BANDON

In this economy, getting some extra cash has made for some big grins at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort.

About 200 employees received an extra $500 check this month, in addition to their regular pay.

“It was nice, considering most places people are being laid off, pay is being cut,” said Resort Mechanic Kenneth Hindman, during a break from his job.

He’s one of five mechanics who fix everything from shuttle buses, to tractors, to electric carts and lawn mowers.

The resort’s owner, Mike Kaiser, realizing how important his core group of employees are, decided to give them the bonuses, resort General Manager Hank Hickox said.

“These are tough economic times,” he added. “I think we’re faring better than others out there, but we’re feeling it. We’re trying to hold our team together.”

Hindman said he deposited the money in his savings account. He and his wife, Brandy Hindman, have an 18-month-old girl, Brynn, and are expecting another girl on May 21.

A Bandon High School graduate, he has worked at the resort almost 11 years. His wife, who is an assistant manager at Sterling Savings bank, is planning a 90-day pregnancy leave. Hindman said they would most likely use the cash during that time.

“It’s just a great thing, you know,” Hindman said.

Bandon Dunes has a staff of about 425 during the slow season — Nov. 1 through April 30 — and about 525 on staff and 325 caddies during the peak season, Hickox said. Employees had to have worked at least 1,000 hours during the peak season —between May 1, 2008, and Oct. 31, 2008 — to qualify for the bonuses. Anyone who fit this description — from housekeepers, to busboys, to front desk people — got checks.

Eric Wyatt, a breakfast and lunch server who started as a busboy 10 years ago, said he and his wife, Kandi Wyatt, put the money in their savings account. The couple has five children, but both are employed.

“She recently got on as a teacher at Marshfield High School — a temp position,” the 38-year-old Langlois man said.

In addition to his job at the resort, Wyatt herds sheep, contracting with local farmers. His son is learning the trade, too.

“There’s been times it’s been tight, but we always had food,” Wyatt said. “People have helped us along the way, so it’s nice to be in a spot where we can help back.”

The Wyatts intend to give the cash to a couple of friends for a marriage conference the couple is helping coordinate.

The resort had been financially successful since it opened in 1999, Hickox said. But the poor economy has affected the resort, too. Hickox said the resort has laid off some part-time employees, and some people have shaved hours back from 40 to about 36.

“Last year we were about flat with the prior year,” he said, adding, “Other large golf resorts are down 30 to 40 percent.”

Hickox said he, along with Kemper Sports, the agency that manages the resort, has worked to keep things running smoothly during this slow time.

“We have a very loyal clientele,” Hickox said. “We have got to make sure we give them the very best value we can during these circumstances.”

Keeping employees happy is one strategy, and so is continuing with expansion projects, such as a new 18-hole golf course scheduled to open in 2010. It will be the fourth at the resort.

One of the 2,000-acre resort’s outbuildings houses the resort rangers, a group of people who patrol the three golf courses, making sure golfers are doing OK. Head Ranger Mike McSherry, who has worked at the resort since 2001, said his coworkers are thrilled with the bonus.

“Tons of people can use it,” he said. “It made a big difference to a lot of people.”