While snowmobile and ski enthusiasts may have been underwhelmed by this year’s unseasonably warm winter, golfers will be happy to know that courses are opening earlier than ever.
Around Greater Bangor, golf course operators are reporting surprisingly healthy greens, and with highs expected to stay above 40 degrees Fahrenheit for the foreseeable future, golfing season is already right around the corner.
Hermon Meadow became the first course to open on March 8, permitting walking access to their front nine for only 10 dollars per player.
“It’s better than being closed,” Hermon Meadow owner and operator John Snyer said on Wednesday afternoon, when temperatures reached as high as 52 degrees. “The greens came out good — it’s the earliest we’ve opened ever. We’ve had about 60 people come play [today].”
On Wednesday at 3:30 p.m., more than a dozen golfers could be seen waiting for their turn to tee off at the first hole.
Snyer is not the only owner whose courses emerged rather unscathed this March. Elsewhere, clubs are considering opening as early as April 1st, depending on weather and demand.
In Holden, Traditions Golf Club’s head professional Tim Roggero explained that the heavy rains this winter were a concern, but didn’t end up causing as much damage as expected.
“I prefer snow over rain — snow’s like a warm glove, and rain gets down in there and freezes,” Roggero said. “But these were warm, windy rains. It’s been a great winter for golf — such an easy, mild winter.”
For now, owners and operators will wait for conditions to fully dry up, before laying down fertilizer, dispatching lawnmowers, and permitting the usage of golf carts.
The consensus is that there’s not much work to be done.
“We have to clean some greens, but things look good right now,” Bucksport Golf Club owner and operator Wayne Hand said. “We’re in good shape.”
