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BANDON, OREGON, UNITED STATES – The 148 yard, par 3, 11th hole on the Pacific Dunes Course, designed by Tom Doak. (Photo by David Cannon\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
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Getting to Bandon Dunes<\/a> isn\u2019t exactly a quick hop and a wedge shot. Yet the trek to the quarter-century-old coastal golf mecca\u2014where players walk instead of ride, with electric carts reserved for those who truly need them\u2014has become a rite of passage for club-toting travelers chasing a genuine links experience without crossing the Atlantic. <\/p>\n Making the pilgrimage takes a degree of commitment: with the nearest airport offering just a handful of flights in peak season, most make the four-hour drive from Portland to reach six wind-whipped links and a pair of par-3 layouts\u2014a pure golf junkie\u2019s playground.<\/p>\n Sure, the trip may not come close to rivaling the grueling push fur traders or migrating families once made along the Oregon Trail, but there\u2019s an ounce of that same pioneer spirit baked into the journey. Every arrival, especially those originating from the east coast, feels earned. Every round, a just reward for answering golf\u2019s call to adventure.<\/p>\n Bandon, so popular it now uses a lottery-style<\/a> drawing for reservations, is a cornerstone of Oregon\u2019s golf economy, but it\u2019s far from the whole story. The Beaver State boasts 172 courses, and according to a recently released economic impact report <\/a>by Buffalo Groupe Research, Oregon\u2019s golf industry generated $2.4 billion in economic activity last year, supported 18,000 jobs, and contributed $252 million in state and local taxes. <\/p>\n These figures, including a 19% leap in participation to 5.3 million rounds played, up from 4.5 million in 2019, carve a modern-day trail of opportunity across Oregon\u2019s diverse landscapes, from the high desert of Bend to the windswept dunes of the coast.<\/p>\n Just as settlers once pressed west along the Oregon Trail in search of new horizons, golfers and investors now chart a course across the state, fueling tourism, real estate growth, and innovative sustainability practices along the way.<\/p>\n \u201cThis week we had our annual meeting and one of the tidbits I got to share was that OGA members and we have roughly 60,000 of them, posted almost 1.6 million rounds of golf year-to-date\u2014that\u2019s posted rounds, not played rounds,\u201d said Rick Rangel, CEO of the Oregon Golf Association. \u201cThat\u2019s up 8% over the year prior.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Buffalo Groupe Research, Oregon stands out among the eight states it has studied for having tourism spending impact on golf outpace in-state, residential, \u201ctee-it-up after work and on weekends spending\u201d by local golfers<\/p>\n \u201cGolf facilities represent 30% of the overall impact versus 35% for tourism. In every other state studied, golf facilities and the spending in and around the course are typically the largest sector,\u201d Sara Killeen, Managing Director at Buffalo Groupe Research, explained.<\/p>\n Oregon\u2019s golf industry ecosystem also punches above its weight with a bevy of industry names calling the state home. Buffalo\u2019s research found that a fifth of golf \u2018s economic value to Oregon is derived from wholesale and retail companies, including area-players like Adidas, Nike, Columbia Sports, Payntr Golf, Seamus Golf, Jones Bags, and, L.A.B Golf\u2014the fast growing putter manufacturer which this summer garnered a $200 million investment<\/a> from private equity firm L. Cotteron.<\/p>\n \u201cL.A.B Golf, based in Creswell, Oregon, is currently the hottest putter in the world, skyrocketing in the last 18 months to being one of the top five putter brands in the U.S. golf market,\u201d Killeen said, adding that turfseed growers in the Willamette valley are a leading supplier of the country\u2019s cool-season seeds, supporting bentgrass, ryegrass, fescues, and bluegrass.<\/p>\n BANDON, OREGON – AUGUST 10: Megha Ganne poses on the 16th hole with the Patrick Cox trophy after winning the 125th US Women’s Amateur after the US Women’s Amateur Championship Match at the Bandon Dunes Golf Course on August 10, 2025 in Bandon, Oregon. (Photo by Tom Hauck\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Getty Images North AmericaKeeping It Green<\/p>\n \u201cRoughly 10% of Oregon courses have removed turfgrass in the past five years, and nearly all have replaced it with native vegetation,\u201d said Killeen. \u201cIt\u2019s part of a broader movement toward naturalized, sustainable landscapes that conserve water and reduce chemical inputs.\u201d<\/p>\n