In nearly two decades at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Scott Millhouser remembers only one other time like the one he suffered through this week as snow and freezing temperatures closed the Oregon golf mecca for more multiple afternoons.
Thanks to a winter storm that’s impacted a large swath of the nation, Bandon Dunes was closed for a second straight day on Friday. All five of the property’s courses land on the top 10 of Golfweek’s Best 2023 top 200 resort courses in the U.S.
“This is a once-in-a-decade kind of storm,” said Millhouser, who is the co-director of golf at the resort with Nick Bonander. “In my 18 years here I only remember one other time when we were closed like this for more than one day.”
What a rare sight! Bandon under a blanket of snow. Unfortunately, the courses were closed today but we're hopeful a sunny day tomorrow will lead to birds chirping for our golfers again. For everyone getting snow throughout the country, stay safe and warm! pic.twitter.com/p0rqjNlOTw
— Bandon Dunes (@BandonDunesGolf) February 23, 2023
And it’s not just Bandon. Snow is impacting much of Oregon, from the mountains to the coast.
There are numerous slowdowns and icy roads, along with multiple closures on the coast on and near U.S. Highway 101. The Portland metro area has been in bad shape with multiple roads and highways iced over and jammed with cars, making it not an ideal place to travel.
downside of a rare weather event to hit the southern coast of Oregon is that we didn’t get to golf today.
the upside is we got a very rare look at a snow-covered yet sunny Bandon Dunes. quite surreal. pic.twitter.com/KtttWVluNM
— Mike Darnay (@MikeDarnay) February 24, 2023
And the chilly conditions are pushing down into unprecedented areas, like Southern California. Lows temperatures were set to reach 40 degrees over the weekend in the area. Three million Californians awoke Friday morning to a winter storm warning stemming from the storm that first rolled into the Golden State the day before, leaving more than 150,000 customers without electricity.
As much as 5 feet of snow may fall in some mountains near Los Angeles, creating whiteout conditions as winds gust to 75 mph. The conditions raise the risk of avalanches, according to forecasters.
The weather service in San Diego issued its first-ever blizzard warning for mountain areas including Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead and Wrightwood through Saturday. The weather service in Los Angeles issued its own blizzard warning for the mountains of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
There is good news, however, as the cold snap shouldn’t last too long.
In fact, Millhouser said snow was starting to thaw at Bandon Dunes late Friday, and golfers were using the range to prepare for the weekend.
“The practice facility never closed,” Millhouser said. “And we should be playing golf tomorrow.”
