Jeff Simonds playing Butler National in Chicago

Interview With Jeff Simonds, Director of Golf Bandon Dunes Golf Resort

A Light Hearted Golf Q & A Interview

By Brian Weis

Below is an interview with Jeff Simonds, Director of Golf Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. Simonds played collegiate golf for The College of Idaho. Earned his degree in Politics & Economics and then turned his favorite pass time into a dream job. He has been at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort for 8 years and has loved every minute of it.

The following are a few traditional and non traditional golf centric questions that I love to ask influential people in the golf industry.

When did you start golfing and who introduced you do the game?
I started playing golf when I was three years old. My dad would take my brother and I out when he would play late in the day. Golf was always important to our family but my dad always kept the perspective that it was a game to be enjoyed.

What is your current home course?
I play my golf at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. I'm lucky and have 5 golf courses to choose from (Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes, Bandon Trails, Old Macdonald and Bandon Preserve).

To date, what is your proudest golf accomplishment?
It was a casual round of golf on my 25th birthday. We took a golf trip to Monterey, CA and I shot even par at Cypress Point playing with my wife and dad.

What is your biggest golf pet peeve on or off the course?
Practice swings. Most golfers are just going through a motion, not actually rehearsing a swing. If you aren't swinging with a purpose, don't do it. It is just slowing down the game.

What is your favorite club in your bag and why?
Driver. Even though a putt counts the same, people love the long ball and so do I.

What is your favorite golf destination?
Other than Bandon Dunes, I would say Long Island. I've played some great courses on the east coast and there are still many more to play.

What course is on your bucket list that you have not played yet?
Right now it's playing in Scotland. This summer my wife an I will be traveling to St. Andrews to play the Old Course, New Course, Carnoustie, Kingsbarn and a few others.

If you woke up tomorrow and could play one course you played before, where would you play?
Cypress Point. It's got it all -- great routing, great setting, caddies, walking only and can never be played enough.

If you could change one aspect, rule or thing about golf, what would it be and why?
I'm going to jump on the bandwagon and say the out of bounds penalty. Stroke and distance is too penal. I think it should be played more like a lateral hazard...

Dream foursome (living)?
Easy...Marie, Peyton & Jackson. My wife has been beating me since college. And my two sons are 4 and 2. It won't be long until I'm playing with my dream foursome often.

Dream foursome (living or dead)?
Harder...Mike Keiser, Herb Kohler and Donald Trump. C'mon, that would make for some interesting conversations...

18 Rapid Fire, Off The Cuff Questions

1) Hitting Long Drive OR Sinking Long Putt?
Long Drive. Duh.

2) Having Round of Life OR Hole in One?
Round of my life. Anyone can get lucky. 60's takes skill.

3) Golfing at the crack of dawn OR twilight?
Crack of dawn...until twilight. This is Bandon Dunes!

4) Hit a power fade OR power draw?
Power fade. Sadly the other doesn't exist in my golf swing.

5) Beverage cart OR halfway house?
Halfway house. It's dependable.

6) Bathroom OR bushes?
Bathroom.

7) Hot dog OR wrap?
Hot dog...Better yet would be the Burger Dog.

8) Around the green, being in sand OR thick rough?
Sand. I have a club for that.

9) Walking OR riding?
Walking.

10) Do you carry traditional 3 iron OR hybrid?
Both. 3-iron for the low runner, Hybrid for the high bomb.

11) Do you prefer long par 3 OR long par 5?
Long par 5.

12) Pants OR Shorts?
Pants. Nobody wants to see a local Bandon guy's legs!

13) Palmer OR Nicklaus?
Doak. Coore & Crenshaw. Kidd. Raynor. Mcdonald. Ross. Engh... You have to work down the list a ways to get to Palmer or Nicklaus.

14) Beatles OR Elvis?
Beatles. Coo Coo Ka-Choo.

15) Play for fun OR play for money?
Either. Just play.

16) Bump and run OR flop shot?
Bump and run.

17) Lay up OR gamble?
Gamble. It's just a game.

18) 18 holes OR 36?
36. 45. 54. Maybe one day I'll be ready for 72.

Article Tags: Interview With Jeff Simonds

Revised: 12/06/2011 - Article Viewed 38,352 Times

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.