Wild Winter: Snow Days At Bandon Dunes

"On Thursday at 5 o'clock, the course was clear," says Marie Krebsbach, guest-appreciation coordinator at Bandon Dunes. "By 9 o'clock, it got cold, and there was snow everywhere."

All four courses at Bandon Dunes were closed on Friday and Saturday; by Sunday, play had resumed. Krebsbach remembers closing for a few days in 2007, but this might be the most snow at the resort since it opened in 1999. "It doesn't happen very often," she said. "There was maybe an inch more than we had in 2007. Before we opened? Who knows?"*

*[#image: /photos/55ad7328add713143b424a40]|||BD #6.jpg|||(Bandon's sixth green.)

What happens at Bandon when golf isn't an option? Krebsbach says some groups wait it out by eating, drinking and playing cards. There's a small gym and spa in the main lodge; you can also order an in-room massage. Off property, there's a casino in a nearby town. Others pack it in early and head home.*

*[#image: /photos/55ad7328b01eefe207f69c28]|||BD #16.jpg|||(Bandon's 16th.)

Golfers play through rain and wind at Bandon Dunes--some might argue it's part of the experience of true links golf--but if the course is closed because of weather, you won't be charged for tee times. A spokesperson for Bandon said they'll work with you to book a return visit, and the same rates apply, even if your original trip was in February and your return trip is in August, the peak season.

*For more on the Preserve, click here.

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--Matt Ginella

(Photographs by Marie Krebsbach.)