Lakeview, Wild Oak golf courses open, mainly dry

Both of Mitchell’s golf courses are open and ready to be played.

Lakeview and Wild Oak golf courses opened within the last week, and with the above-average temperatures, both courses have already seen plenty of action.

“The snow melted quickly and then we had above-average normal temps,” Lakeview course manager and club professional Dan Sabers said. “But it is a little surprising that we’re open in March, but the heat and the rain during the girls’ state (basketball) tournament helped get rid of the snow real quick.”

Over at Wild Oak, for 12 of the holes at least, things are much the same.

“It’s dry and ready to go,” said Chas Hurd, who is the course’s director of golf instruction. “Everybody is out playing, and it’s in great shape. The top side and the other three holes are in great shape.”

For holes No. 10-15 at Wild Oak, the season’s aggressive flooding has caused some problems for the first two days the course has been opened. The course opened Monday.

Firesteel Creek twists through the lower portion of the course and has prevented play on six holes until later this week.

But Hurd said the course’s groundskeepers have been working diligently on making all 18 holes available for play soon.

“They will be pumped off by Thursday,” he said. “They’re working at it. Right now, we have pumps going 24/7.”

Lakeview, which opened March 24, has seen plenty of traffic early this season, Sabers said.

On its opening day, it had 79 golfers take the course and 110 Sunday.

The large amount of snowfall the Mitchell area had this winter, however, scared some into thinking the town’s golf courses would open later than normal.

Last year, Lakeview — which is a city-owned, 18-hole course — opened during the third week of March. This year, it wasn’t until midway through the fourth week.

“The snow melted really quickly, and the frost went out early,” Sabers said. “We came through this winter really good.”

Hurd also said he was pleased to have Wild Oak — which is a privately-owned, 18-hole course — open in March.

“Mother Nature does what she can do,” Hurd said. “This is still March, and golf courses in this area usually are open between April 1 and April 15.

“When you have a mild winter, you can open earlier. Since it’s still March, we’re lucky to all be opening.”

An early-April blizzard forced both courses to shut their doors last year for nearly two weeks, but a 10-day look into the forecast has high temperatures in the 50s and all the way up to the 70s with lows never dipping below the freezing mark.

Of the next 10 days, only one of them is forecasted to have a 50-percent or higher chance at precipitation.

Sounds like perfect golfing weather.

Tags: lakeview golf course, wild oak golf course, sports, golf