Current Bandon Course Conditions

[spud3]

I thought I would start a new thread where everyone can post their pictures and descriptions of the current conditions at Bandon, especially the greens.  There always seem to be a lot of inquiries from folks that are headed there as to how the courses are playing and what the greens look like.  These are the greens as of 12/6 (in order, as the pic loading is being wonky):

Bandon Dunes

Pacific Dunes

Shorty's

Trails

Sheep Ranch 

 

Edited December 11, 2024 by spud3

[eboettne]

Those all look fantastic to me

[knock it close]

1 hour ago, eboettne said:

Those all look fantastic to me

I was there two ish weeks ago, in the morning each course was the best I've seen the greens probably in the past 4 years. Pac in the morning were incredible, sheep were the worst of the bunch but the best they've been imo. They got hammered with rain the the week before I got there so they were a little on the soft side and showed footprints in the afternoon but not much they can do on that. 

[Edaw68]

On site now. Trails and Bandon greens are both in the best shape I’ve seen them for a long time. A touch slow for the winter but very smooth and none of the dead spots I saw in March. (About a 4x4 GUR spot on BD#2, which is a giant improvement considering that green was 3/4 mud last time I was here.) 

 

Trails has some tee boxes being re-sodded, but other than that in nice shape. 
 

Pacific tomorrow and we’ll see how much attention I pay given the wind forecast.

[Edaw68]

Pacific’s greens are in good shape. Fairways have a few rough spots, mostly in the lower spots where water collects. Lotta standing water on the course today, wet and windy.

[Golfnuck]

Dec 29 to Jan 2

 

Rank best to worse.

 

Bandon Dunes - fantastic, it was a dry day so no standing water at all

Pacific Dunes - very good, a few bumpy spots but very little

Old Mac - horrible day 100% rain for almost the whole round, greens were good but lots of standing water

Sheep Ranch - very bumpy greens, rained on 3 holes

Edited January 10 by Golfnuck

[Aaf09001]

Does anyone have a recent trip and can share how the courses were? My group heads down in a couple of weeks and we can’t wait!

[Seamus_MacDuff]

Just got back Sunday.  Greens at Pacific Dunes and Bandon Dunes are as good as I've seen them since the courses opened.  Old Mac is good, though not quite as consistent as PD and BD.  Sheep Ranch's greens are better than they've been the last couple of years, but still inconsistent.  Didn't play Trails.

Edited March 4 by Seamus_MacDuff

[Aaf09001]

1 hour ago, Seamus_MacDuff said:

Just got back Sunday.  Greens at Pacific Dunes and Bandon Dunes are as good as I've seen them since the courses opened.  Old Mac is good, though not quite as consistent as PD and BD.  Sheep Ranch's greens are better than they've been the last couple of years, but still inconsistent.  Didn't play Trails.

You must have had some of that great weather last week, cheers! Thanks for the update, great to hear about Bandon and Pac!

[spud3]

Our group will be there in about two weeks, playing everything.  I'll post on conditions while we're there.

[R4haehl]

We were there last week from 3/4-3/7
- BD greens were the best we have had there in the 7-8yrs we have been going in Feb/March

- PD greens were the quickest on property this trip (it rained during the morning of our round, but you wouldn't have known by the time we teed off)

- OM greens, consistent and rolled true

- Trails greens were solid

- SR greens were most inconsistent, and consistently frustrating...  but better than the last few years in terms of actual grass covering greens

 

We had fantastic, DRY weather the entire trip which certainly helped. Never had to put on or even carry rain gear. We have had trips in the past where that has not been the case and there was no way to describe anything other than "wet". Unfortunately, probably our last annual trip to Bandon for awhile due to the new lottery booking system

[Aaf09001]

1 hour ago, R4haehl said:

We were there last week from 3/4-3/7
- BD greens were the best we have had there in the 7-8yrs we have been going in Feb/March

- PD greens were the quickest on property this trip (it rained during the morning of our round, but you wouldn't have known by the time we teed off)

- OM greens, consistent and rolled true

- Trails greens were solid

- SR greens were most inconsistent, and consistently frustrating...  but better than the last few years in terms of actual grass covering greens

 

We had fantastic, DRY weather the entire trip which certainly helped. Never had to put on or even carry rain gear. We have had trips in the past where that has not been the case and there was no way to describe anything other than "wet". Unfortunately, probably our last annual trip to Bandon for awhile due to the new lottery booking system

Great report! Hoping all the rain over the next week doesn’t do much harm for next month. What was your favorite course of the trip?

[R4haehl]

15 hours ago, Aaf09001 said:

Great report! Hoping all the rain over the next week doesn’t do much harm for next month. What was your favorite course of the trip?

Thanks, tried to keep it brief lol

Trails is one of my favorite courses anywhere, despite playing like trash there on this trip. Old Mac has been creeping up my Bandon rankings in the last few visits, not to mention played a really gritty round and finished birdie/birdie. BD was also very special this year, especially in the conditions we played it in.

[wtoomey]

Currently on property for the weekend 4/3-4/7

 

Sheep Ranch greens are healthy. The mud and poor conditions from the past are gone. They were rolling smooth, but a little slow. Lots of divots in the fairway, in all the collection points, but that seems to be expected. Noticed a few soggy spots around the greens, but not a consistent issue. 
 

Trails greens are as close to perfect as I’ve seen. Rolling great, holding spinners, rejecting hot shots that skim in. The fairways are well traveled, but no black tarps to be seen. They were also softer than ever. I had never seen a pitch mark in the fairway up here before, but the winter apparently has been wet. Noticed that starting on three, some of the deeper fairway side bunkers had standing water too. The green side bunkers are as expected. 
 

Trails is also doing a lot of “re-routing” of the green to tee walk ways. Making shortcuts into the actual pathway. Takes a little bit of the “nature walk” vibe out in some places(2 to 3 as an example), but probably speeds up play just a bit. 

[wtoomey]

Day 2

The OG Bandon. Greens were perfect. Same condition as right after the US Am. Maybe not as fast, but totally pure. Same collection of divots in the fairway collection points, but no black tarps. No standing water or mud from what I could see. 
 

Shorty’s:

First time playing. #4 was closed, the green looked BEAT UP. The greens are shaggy. DO NOT play as your first course to get “links ready” because you will suffer later. They were shag carpet slow. Also, a lot of the rear tee boxes were closed. You could tell they have got a lot of play on the course. They have to realize when you offer front, middle and back tees, most are going to play back. The back tees looked like they took a beating. We played a lot of repetitive 75 yard holes because of the lack of tee boxes. 

[wtoomey]

Finishing up our trip:

 

Pacific- The fairways, traps and tee boxes were all in great shape. The greens were unfortunately a little inconsistent. First few holes were rolling great, the middle holes were bumpy and the rest of the round was a matter of guessing. They are probably ready to get punched. Don’t get me wrong, they were in good shape, but I’m comparing and contrasting with perfect. 
 

Old Mac- Only round in the rain, and by rain I mean three holes, but that rain caused immediate puddling. The greens were smooth and true, but where there was water collection, it pooled and did not drain. The water table must be very high and the greens are saturated because the amount of rain we got would normally not pool up. No standing water in any traps and only a few roped off areas around greens. 

[Kernel]

Just back from. short two-day trip and I don't have much to add to the recent reports. Overall, greens were quite good to great. I will concur with the pooling issues at Old Mac. I was very surprised at how quickly and how extensively the greens held water during/after a rain.

 

Trails greens held up well in the rain, but the course off of the fairways was in rougher shape than I can recall from previous years. Large pools of standing water in waste areas and some bunkers, very soggy spots on the walks around tee boxes, etc. 

[Seamus_MacDuff]

4 minutes ago, Kernel said:

I will concur with the pooling issues at Old Mac.

 

There is sandstone close to the surface under much of Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes, Old Mac and Sheep Ranch.  You can see that exposed sandstone most clearly on the 16th hole at Bandon Dunes, short of the green and between the fairway and the cliff edge.  So despite all the sand that you think would drain extremely well, in many spots it doesn't percolate nearly as well as you would expect.

[Aaf09001]

The website has them tentatively punching Bandon and Preserve right now. Anyone know if they have done it yet? Bummed to be heading down next week after all the reports that Bandon greens were perfect just to have them punched!

[ThatKyle]

On 4/10/2025 at 1:24 AM, Aaf09001 said:

The website has them tentatively punching Bandon and Preserve right now. Anyone know if they have done it yet? Bummed to be heading down next week after all the reports that Bandon greens were perfect just to have them punched!

 

I saw them on the webcam punching greens on Tuesday. This instagram video from yesterday shows the holes in their current condition. They are definitely looking punched but after a week and some rolling and sunshine Id expect them to be decently recovered.  https://www.instagram.com/p/DISMClLygRE/

[Aaf09001]

9 hours ago, ThatKyle said:

 

I saw them on the webcam punching greens on Tuesday. This instagram video from yesterday shows the holes in their current condition. They are definitely looking punched but after a week and some rolling and sunshine Id expect them to be decently recovered.  https://www.instagram.com/p/DISMClLygRE/

Nice, good find there thanks for that! Now just gotta hope the delay the pacific punch by a day or two and we will be golden 😅

[ThatKyle]

2 hours ago, Aaf09001 said:

Nice, good find there thanks for that! Now just gotta hope the delay the pacific punch by a day or two and we will be golden 😅

 

Based on the forecast I'd say that's unlikely and based on prior comments of Pac green conditions it might actually be better for them to be punched for you as you get a discount on your round. 

[somerset]

Can someone with boots on the ground report back regarding the status of the punched greens? Thanks!

[sniper]

Based on course cams Trails was punched today. 

[pearls24]

Heading to Bandon on Monday.  Curious if anyone can offer some feedback on conditions?  Looking like we may get some decent weather for the week.  

[thechief16]

+1 on the weather forecast (we arrive on Sunday for the week).  Im sure we'll get some rain at some point, but the temps are just perfect (for me, a born and bred Northerner). 

 

BTW, the Golfers Journal has a big event out there starting today thru Sunday, so I'll be stalking their socials for conditions content.

 

Edited May 15 by thechief16

[sniper]

@pearls24 @thechief16

Weather does look good. My group arrives in Portland Sunday and we’ll be there Monday. 
 

I think Sheep was punched this week and Old Mac a couple weeks ago.  Others were in April.