Bandon - Late March/Early April

There may be a trip to BD in my future. Which is essentially the first week of April. Anyone been around this time? Any advice on the weather? Most concerned about the rain vs. the temp.

That's one of the best times to go IMO. You can't really predict the rain. I've been in February and only had rain for one day.

Last time I was there was end of April and this was what we had. New photo by John Vincent

April is a good balance between price and weather. I've been twice in April and never had a drop of rain and the wind is typically much calmer than in the summer months. Though it can howl on occasion.

My favourite Bandon weather video is below. These guys get a prize.

That was intense! Just tell me that wasn't June.

The guy pulling his cart across the green at the end had clearly given up on life at that point. Didn't know which way was up!

I wonder how the WHS would account for weather like that. There will be some serious indexing for me going into the spring, lol.

I've been in April and it rained VERY HARD for the first two holes and then zero for the rest of the trip. Mostly blue skies.

But no jokes, it was about a 4-5 club wind the entire time except the last day on BD. "Only" a 3 club wind for the last round.

Second round on PD, hole 11 par 3, IIRC we had about ~140 yards and I hit a 5 iron (usually my 200-205 club) pin high right of the flag. It was fun but the walk was exhausting.

That’s something you don’t here people talk about, walking in those winds is brutal. The wind burn on your face and effort it takes to walk just takes it out of you.

I’ve gone the last two years the last week in March/first week in April - not joining the trips due to the poor weather the last two years. 35mph winds and torrential rains

I’ve gone the last weekend in March/start of April the last four years. A couple short sprinkles one day during one round at Old Mac. And rain one afternoon. But I had already finished my morning round. And cancelled my afternoon tee time. People that I know that played Bandon a week later the last couple years, got dumped on. Hopefully my luck will hold up this year. But my good fortune can’t last forever.

And bring cold weather gear. One year it it was in the 30’s in the morning. I packed all my rain gear, but no base layers or fleece. All the shops were well stocked, just don’t expect to find many bargains. And each shop carries some things that are different from the other shops.

Last two years have gone at that time of the year and first year we had no rain with moderate wind and weather was perfect. Last year we had heavy rain and wind first day, second day was morning rain and then afternoon sun, third day was a monsoon ... Like people have said before you need a little luck for good weather but either way it’s an awesome property and you’ll have a blast ... Bring good rain gear and a couple of pairs of shoes ... They will dry you rain gear for you in between rounds if you have time which is nice ...

We've only gone once at the end of March. I kind of felt it was no mans land with regard to weather, daylight, and course conditions. It's become either end of February, which is just go for it on the cheap, get 36 in (assuming no weather delays), and be prepared for any and every bad weather scenario. Or, end of April, still "affordable", but the extra daylight and warmer conditions make it worth it.

That being said, we had terrible winds in April. I'd almost rather deal with heavy rain.

In general, I say go as late as your schedule/budget will allow. But know that if it's not frost, it'll be rain, or wind, or hail, or both. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.

I took a trip in March once.... 25-40 mph winds all three days. I have had buddies who have done Feb and March and it was beautiful. Plan on it being the worst weather imaginable, and you wont be disappointed either way.

That's why I posted the video earlier.

Saw that.... I felt empathy. Luckily we had no rain.

I go every year last week of March and it is great. You will probably get a little wet on one or 2 days but its not that big a deal. Part of the experience and if you have good rain gear and a pair of rain gloves, who cares. Cannot emphasize enough the importance of good rain gear. Don't take a trip of the life time like this with crappy rain gear. I have Galvin Green Gortex pants and jacket and it is worth every penny and lasts decades.

I am actually looking at getting a new pair of rain pants. Those are good? Not too baggy?

Galvin Green are the top end of rain gear.

I upgraded a couple of years ago to a pair of SunIce pants. Much lighter and less baggy than the old Nike ones than they replaced.

Galvin Green rain pants can be found in different lengths. Standard, Long, and Short. Or you can take your too long rain pants to a seamstress.

A buddy and I went the last weekend in March in 2017, I think it was a Friday-Sunday. We played 18-36-18, and we got at least some rain every day. The first day, it was raining when we started, it stopped after a hole or two, came back with a vengeance on around the 8th/9th hole, and then it pretty well stopped, and just blew about 30mph the rest of the afternoon. The second day was pretty nice for most of the day -- it spit on us a couple times in the morning, but it wasn't bad at all, and the wind was probably 15-25 mph throughout the day. The last day, it was very windy for most of the morning round on Trails, but it didn't really start to rain until the last hole, when it absolutely opened up an poured the hardest it had all weekend, and the wind cranked up to an insane degree. We both hit what we thought were good tee shots, but once the wind got ahold of them, it just threw them 75 yards right. My rain paints just completely gave up at that point, too. They'd worked fine the rest of the week, but finally had enough on the last hole, which I guess is the best time for that kind of thing to happen. I've got some Galvin Green gear now, so I should be covered next time. Temps ranged from the low 40s in the mornings to close to 60 at the warmest point on the second day. As I understand it, this was pretty typical weather for that time of year.

It was a bit of an adventure at times, but it's a lot of fun if you go in with the right state of mind. You're probably not going to shoot the best score of your life, but if you embrace the challenge of playing creative shots, it's a hell of a lot of fun. To give an example, on Pacific Dunes, the 10th and 11th holes are back to back par 3s. One was playing about 190 yards and the other was playing about 135. I hit PW on the 190 yard hole (and went past the flag), and 4 iron on the short one, and hit the green with both shots. I really want to go back soon.

We went late April of 2018 and the weather was great. It was windy though (basically always is), but we didn't see any rain. We arrived Thursday and the weekend before up until Tuesday the weather was terrible from what they told us. We got the good side of the weather and played as much golf as we could (36 holes most days cause the replay rate is excellent). The last day was 72 and I played in shorts which I brought just hoping I would use. I heard the following weekend after we left sucked, so it really is just a guess. We got great weather and played for a discount and didn't pay summer rates. I heard the best time is actually September and October when the wind is down somewhat. The wind will destroy you after a few days, but the resort, staff, and experience is top notch.

To me best course is still Bandon Dunes. Pacific Dunes is great, but has a few weird holes. Old McDonald is incredibly fun and Bandon Trails changes from hole to hole but is an excellent course. The par 3 course is a complete blast, definitely do that. The lodging and food is great also, world class.

Been working a plan for a trip...lots of good advice herein. Thanks, guys!

GG rain pants are worth the expense. I have a Scottish guy in my men’s club who you can barely understand but I heard him when he told me to buy Galvin Greene because his are 20 years old and keep his arse dry!

last March my group had 6 guys. 4 had a great time and 2 said they wouldn’t go again. Guess who had crappy rain gear? You have to embrace the conditions whatever they are. We had 2 days w wet conditions (but not stupid windy) and 2 days in shorts. It’s part of the experience. It’s the most amazing place

take 3 Pr of shoes and change your socks every round and a pedicure is not a bad idea the week before you go. I lost 2 toenails but played 36, 36, 54, 18 last year. Only took 10 clubs and carried my bag entire trip & broke 80 4 of the 8 rounds

We just got our tee times today for our trip next month. Cannot wait!

Went March 2018 and had one morning of rain on old Mac and three days of gorgeous warm weather

I went last April, the wind blew very hard and the rain came down non stop. I would not go there in April again. Our caddies said there were about 70mph wind gust. There was one day with medium rain and that was our favorite.