Bandon Dunes is one of three golf courses grouped together on the southern Oregon coast, along with Bandon Trails and Pacific Dunes.

BANDON —

Want to see a bunch of grown-ups with the same look on their faces as an 8-year-old at Disneyland?

Head about 260 miles southwest of Bend to the southern Oregon Coast, where you’ll find the three golf courses that make up the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort.

I was one of those grown-ups last weekend, when I played all three courses — Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes and Bandon Trails — in two days.

I didn’t make the trip because it’s my job to know about such courses. In fact, the trip was on my own dime.

I made the trip because I, along with the rest of the golfing world, have heard so much about the courses since Bandon Dunes opened in 1999. And I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

Consider me clued in.

What I found in Bandon, a sleepy coastal town that seems out of place as a golf mecca, was the three best courses that I have ever played.

The resort’s slogan is “This is golf as it was meant to be.” As it turns out, golf is meant to be undeniably difficult while at the same time unquestionably fun.

A friend and I played Bandon Trails, which opened in 2005, on Saturday, and we played the two dunes courses consecutively on Sunday (walking 36 holes in one day was a feat I haven’t attempted since high school).

Other than a frost delay each day, you couldn’t ask for better weather in February, with high temperatures near 60 degrees, plenty of sun and just a little wind.

Each course features bunkers that could hide completely a single-story house from a golfer making his approach just 100 yards away.

And I’m pretty sure one greenside bunker on the 18th hole at Pacific Dunes is hiding Jimmy Hoffa. But don’t bother looking, because there is no way to find anything in a hole that deep.

You couldn’t land a hot-air balloon on any one of those greens without the balloon taking a big bounce to the back of the green and rolling into one of those bunkers.

And the firmness and speed of the greens will take their toll on your scorecard.

But playing golf courses of this caliber is about much more than a score.

In fact, what will have you talking the most is the handful of holes that are downright abusive. One such hole, No. 14 on Bandon Trails, is a mere 306-yard par 4 from the green tees that can be reached relatively easily with a good drive from the elevated tee box.

But it’s a sucker’s bet.

Ever been pin high about 20 yards from the flag in one shot, only to tap in 10 minutes later for an 8? I proudly say that I now have.

The front of the green is no wider than 20 feet, with a massive bunker on one side and a huge slope on the other. Think of one of those anthill holes in miniature golf, and you’ll start to get the picture.

But trying shots you’ve never tried before — such as putting from 60 feet off the green, or trying to dig out of a greenside bunker that is so deep the flagstick 20 yards away can’t be seen — isn’t just part of the fun. It IS the fun.

And big numbers at Bandon aren’t just for average golfers. We were paired with a Toronto teaching professional and his father at Bandon Trails.

On No. 13, a hole before I was eaten alive, the pro hit long of the green, and his ball ricocheted off a ground-under-repair stake and into a 12-foot-deep bunker.

He needed two swings to get out of the trap, only to sail it over the green. He then putted from the fringe and rolled back into the bunker, where he took one more stroke and two putts to finally get home.

But the beauty of all three courses is that just when you think you’ve had enough, you step to the next tee box and see a view of a sparkling Pacific Ocean and a hole that bears little resemblance to the one you just played.

The best part is that none of the three courses will leave you disappointed.

Here were my overall thoughts on each course:

Bandon Trails’ subtle breaks and undulations on the greens make two putts an achievement, and the course features the tightest fairways at the resort. Dramatic elevation changes not only make the holes tough, but they wear you out after walking all 18. This is the most difficult of the three courses.

Pacific Dunes is a pure joy from start to finish. Each hole is unique, but wide fairways allow average golfers to make their way around the course.

Bandon Dunes is the most visually stunning of the three courses and home to my single favorite hole — the par-4 No. 16, which from the tee box is the most beautiful and interesting hole you will ever see.

The resort isn’t pretentious, as I had feared. Instead, it feels more like a boys camp, with each person (there were few women that I saw) eagerly waiting to see where each golf course will take them.

Central Oregon is home to some of the best courses I have played, including Crosswater Golf Club, which compares well to just about any great golf course.

But the Scottish-style links at Bandon are completely different and impossible to compare with anything in the United States that I’ve played.

Bandon Dunes allows a golfer to forget about the score and how foolish a bad shot makes them look, and concentrate on one of the best and most unique golf experiences this side of the Atlantic Ocean.