself, what makes those courses hold up today? They’re not finding that the Killarney golf courses, set in the romantic scenery of lake just museum pieces. They’re still fun and exciting to play, a lot more fun and and mountains, felt too much like American parkland courses. exciting than most modern courses. By this point in the trip, the other two Mikes had joined them, and the Mike Keiser isn’t one to back away from big ideas, and that first Irish foursome set off for Ballybunion. . . . But the New Course designed by Robert trip planted the seed of an audacious dream. He wasn’t prepared to Trent Jones had recently opened, and the Old Course had won the seal of announce that he was going to build the American Ballybunion, but the approval from eminent golf writer Herbert Warren Wind—he described that thought of links golf began to fuse with his preference for classic Ballybunion was “nothing less than the finest seaside links I have ever American courses—courses that were built by hand, courses whose seen”—and Tom Watson, who endorsed it by making Ballybunion the course individuality held up over time, courses that had the gamy, wild flavor of where he practiced for the British Open. The three Mikes and Chris were their natural surroundings. aware that they were in for something special when they stepped up to the Mike Keiser was out of step with the spirit of the 1980s, and he knew first tee and found that the local cemetery juts into the right side of the fair- it. He wanted to build a “throwback” course, and he wanted to build it in the way. It is simply the first signal that Ballybunion is a thing absolutely unto same involved, hands-on fashion as his hero, George Crump.

26 CHICAGO DISTRICT GOLFER who writes about golf course architecture for . “If a golfer loves golf, he PLAY A SLEEVE OF VEGAS’ FINEST owes it to himself to go to Bandon Dunes. It’s a mecca, like St. Andrews. Everybody needs to make the trek.” For all Keiser has accomplished, he’s not done. There will be a fourth course at the Bandon property, currently scheduled to open in 2010, and per- haps even more after that. He also is involved in a development in Australia and has scouted Scotland and Ireland to build a course there. “I’m at my happiest when I’m plan- ning a golf course,” Keiser said. “Who’s going to be the architect? What type of course do we want to build? Seeing the whole process evolve. That’s what I love.”

Experiencing ‘pure’ golf In March 2005, Keiser had a group going to Bandon and asked if I would be interested in joining him. Needless to say, I jumped at the opportunity. We arrived late in the morning and quickly went out to play Bandon Trails. The course wasn’t officially open yet, but there was enough in place to get a sense that it would be terrific. It was a pure golf experience with several terrific holes. That afternoon, we played nine holes on Bandon Dunes, but the fog was so thick, no one could see a thing. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow, I thought. The following morning we played (877) 399.4888 (888) 851.4114 (888) 851.4114 Pacific Dunes. The vistas over the water www.aliantegolf.com www.angelpark.com www.thelegacygc.com and the towering dunes were spectacular. I never had seen anything like it on an “Best new golf course in Las Vegas’ most complete “Top 10 you can play in Las Vegas”- Vegas Golfer golf experience Nevada” - Golf Digest American course. After our round, I wanted to check out the town. I learned that thanks to Keiser’s L ike a sleeve of your favorite golf balls, you can depend on the consistency courses, housing prices in Bandon had and quality of these three courses. And with some of the most competitive rates risen 10-fold since the resort opened. in Las Vegas, why not buy a dozen? Whether you’re tempting the “Devils My lasting memory was playing a cou- Triangle” at The Legacy or playing 36 holes at Angel Park, we have the perfect ple of rounds at Bandon with Keiser. I’m match for your game. And we’re proud to announce the opening of Vegas’ hottest not sure I’ve been with many players who new that is quickly moving up the “must play” list – Aliante Golf get more out of the experience. He revels Club. All three clubs offer an extraordinary golf experience, in addition to professional in the surroundings, the nature, the good coordination of group golf events, corporate outings, weddings and receptions. shots, the tricky shots and even the bad shots. He is totally immersed in the game and all it has to offer. Book on-line at any of the clubs’ official websites Seeing it up close helped me under- to receive the BEST RESORT RATE GUARANTEED! stand why Bandon Dunes indeed is a Mecca. It is filled with Keiser’s passion for the game; how could it not be great? OB SPORTS MANAGEMENT SINCE 1972 WWW.OBSPORTS.COM Ed Sherman covers golf for the Chicago Tribune.

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