Spring is right around the corner, just one day away. And we will be seeing quite the warm up this weekend. This means an early start for golfers.
Normally, high temperatures are around 40 degrees in mid March. But this weekend, it will be in the 50s to 60 degrees and we get to keep the sunshine. This means an early season for golfers. The Owner of Shamrock Golf & Country Club in Oriskany, Mr. Matthew Reed, said “We’re looking to open up maybe this week when the weather’s turning a little nicer. And we’re probably a couple of weeks early, maybe even three weeks early. So if it stays nice, yeah we’ll be a little early this year.”
There’s still a few snowy spots on the golf courses, but most of it will melt over the weekend. You may even be able to get on the green early next week. At the Holland Heights Golf Course in Herkimer the son of the owner, Mr. Nickolas Dejong, said “We’re hoping for Monday. Providing the weather’s nice enough and you get rid of more of this snow. The course is pretty dry relatively. There’s a couple wet patches around but you’re going to get that pretty much anywhere you go.”
These golf courses are prepared to open early and taking all measure against coronavirus. Mr. Reed at Shamrock Golf said “We got our first shots of our vaccine so, we get our next shot here actually this week. So we’ll be vaccinated and well let’s say we’ll just follow the covid rules and do what they tell us to do.”
And some places got crafty to promote safety. Mr. Dejong at Holland Heights Golf Course said “We have foam inserts in all of the bottom of the cups. We try to get people to not pull out the flag stick anymore, less touching and keeping everybody safe. It’s easier to grab the ball from the bottom of the whole with the foam insert in there because it kind of sticks out of the edge of the lip of the hole.”
You can do your part by wearing a mask and staying 6 feet apart. And if you’re itching to get out on the green, you only have to wait another few days before many local golf courses begin to open.