Last week snow - this week sunny skies! So where were you a year ago? Chances are if you're a Links regular you were waiting on winter! It was a particularly cold wet spring and we had to endure snowfall after snowfall. It finally looks like we may have seen the last of the white stuff.
The extended shoulder season of daytime melting and over night freezing is coming to a close. This weekend temperatures are expected to reach double digits during the day and, more importantly stay at or above freezing at night! The course is mostly bare and all we need is some sustained warmth and a little bit of rain and things will be green in no time!
Regional micro climates mean that Taylor's Lone Wolf course is always the first local course to open. Flying home from Vancouver last week, I saw that their course seems to have come through the winter well. A friend who lives in the Charlie Lake area tells me their snow has also retreated but never quite as fast as residents would like. Pictures taken Easter weekend show we were almost snow free. We've pulled the snow blankets off the greens and had our first peek at what's beneath. Some came through really well. The others will need a little TLC but should be ready soon. Mice had a field day on some greens and tee boxes, but if the weather comes through as predicted, warm and a little moist, new growth should be popping up in no time.
From here on the news should be good! Some continued good weather and concentrated preparation efforts will soon have members out on the course. Hopefully, the weather cooperates and folks will be able to start swinging by soon!