Wintertime Is Tee Time Mild Weather Keeps Golfers In The Swing

Earl Mithaug was all decked out Sunday for his first tee time of the season.

His blue jacket was zipped up against the wind and an “I Love Golf” cap sat on his head as he relaxed in his car after a round at Valley View Golf Course in Liberty Lake.

“I come out any time it’s good enough to play,” said Mithaug, 82. “When you get along in years you take advantage of anything that comes along, so when there’s good weather I’m gone. I’m out taking advantage of it.”

Lots of other Valley golfers seem to share Mithaug’s attitude.

The area’s mild winter has provided some extra playing time for golfers.

Some Valley courses didn’t even shut down for the season - instead closing only for the few days when the weather was really winter-like.

“The people will tell you when to close,” said Dennis Reger, the golf pro at Valley View. “It’s like skiing; they just leave the mountain.”

Most years, Valley View shuts down for two or three months, usually opening for the season around this time of year. Reger estimated that he now averages about 150 golfers on weekends and about 30 on weekdays.

Mike Senske, the owner of Painted Hills Golf Course on South Dishman-Mica Road, said he usually opens his course on March 1, but this winter Painted Hills stayed open for all but about three weeks of the winter.

“We normally have no golfers at this time of year,” he said, smiling as he pointed to last weekend’s full schedule of golfers. “It’s certainly double or triple the normal mild weather attendance.”

Mild weather does mean competition for the courses.

“Because it’s been so mild, other courses have opened that wouldn’t usually open until later,” Senske said. “If it hadn’t of been for that, we probably would be hitting more of a peak.”

MeadowWood Golf Course in Liberty Lake opened last week, about two weeks earlier than usual. Head pro Bob Scott said business is already booming. He estimated that about 175 golfers stepped onto the course Sunday. “Everyone’s got claustrophobia, so they want to get out of the house,” he said.

Kit DeAndre, the head pro at Liberty Lake Golf Course, said his course usually stays open all year. The number of golfers lately, though, has been higher than usual. He saw about 200 golfers Sunday.

Even retailers handling golf equipment say business is off to a faster than usual start. Mike McKinney, assistant manager of National Golf of East Sprague, said the spring rush “definitely has been a little earlier for us. If you go by any of the golf courses, they’re packed.”

At Valley View, Sam Parker practiced his swing near a full parking lot while he waited for his brother to join him.

“I’ve been golfing all winter,” Parker said, adding that he’s benefited from a winter of golf because he won’t have to allow himself any extra time to get back into the swing of things.

“You’re not so tentative,” he said. “If you take time off, your strokes are so soft and easy that you don’t know where the ball is going to go.

“But this winter, if it’s raining a little, or if it’s a little warm, I just go out and golf.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo