The Missing Links

Mike Keiser turned a patch of coastal Oregon into Bandon Dunes, the unlikely home of some of the world's best golf courses. Now he's expanding the resort with a simple strategy: If he builds it, they will come.

- Justin Birnbaum

As Mike Keiser walks his new 19-hole par-3 course on a cloudy Oregon day, he’s ready to declare it the best in the world. Yet the 79-year-old founder of Bandon Dunes Golf Resort wonders if the soon-to-open course could be even better, particularly the fourth hole. “It seems slanted,” he says. But he doesn’t see an immediate fix, leaving him with a decision to ponder all summer. “Maybe [we’ll] do a big change in the winter—or let it go.”

Over the past quarter-century, Keiser’s desire to create, improve and, ultimately, expand has defined Bandon Dunes’ ascension into an elite golf resort. When he started buying the land in 1991, even he worried that weekend golfers wouldn’t make the pilgrimage to this cold, rainy and remote slice of Oregon—nine hours by car from San Francisco, four from Portland and two and a half from Eugene.

But with ocean views, rolling sand dunes, oversized greens and a lack of trees—a hallmark of the traditional links-style courses Keiser loves—Bandon Dunes draws so many visitors each year that he keeps wanting to grow. Last year, the resort recorded an astonishing 257,000 rounds played, bolstered by a top tier hospitality experience and an eight-figure merchandise business.

Forbes estimates Bandon Dunes had just shy of $125 million in revenue last year and turned a profit of north of $31 million, valuing the resort at $350 million. Demand isn’t slowing, either. The resort has an 18-month waiting list, and it’s easy to see why. Four of its full-length courses rank among Golf Digest’s list of America’s 100 best, and its $350 greens fee is roughly half of the $675 that Pebble Beach charges.