The Fire Pit Podcast

Building Bandon, Part 1: Against all odds, Mike Keiser buys remote Oregon dunesland and hires a pair of rookies to help him build and manage a golf course.

Today you’ll hear part 1 of the building of Bandon Dunes, as told by Mike Keiser, the owner, David McLay Kidd and his father, Jimmy, the architects, and Josh Lesnik and his father, Steve, who won the bid to manage it. Bandon Dunes, the original course at what is now the best pure golf destination in America, and arguably the world, was an outlier that opened in 1999. Like Sand Hills in Mullen, Nebraska, which opened in 1995, to build a golf course in a remote location using a minimalist architect or architects was anything but what was being built in America in the 90s. <a href="http://firepitcollective.com">The Fire Pit shop </a>is here! Use promo MattyG25 at <a href="http://www.linksoul.com/">Linksoul.com</a> for 25% off your next Linksoul order. Got a comment about this story or a tip on a story we should track down?You can reach me on Twitter (<a href="https://twitter.com/mattginella">@mattginella</a>) or on Instagram (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/matt_ginella">@matt_ginella</a>).For bonus visuals and some behind the scenes of The Fire Pit podcast production, go to <a href="http://youtube.com/firepitcollective">The Fire Pit YouTube Channel.</a> Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

In the 25 years of covering golf, the development of the game, courses and the camaraderie that’s core to the culture, it was time for Matt to share some of the best stories he has heard around fire pits all over the world. From PGA Tour players, caddies, architects, avid amateurs and buddies-trip planners, Matt has forged relationships with some of the most colorful and influential people in the game. So grab a drink, a seat and settle in. We’re getting to the essence of one story per podcast. A narrative so deep and meaningful, you save it for a post-round fire pit, which is where no one is in a hurry for the night to end.