Source: Green Bay Press-Gazette
If early season golf is in the weekend plans, there will be plenty of choices available.
Nearly all of the area's public golf courses will be open by Saturday with the exception of Brown County Golf Course, which is expected to open a week from today.
Brown County course superintendent Paul Delfosse said the course will remain closed for another week to help it recover from an unusual amount of winter kill on the tees, fairways and greens.
"It was a bad winter as far as ice goes," Delfosse said Thursday. "We're trying to keep the covers on the greens a little longer to help them get in shape a little faster."
This is an especially important year for Brown County because it will host the state's most prestigious amateur tournament, the Wisconsin State Golf Association's State Amateur, July 11-14. Delfosse said he was confident the grass would return to normal.
With temperatures possibly reaching 60 this weekend, most of the courses that haven't already opened will do so by Saturday. Thornberry Creek in Hobart was expected to open its 18-hole courses today. Its original 9-hole course opened earlier this month. NorthBrook Country Club in Luxemburg, Pine Acres in Abrams and Shorewood Golf Course on the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay campus also were expected to open today.
IdleWild Golf Course in Sturgeon Bay, Royal St. Patrick's in Wrightstown and Sandalwood Country Club in Abrams were expected to open on Saturday.
"The grass is dry, but the ground underneath is a little wet because of the frost," said Aaron Kabat, assistant pro at Royal St. Patrick's. "If we got a little bit of rain, everything would green up in a hurry."
Kabat said this was about the time Royal St. Patrick's management was expecting to open.
"Everyone was ready," Kabat said. "We just weren't sure when we were going to pull the trigger."
Highland Ridge in De Pere opened Thursday, while De Pere's Hilly Haven has been open since last Saturday. Among other area courses already open are: Crystal Springs in Seymour, Ledgeview Golf Course, Mid-Vallee in De Pere, Royal Scot in New Franken, Twin Oaks in Denmark, Wander Springs in Greenleaf and The Woods in Green Bay.
Some courses won't allow riding carts or will only allow them on the cart paths. Course operators recommended calling the golf shops to see whether carts will be allowed.