If everything had gone according to plan, the Lynbrook Gofl Club would have been a busy place this coming weekend, with players hammering buckets of balls on the driving range, working on their short game on the putting green and even hitting the course on temporary greens.
But Mother Nature had other ideas, with cold weather and plenty of thick, heavy snow blanketing southern Saskatchewan one last time before spring hits.
As a result, everything has moved back a week, with the Lynbrook now aiming to open during the Apr. 28 weekend.
“We’re getting closer,” said Lynbrook general manager Ray Wareham. “If the weather wasn’t the way it is, we would have been getting ready to go (Friday), so we’ll see how it goes and hopefully in a week or so’s time we’ll be able to get going.”
That’s not to say things are still quiet at the course. The always-popular Ortley’s Lounge joined the pro shop in opening last weekend, and that’s led to brisk business as folks get ready for the season. Business hours for both facilities are from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. until the course opens in full.
“Winter has been long enough, people have been coming in and getting their memberships, people are excited for the season and looking forward to getting things going,” Wareham said, adding that the plan is to have the driving range open next weekend at the very least.
While it might be easy to think the snow could set things back excessively, given the relatively mild temperatures associated with the storm, it’s little more than rain with a bit of extra weight to it and a tendency to stick around. As a result, it should only help things green up even more once things get warmer.
“It’s all good, hopefully it’ll brighten everything up,” Wareham said. “It’s no different than getting a bunch of rain at this time of year in that regard, but you can’t predict the weather, we’ll just wait for things to clear up and get going then.”
As for the course itself, things appeared to have wintered nicely based on tours Wareham has taken of the 5,655-yard 18-hole layout. The greens remain tarped, but will be opened once the maintenance team feels things are good to go.
“They weathered well last year and were in pretty good shape, so we’re hoping for the same will happen again this year,” Wareham said. “We’ll know when the guys get the tarps off in the next little while.”
The Lynbrook will be hosting a special event next weekend, with their Spring Fling helping kick off the new season. Tickets are $30 each, with the event featuring music by Runaway Train. Cocktails are 7 p.m., entertainment starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are available by calling the proshop at (306) 692-2838.
For more information on the Lynbrook Golf Club, including when they officially plan to open, be sure to keep an eye on the website at www.lynbrookgolf.org and follow their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/lynbrookgolfmoosejaw for the latest updates.
