Sheep Ranch - A Spectacular Golf Course On the Oregon Coast

The Pacific Ocean is the backdrop to the newest addition to Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Sheep Ranch, which officially opened on June 1. On opening day they had 253 golfers show up to play the course. The course boasts spectacular coastal views of the Pacific Ocean. Sheep Ranch definitely follows in the footsteps of the four other nationally ranked golf courses at the resort. Sheep Ranch already made a Golf dot com list of Five Dynamite New Golf Courses For 2020, one of just two U.S. courses to make the list. Nine of the 18 greens are on the edge of the coastline that looks out over the Pacific Ocean, with over a mile of ocean frontage on the course. "The Sheep Ranch was always a mysterious layout just north of the resort," Director of Communications Michael Chupka said. "With it now being open to the golfing public, the positive response we have received on the course and overall experience has been amazing to hear. It has been a busy month." The land on which the Sheep Ranch sits was purchased in 2000 by Co-founders Mike Keiser (the owner of the resort) and Phil Friedman, his longtime business partner. It was a mysterious and mystical landscape just north of the resort that had no prescribed routing. Renowned golf designers Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw came in and did the rerouting of the golf course for over a year to bring the Par-72, 6,636 yard 18-hole course layout to life. The course has a unique feel with the many hills, elevation changes and contours that create its shape. There are no sand bunkers. Instead, there's just grass bunkers, which is a unique feature that pays tribute to the open wilderness golf landscape that Sheep Ranch represents in links golf. Winds regularly come into play as golfers have to factor in one or two club differences depending on the direction of the wind. Sheep Ranch is a very enjoyable, one of kind experience for any golfer looking to play an oceanfront course. More information can be found on the course at - https://www.bandondunesgolf.com/golf/golf-courses/sheep-ranch Photos/story contribution by Ryan Finlay