Area golf slow to go
The sure cure for the annual cabin-fever epidemic afflicting area golf fanatics has been late arriving this year.
Cold temperatures and a massive amount of winter snow have severely limited the number of public golf courses that have opened for play, and it could be a few weeks before the situation improves.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Liberty Lake Golf Course was the only 18-hole course allowing golfers on all 18 holes. But the popular Spokane County-owned course was still using only 13 permanent greens – a number that could increase by one or two by this weekend, according to head professional Kit DeAndre.
Painted Hills, a nine-hole layout, is also open on permanent greens, as is the executive-style Trailhead at Liberty Lake course. Prairie Falls in Post Falls has its back nine open on permanent greens and, according to assistant pro Darrell Hull, is hoping to open the front nine by this weekend.
MeadowWood, Spokane Country’s premier course, will start taking tee times at 9 this morning for Thursday’s scheduled opening.
“Better add ‘weather permitting’ to that, too,” MeadowWood head pro Bob Scott said, noting the chance of snow in the immediate forecast. “This winter has been unbelievable, and the forecast kind of stinks.”
If his course does open as planned – and the weather cooperates, Scott expects a busy weekend.
“This has been one long winter, and people are claustrophobic,” he said. “(Courses) were even closed in the Tri-Cities for five weeks this winter, which is unheard of, so even our most hard-core golfers couldn’t get over there for the normal midwinter fix.
“Our people have some big-time cabin fever right now. It’s time to start playing.”
DeAndre and Molly Thola, the head pro at Trailhead, both said traffic has been unusually heavy since their courses opened.
“We’re getting tons of play,” Thola said. “You’d think it was 90 degrees out there by the number of people we have playing. It’s been great.”
The turnover at Liberty Lake has been equally impressive, according to DeAndre.
“Mainly because of what’s available right now,” he said. “There just aren’t many courses open, and as the weeks progress – from what I’ve seen around town, at least – that’s not going to change.”
Spokane’s four city-owned courses – Indian Canyon, The Creek at Qualchan, Downriver and Esmeralda – remain closed because of snow, as do the rest of the privately owned public courses in the area.
Dan Porter, the head pro at Avondale on Hayden, said there is still at least 8 inches of snow on his course’s upper nine holes and 3 inches or more on the lower nine.
“We’re still probably a minimum of two weeks away from opening even the lower nine,” Porter said, adding that, for the first time in recent memory, his superintendent has been blowing snow off greens in an effort to get them playable. “It’s been crazy.
“I’m just sitting here (in the pro shop) with nothing to do, so I’m even considering opening my range and picking balls up out of the snow. Last year we opened up on March 8. This is just nuts.”