Bandon Winter/Spring Reviews - When did you stop raining so much Oregon?

[spud3]

Would you guys recommend a particular ball for crazy winds?

 

Yes. An old one from the shag bag that you don't mind losing...

[ryu123]

Would you guys recommend a particular ball for crazy winds?

 

Yes. An old one from the shag bag that you don't mind losing...

 

Brunswick Premium (bowling ball)

[payerasjl]

Would you guys recommend a particular ball for crazy winds?

 

Yes. An old one from the shag bag that you don't mind losing...

 

thats what i was thinking!

[spud3]

Would you guys recommend a particular ball for crazy winds?

 

Yes. An old one from the shag bag that you don't mind losing...

 

thats what i was thinking!

 

And I'm being totally serious.

 

It's astounding what a sustained 35-40 mph wind can do with a golf ball; even more astounding is a 60 mph gust. My last trip I watched a couple tee shots get sent 50+ yards perpendicular to their target.

 

And those were knockdowns on par threes...

[ws6]

I played Pacific Dunes in a 5 (or more) club, Oregon coastal summer wind once. Nothing was more confidence inspiring than checking my bag before a shot had been hit, and wondering if 10 golf balls was enough.

[duffer987]

Was at a range in Ft. Worth yesterday, that had a club-repair/lessons/shop dealy attached to it. Took a gander in the used bin and saw this!

In the immediate future is Ireland in May, but also something new to bring to Bandon for Thanksgiving. Hopefully the heavier (relative to my hybrids) shaft evens out the apparently lighter head.

Only 269 days left :)

 

 

[mallrat]

Nice find

[dpark]

Going in two weeks. Expects lots of cold, wind and rain. Will have 2 rainsuits and 2 pairs of Nike Bandon Zoom golf shoes.

 

Leave the lob wedge in the garage and take a 1 or 2 iron (or the lowest loft you can hit reasonably well). If the wind is blowing anywhere near 20 mph and you are "into" the wind, you will need something you can hit under the wind.

[dearth12]

Going in two weeks. Expects lots of cold, wind and rain. Will have 2 rainsuits and 2 pairs of Nike Bandon Zoom golf shoes.

 

Leave the lob wedge in the garage and take a 1 or 2 iron (or the lowest loft you can hit reasonably well). If the wind is blowing anywhere near 20 mph and you are "into" the wind, you will need something you can hit under the wind.

 

 

 

 

Can you give an update to the conditions at Bandon and your overall thoughts on your trip?

[dpark]

Got back from a Bandon trip from March 10-12. Played all 4 courses and the Preserve

 

The greens were best on BD and PD. Poa now the dominant grass on these greens. Much better putting surfaces than the fescue that is still on BT and OM. Some of the PD greens were actually "shaggy". The one I remember the most was #11.

 

Greens at OM were the worst of the 4 main courses. Tough to putt well on. The speed wasn't the issue, it was the ball staying on line to the cup on 6-10 footers.

 

Lots of screens on the fairways where they are trying to get the grass to grow back in in the "collection areas" where balls tend to end up due to the mounding in the fairways.

 

Many bunkers are full of water. They have had that much rain there. The majority of the bunkers that are typically "in play" are OK. Wet sand, but playable. Bunkers that are not usually "in play" are GUR (bunker on the left side of PD #3 about 230 out from the green was washed out and had a GUR sign) if they have water in them or are just washed out.

 

Friday was a good day. A decent breeze of 1-2 clubs, cloudy, but dry. Saturday was awful in the morning with pounding sideways rain for 3 solid holes. I hit a 6-iron on #8 from 130 yards (normally a 165 club) and didn't reach the green. Sunday was a day you dream for. 60* temps, sunny and no wind. We were applying sunscreen in played in shorts and short-sleeved shirts. The starter said it was the nicest day in 3 months.

 

Green fees keep going up though. Now $135 to play this time of year, up $10 from last year.

[spud3]

dpark: nice vintage set of clubs, there!

 

Curious which ball you play..? :)

[duffer987]

@dpark - were the screens on all the seaside courses, or specifically OM?

I know in the past we've had some on Pacific in those handful of spots where pretty much any decent strike is going to end up, but not seen it on any of the other courses... yet.

[mallrat]

Just left there about 2 hours ago. Best overall weather I've had in 10 trips to bad my swing was garbage. Had an absolute blast.

 

As to conditions, I have never seen so much standing water on the courses. Played Old Mac yesterday afternoon after a sunny day and a morning of rain that was off and on and light at best. Each of Old Mac's first 5 greens had multiple spots of standing water in multiple spots. We actually had a side bet on 3 for anyone who could make it inside the water circle around the flag. The greens overall were atrocious with the very short fescue they were actually kind of muddy and some absolute moron was literally dragging their feet across the greens and they were just chewed up.

 

PAcific was in pretty good shape, we played it Saturday in rain and 20 mph winds and then this morning in clear but windy conditions. Saturday the course was rough, greens didn't roll true and were shaggy with a good deal of the netting on holes with significant collection areas. Today was a completely different story. Greens were much quicker and looked like they had just been cut and or rolled. There is definitely Poa there but it hasn't taken over the greens. I would say it has been managed very well.

 

Bandon was in very good shape overall and this trip reminded me how good of a course Bandon can be. The greens are the best on property. They have done a great job of managing the Poa without it completely taking over.

 

Trails was a tale of 2 stories, there was the outstanding course which played very fair and was in above average condition and then there is the story of Trails greens. I don't know what is going on but there are bare spots and spotty areas, very uneven and even areas of a fungus or mold. It was kinda hard to see because Trails has been my favorite course on property.

 

Overall, I have never (in 10 trips over 13 years) seen anything like what is going on this winter. 1 of the guys I went had never been and was amazed at about 12-15 different spots that I pointed out was not a water hazard but either a bunker or waste bunker. It is truly amazing the amount of rain we have had this year.

 

 

[duffer987]

^Thanks for that! :)

Sounds like the awful winter and all that rain from Nov onwards has really taken a toll.

 

I've always been impressed by the courses' ability to shed water, but I guess they met their match this winter.

When we had the masses of water on Bandon one round - like yourself, you have to have a laugh about it. We probably had 8 greens that were wholly unplayable and all of them had significant puddles at a minimum.

[mallrat]

This winter has been nuts. When I played Crossings I signed up for their email newsletter and in the last one their superintendent said they have already received more rain this year than they average in a year. 3 months has rained more than the average 12 month cycle is crazy

[duffer987]

This winter has been nuts. When I played Crossings I signed up for their email newsletter and in the last one their superintendent said they have already received more rain this year than they average in a year. 3 months has rained more than the average 12 month cycle is crazy

 

Yeah I was looking at the Norcal #s and the ones up home in B.C. and they are staggering, along with all the proper serious ramifications of that. But as this is a golf site, so... ;)

I wonder what that means to Bandon's 2017 season and the expectations the peak season players can have? It's not like they have the opportunity to shut courses down for more than a day at a time for maintenance.

[dearth12]

I'm heading out to Bandon next week and these reviews on course conditions have me a little worried. This will be my first time. Glad to see that even though conditions weren't the best that people there still had a blast.

[duffer987]

I'm heading out to Bandon next week and these reviews on course conditions have me a little worried. This will be my first time. Glad to see that even though conditions weren't the best that people there still had a blast.

 

Tee to green, I've never felt the course conditions have impacted our enjoyment in the 40ish rounds played :)

 

When the greens aren't great, sure it's a bit of a bummer when that 6 footer for birdie kicks to the side, but them the breaks... as they can be anywhere. The proper standing water on lots of greens, which we've had for maybe 3 of those rounds is annoying because then you really aren't playing golf anymore, since you cannot really finish out holes in a typical manner and it likely means it's tipping it out as well.

[mallrat]

Don't give it a second thought on the course conditions. Bandon and Pacific played as well as I've ever seen them play. Trails stills gives you that special feeling that it's just you and the golf ball out in somewhere where you are meant to be Old Mac is still Old Mac, a fun quirky course that you won't play anywhere else in the US.

[dearth12]

Don't give it a second thought on the course conditions. Bandon and Pacific played as well as I've ever seen them play. Trails stills gives you that special feeling that it's just you and the golf ball out in somewhere where you are meant to be Old Mac is still Old Mac, a fun quirky course that you won't play anywhere else in the US.

 

 

Awesome. Next week cannot get here fast enough!

[buzlin]

Don't give it a second thought on the course conditions. Bandon and Pacific played as well as I've ever seen them play. Trails stills gives you that special feeling that it's just you and the golf ball out in somewhere where you are meant to be Old Mac is still Old Mac, a fun quirky course that you won't play anywhere else in the US.

 

 

Awesome. Next week cannot get here fast enough!

I too think you'll have a great time regardless of the weather, assuming it's "playable" for most of your trip. It could get tedious if it's unrelenting, but typically there will be those breaks in the insanity which you may appreciate or even have an ah ha moment about how special that place is. I'm not sure how much experience you have playing in crazy weather, but if it's awful, don't let your score or some blow up holes ruin your time there. The extremes will hopefully add to your experience. It can be quite magical even in "terrible" weather if you have the right perspective.

[mallrat]

Dearth I put some pics up in the Suggestions thread if you want to see some current course conditions?

[dearth12]

Mallrat, thanks for posting the pics. I just took a look at them and it looks awesome. I can't wait. I've been reading "Dream Golf" the past couple nights and literally can't put it down. Need to save some to read on the plane though!

[spud3]

Fear not. Bandon at its worst is still better than most courses in the world.

[duffer987]

Awesome. Next week cannot get here fast enough!

I too think you'll have a great time regardless of the weather, assuming it's "playable" for most of your trip. It could get tedious if it's unrelenting, but typically there will be those breaks in the insanity which you may appreciate or even have an ah ha moment about how special that place is. I'm not sure how much experience you have playing in crazy weather, but if it's awful, don't let your score or some blow up holes ruin your time there. The extremes will hopefully add to your experience. It can be quite magical even in "terrible" weather if you have the right perspective.

 

And that would be taking Happy Gilmore's perspective of getting hit by balls in the batting cage to toughen up for hockey try outs ;)

And for those moments where you have to lean forward and battle through the hail storms, you get many more of these:

 

 

[dardenpdx]

Fear not. Bandon at its worst is still better than most courses in the world.

 

Totally agree! Was here for 3 days last week and Friday was supposed to be awful. The rain never showed up and it turned out to be a great day (just a little breezy).

[dardenpdx]

Mallrat, thanks for posting the pics. I just took a look at them and it looks awesome. I can't wait. I've been reading "Dream Golf" the past couple nights and literally can't put it down. Need to save some to read on the plane though!

 

I can't recommend Dream Golf enough! Also, be sure to hit up Shorty's while you're there. Finally got a chance to play all 9 on the Thursday of our trip. We had a blast! I believe its completely open Thursday - Sunday. Just look for the green flag.

[buzlin]

Mallrat, thanks for posting the pics. I just took a look at them and it looks awesome. I can't wait. I've been reading "Dream Golf" the past couple nights and literally can't put it down. Need to save some to read on the plane though!

 

I can't recommend Dream Golf enough! Also, be sure to hit up Shorty's while you're there. Finally got a chance to play all 9 on the Thursday of our trip. We had a blast! I believe its completely open Thursday - Sunday. Just look for the green flag.

You can also play holes 1, 2 and 9, when it's "closed". A great place to practice shots and finish off the last 3/4 of your bottle of whisky..................

[dpark]

dpark: nice vintage set of clubs, there!

 

Curious which ball you play..? :)

 

Wilson Staff ZIP, super cheap and super soft.

[dpark]

@dpark - were the screens on all the seaside courses, or specifically OM?

I know in the past we've had some on Pacific in those handful of spots where pretty much any decent strike is going to end up, but not seen it on any of the other courses... yet.

 

The screens were on PD (#16 for sure and others) and BT (#18 for sure and others).

 

None on BD or OM when I was there.