Although spring is officially here, the weather conditions are still less than optimal.
However, that hasn’t prevented golfers from taking to the links in the early spring.
Walt Sierakowski, owner of Hadley Golf Course, said some of the regulars at the club have been hitting the links since the course opened for business around March 20.
“There’s a good turnout for it being this cold,” he said. “Last year, We had some good weather. This year, I’m really surprised it’s kicking off so well. I was worried with the war and the economy, but it doesn’t seem to faze them.”
He also said the club’s opening date has been consistent with past years, despite the weather. He anticipates the club will get busier once golf leagues start in earnest around April 15.
By contrast, Goodrich Country Club opened a little bit later than in previous years, club superintendent Jim Naugler said.
The club opened for the first time this year March 28, in contrast to the past few years where the club opened in early March, Naugler said.
“We had twenty-some players that day and the majority of them were club members,” he said. “I mowed the greens for the first time that day.”
With snow hitting the area March 31, Goodrich was closed, but the club reopened for business later in the week.
Once the weather picks up, Naugler said the club will have about 100 golfers per day on the course with plenty of league competition. However, he also acknowledged the number of participants this season will likely decline from previous years.
“It will be a battle because golf is down due to the economy,” he said. “I think it will be about three to five years before it bounces back. Once 9-11 hit, it went downhill. With the war going on, that doesn’t help, either.”
However, local golfers were eager to take their respective courses when they opened for business.
Among the regulars who hit the links at Hadley are brothers Joe and Chuck Bullen of Oxford, who play the course about one or two times per week during the summer.
The two were at the course March 27 to get in some golf. Despite the patches water puddles and mud on the course, they were eager to get on an actual golf course.
Joe Bullen said the two brothers have been practicing at local golf domes during the winter, where they can hit the driving ranges without any interference from the weather.
For his part, Chuck Bullen said it won’t take too long for playing conditions to improve. “It will be all right in a week or so when the grass starts growing,” he said.