With the frigid temperatures of winter starting to succeed for the warmer weather of spring and summer, Cooke Municipal Golf Course is preparing for the 2023 golf season.
According to Cooke head professional Darcy Myers, the course is still multiple weeks away from opening.
“We still have a lot of snow out there. Mother Nature is starting to come around and we’re warming up. We’ve had some overnight temperatures above zero, which really helps get rid of the snow. We have a long way to go. In the trees and in the shady areas, the snow tends to stay a lot longer. The golf course isn’t accessible for our turf care team to get out and do the cleanup that is required to get things going but we’re hopeful for early May. At this point it’s really hard to see to nail down a date but last year we opened May 11th.”
According to Environment Canada, the weekend forecast for Prince Albert sees highs of 13 on Saturday and 14 on Sunday.
Myers says Cooke will need to see regular spring temperatures to help melt snow still on the golf course.
“You don’t want to see any freezing temperatures below zero at night and some teen temperatures in the daytime highs because the course is going to be quite wet from all the snow that we had this winter. Our course drains quite well. There are a few areas to pump out. Just a solid forecast of sunshine and some warmer overnight lows will help us determine [a date].”
Excitement for the golf season is in full force after The Masters tournament was held in Augusta, Georgia last weekend. Jon Rahm became the fourth champion from Spain to capture a green jacket shooting 12-under par for the weekend.
The Masters is one of four major tournaments on the golf calendar alongside The Open Championship, the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship.
Myers says he has seen an increase in excitement for the golf season after the conclusion of The Masters.
“The Masters always gets people in the mood and especially with the warm weather of late, everybody’s getting the edge. It’s been a long winter, and everybody’s really wanting to get outside and swing the club. The day after the Masters, we had our first phone call asking if the driving range was open. There was still a couple of feet of snow out that day, but that’s kind of the mindset people get in. It’s good to see people getting excited for the season when it gets here.”
sports@paherald.sk.ca
