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Extended winter slicing into golf season

Apr 19, 2018 | 9:19 AM

The bags are packed with a sufficient number of tees and balls, and the clubs are shined up for a new season.

But golfers are being held off the course due to the extended winter Mother Nature has bestowed upon the land.

Kevin Broderson, GM and head pro at Lacombe Golf and Country Club, says normally they would’ve opened last weekend or this coming weekend. His projection now is for the first week of May, though the driving range could open by Friday the 27th.

“Right now, we’re just watching snow melt,” he says. “We’ve got geese swimming in a pond on our first fairway.”

With a two-week delay, Broderson says the course stands to lose about $50,000 in revenue, and others will feel similar impacts.

Luckily, he says, the economy is coming back.

“People are eager to get out and play golf, enjoy the sun and we’re looking for some good weather,” he says. “We’re ahead slightly in memberships, and people are eager to try out the new golf clubs that are coming out, where in the past those are purchases that haven’t happened.”

Lacombe is up 15 memberships over last year and expect more to be purchased once tee-boxes finally open.

“Once we do get the season going, we’ll hold our Hole-in-One Tournament June 21,” Broderson says. “We’re looking for golfers and sponsors to make that a successful day.”