Editor’s Note: Trevor Davis worked at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in summer 2005.
Stephen Goodwin’s new book, “Dream Golf: The Making of Bandon Dunes,” unites serious readers, business people and golf lovers.
The book diverges from a focus on golf to a story about a rebellious, unconventional businessman who followed his aspirations, the author said.
Chicago-based Recycled Paper Greetings founder Mike Keiser stunned the golf world when he opened Bandon Dunes Golf Resort’s first course in 1999 on a remote stretch of land among former logging towns on the Oregon coast.
Goodwin joked that it’s quicker to get to Scotland’s St. Andrews golf course from his home in Washington D.C. than it is to get to Bandon Dunes via the nearby airport in North Bend.
“Mike was strongly advised by lots of people not to (build) the place. They said it would never work, but he ignored the advice on many counts. People said, ‘You’re out of your mind if you think people will come all this way to play golf.’”
With no guest housing on resort property and a focus on a golf-only experience, Keiser created a resort unlike any other American golf resort, Goodwin said.
“Mike believes that a lot of what’s happening in golf is headed toward the wrong direction in terms of design and the experiences available,” Goodwin said.
The novelist and sports writer, who also teaches at George Mason
University, got a first-hand look at the makings of a golf course before he began writing “Dream Golf.” Goodwin helped create Maryland’s Whiskey Creek Golf Course, which was eventually turned over to a corporate partner.
“I was involved from start to finish. I feel as though that kind of experience got me real working knowledge of a golf course – from getting permits to the final completion,” Goodwin said. “It helped writing the book on Bandon.”
After researching Bandon Dunes for his book, he arrived at the resort for the first time in 2003.
“I was completely overwhelmed. I consider myself a well-traveled golfer, but there’s nothing comparable to Bandon Dunes in the United States,” Goodwin said. “It’s so wild and beautiful. The golf courses are right there on the ocean. It’s mind blowing.”
His book, released last month, spotlights the resort’s personalities, featuring the likes of Pacific Dunes designer Tom Doak and Bandon Dunes designer David Kidd.
“This isn’t a technical book; you won’t find out how to build a golf course, but you can come away with some sense of who these people were and what these people’s ideas were,” Goodwin said. “The book shows the aspirations and ambitions of a diverse group of people.”
The author discovered that the media oversimplified the story of the resort’s creation, he said.
“All these little instances of serendipity occurred along the way. It was created thanks to fate,” Goodwin said.
According to the author’s account, a landowner refused to sell property north of the resort to Keiser. The property eventually went to Keiser in the “11th hour” after the property owner became bankrupt. Today the land is home to Bandon Dunes’ most famous holes, Goodwin said.
The author worked closely with Keiser while writing the book, but a Publishers Weekly review recently accused Goodwin of being too close to his subject and said he may have been “too reverent” toward Keiser.
Goodwin contests that he had full editorial control over the project.
“I did what is standard,” Goodwin said. “I showed him the manuscript and said: ‘You can check for facts and quotes. If you interpret something different I’d like to hear that, but I have the final call.’”
Goodwin, who mentions the feuds and misunderstandings among the creators of the resort in the book, said that book critics must keep in mind the purpose of his book.
“I will admit that I approached this book as a golf book,” Goodwin said. “This is in the toy department as far as I’m concerned. Golf is a wonderful game and I love it. This is where people go for fun; they don’t go there looking for tragedies.”
Goodwin will read excerpts from his book, sign books and answer questions during a University Bookstore author event at 3 p.m. on June 16. He also plans on driving to the south coast to play golf, he said.
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