RENO, NEV. — The second annual "Signature Series" edition of Fairways & Greens magazine, now available at hundreds of outlets throughout the West and on newsstands from coast to coast, names Bandon Dunes Golf Resort at the No. 1 golf experience in the West as selected by an eight-person panel of journalists and industry professionals.
The southern Oregon resort wrested the magazine’s top spot from Pebble Beach Resorts thanks to several factors, chief of which was the opening of Bandon Trails — a Ben Crenshaw/Bill Coore design that has proved to be a near-perfect complement to its predecessors, Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes. The magazine dedicates eight pages to the Bandon phenomenon, with three writers engaged in an "argument" on which course is best.
"Bandon will never have the history, celebrity cachet or well-heeled pedigree of a Pebble Beach, but as a pure, traditional golf experience it now stands alone among West Coast destinations," says Vic Williams, Fairways & Greens ownership partner and managing editor. "It’s at the top of a lot of must-play lists, and the Trails’ debut only deepens its allure. Clearly Bandon and Pebble will duke it out for No. 1 for the foreseeable future."
Pebble Beach is No. 2 on the list, with special emphasis on the oft-overlooked Links and Lodge and Spanish Bay — the third course in the famous Monterey Peninsula triumvirate. Rounding out Fairways & Greens’ Top 10 are Wynn Las Vegas, Trump National Los Angeles, Nakoma Resort in the northern Sierra, CordeValle near San Jose, Calif., Coeur d’Alene and Circling Raven in northern Idaho, Four Seasons Scottsdale and Troon North in Arizona, Shadow Creek in Las Vegas and Barona Valley Ranch near San Diego, Calif.
"We’ll surprise a few folks with this Top 10," Williams says. "For instance, Trump National is so new that not a lot of people haven’t played it, at least in its ‘new’ form. But we based its placement on the fact that its owner overcame a lot of obstacles to transform a once-forgettable course into an instant seaside classic."
Overall, this year’s list of 101 marks a significant departure from last year’s inaugural Signature Series, which broke down the West’s best into sections — the top public-access courses, resorts, restaurants and private courses, plus the best, toughest and longest individual holes. This year’s format was a lot "looser," with emphasis not on golf alone, but the experiences, large and small, that go with it — from demo days and clubfitting ro the free drink cart at Silverado Country Club to a helicopter ride over Whistler, BC. In the end, the editors leave it up to readers to form their favorites.
"No doubt we’ve dozens if not scores of worthy candidates off this list," Williams writes in the issue’s introduction. "We can’t write about someplace we’ve never experienced. And, as readers, you’ll inject your own feelings into the deal, and they may differ greatly from ours."
Fairways & Greens, the West’s No. 1 guide to Golf, Travel and Lifestyle, is available at select Barnes & Noble, Borders Books and Books-A-Million coast to coast, plus select West Coast Wal-Mart, Safeway and Vons stores. It’s also available by subscription. The magazine will introduce a complete re-design and expansion with its February-March 2006 issue.
For more information, visit www.fairwaysgreens.com.
Contact:
Vic Williams
(775) 852-5845
vwilliams@fairwaysgreens.com
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